Malta was recently among a record nine participating countries for the annual Mediterranean Challenge Cup which this year was played in Rome.
Sue Abela, Melissa Anastasi, Kenneth Arpa and Brian Farrugia were in the Malta team that faced rivals from Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Israel, San Marino, Spain, Turkey and Italy during competition.
Malta finished top of the classification with five medals ahead of Italy. Both teams won five medals each but Malta had three golds to the hosts' two.
In the singles, Abela bowled comfortably well on unfamiliar lane conditions to roll highs of 204, 214 and 227 and finish with a 1,219, enough for her to earn the top prize.
Daniela Pialino, of Italy, was second and Spain's Sandra Torrents third. Anastasi was fifth - 1,084.
The standard in the men's singles was high but Arpa and Farrugia fared comparatively well. The latter was 10th with 1,125 and Arpa 15th (1,095).
Up next were the doubles events and again it was in the ladies division where Malta excelled, the male pair just missing out on a podium place by a whisker.
The brilliant display of teamwork from Abela and Anastasi paid dividends as they went on to claim the gold medal with a remarkable 2,364-pinfall from their six games. They finished 148 pins ahead of the Greek duo. The Spaniards were third.
The men's doubles was won by home players Loris Masetti and Marco Regilio. Spain were second and bronze was clinched by the Cypriots. Their total was 2,413, just five pins ahead of the Maltese.
The last day of the tournament was reserved for the mixed teams contest.
It was a thrilling finale as the Malta foursome were in sparkling form. They rolled 4,646 to finish runners-up, 38 pins behind champions Italy. Greece were a close third.
Farrugia seemed far more settled in this competition, racking up an astounding five 200+ games to close on 1,280 pins. Sue Abela had 1,154, Anastasi 1,122 and Arpa bowled a 1,090 total.
Points from the three separate events (singles, doubles and team) were then accumulated to decide the All-Events standings.
Here, Abela took gold in her section to retain the Medicup crown.
She scored a fine 3,533 pins, 118 better off than Pialino. Anastasi was third with a total of 3,410.
In the men's contest, Farrugia was fifth with 3,631 pins and Arpa 12th on 3,367. This section was won by Marcial Ovide, of Spain, with 3,838 pins.