Globalair Travel seal first title

The 18th and final week of the Middlesea championship saw Globalair Travel claim their first ever league title after easily beating Bank of Valletta 8-0.

Globalair dramatically snatched the glory from okmalta.com, who had practically headed the standings all the way from day one.

Although tied with Globalair after 17 weeks, okmalta.com could only split the week 18 spoils in a four-all draw against Salitos, effectively gifting their rivals with the crown.

Ramis were already sure of third place and beat HSBC 8-0, while fourth-placed Fina clinched a 6-2 win over The Clan in spite of being one bowler short.

The match between Turu's Knights and PharmaVet produced the second tied match of the week.

Globalair had been trailing okmalta.com in second place for the major part of the season, but managed to sit level with them on 102 points going into this final fixture of the season.

Facing bottom side BOV gave Globalair a psychological edge, as okmalta.com were to face Salitos, certainly a more capable outfit than the relegated side.

Globalair played like true champions from the opening frames, winning the first game 776-718, as okmalta.com stumbled to a 796-738 defeat at the hands of Salitos.

This further buoyed Globalair's spirits and they stepped up to take their second game 876-765, now almost certain of the win thanks to their 169-pinfall advantage going into the last of the set.

Okmalta.com managed a slim 757-754 win in game two, but could sense their title hopes fading as Globalair appeared invincible.

Okmalta.com did their level best against all odds and won their third game 779-739 for a 6-2 victory, but the night, and the league honours belonged to Globalair who dealt one final crushing blow to their lowly opponents, taking the third game 872-633 for the 100% victory, and claiming the league title outright.

With relegation having already been confirmed in previous weeks for both BOV and The Clan, and the third and fourth spots already settled for Ramis and Fina respectively, the Globalair and okmalta.com matches were the only ones to have any particular relevance in this final week of the league.

Meanwhile, the lack of positional interest in the tied match between Turu's Knights and PharmaVet certainly did not mean it lacked in excitement.

This was thanks to youth bowler Ramon Casha who realised every bowler's dream by rolling his first ever 'perfect' 300.

The Knights' winning game score of 844-710 paled into insignificance as all eyes were on the youngster as he picked off 12 consecutive strikes.

Casha's bowling history began at the tender age of seven when, encouraged by his mother, began attending SkolaSport sessions at the Eden SuperBowl. From there he joined Giancarlo Tolu's national junior squad and then the national youth squad under the guidance of coach Pierre German. Eventually, he trained under then national coach Per Johannessen in 2007.

Casha, now 21, has been playing in the National League for the last seven years and started playing for Turu's Knights this season. He joins eight other Maltese bowlers who have achieved officially sanctioned 300 games.

Final standings: Globalair Travel 110, okmalta.com 106, Ramis 97, Fina 86, Turu's Knights 73, PharmaVet 66, HSBC 64, Salitos 59, The Clan 41, Bank of Valletta 18.

Bowlers of the Week: Sue Abela (Fina, 664); Ramon Casha (Turu's Knights, 652).