Valletta secure top-flight berth

Neptunes secured the President’s Cup for the first time since 2019, marking their tenth triumph in this charity match.

The Balluta Bay team delivered a commanding performance against Sirens, dominating large stretches of the encounter despite a brief wobble in the second session.

The Reds began strongly, with goals from Jake Bajada, Stevie Camilleri, and a brace by Gergo Zalanki giving them early control.

Gianni Farrugia pulled one back late in the first session. Mattias Ortoleva added another for Neptunes to make it 4–2.

However, Sirens showed signs of a comeback when their foreign import Nicolas Bicari netted a quickfire hat-trick to close the gap to 6–5.

But Neptunes quickly reasserted themselves, raising the tempo with goals from Zalanki (2), Sam Gialanze, and Camilleri, stretching the lead to 9–5. From that point onward, the outcome was never in doubt.

Camilleri completed his hat-trick before the end of the third session, extinguishing any remaining hopes Sirens had of mounting a comeback.

The Reds’ experience and quality ultimately proved too much for their opponents.

At the end of the match, Karl Izzo, president of the ASA, presented the trophy to Neptunes captain Stevie Camilleri.

In the other President’s Cup match, San Ġiljan staged a remarkable comeback, overturning a four-goal deficit to edge out Sliema in a thrilling, topsy-turvy encounter.

The Blues burst out of the blocks, storming to a 4–0 lead with goals from Elijah Schembri, Angelos Vlachopoulos, Dino Cachia, and Jamie Gambin.

San Ġiljan, however, regrouped in the second session.

Led by Aaron Younger and Ben Plumpton – who both netted twice – the Saints clawed their way back to level terms at 7–7, erasing Sliema’s early advantage.

But just before the half-time break, Dino Zammit struck to give Sliema a narrow edge heading into the interval.

Two goals from a five-metre throw at either side, delivered by Nikolai Zammit and Vlachopoulos kept Sliema one goal ahead but Darren Zammit made it 9-9.

San Ġiljan then took the lead for the first time when Plumpton found the net with just two minutes remaining in the third session. Their advantage was short-lived, however, as Liam Galea responded immediately to make it 10-10.

A brilliant through ball by Nikolai Zammit carved open the Sliema defence, setting up Younger to score past Benji Busuttil for 11-10 – but Gambin hit back yet again to restore parity.

With seconds left on the clock, Jake Bonavia beat the buzzer to hand the Saints a slender lead heading into the final session.

Two goals from Jeremy Abela, a strike by Nikolai Zammit, and two crucial saves by San Ġiljan goalkeeper Jake Tanti further tipped the balance in favour of the Saints.

Dino Zammit offered Sliema a glimmer of hope with a goal to make it 15-14.

But the Blues were denied from completing their comeback as a five-metre penalty restored San Ġiljan’s two-goal cushion, sealing a 16–14 final scoreline.

Earlier, Valletta only assured themselves of the Premier Division in the last session when Ivan Nagaev, woke up to his responsibilities to hit a poker as the Citizens finally distanced themselves from their opponents.

Nagaev, stepped up when it mattered most with a four-goal haul in the last session – completing a stunning seven-goal tally overall. His heroics ensured the Citizens pulled clear of their rivals and joined Exiles in securing a top-flight spot.

Edward Aquilina’s Birżebbuġa had threatened an upset early on, racing to a 7-4 lead in the opening session.

However, Valletta regrouped in the second quarter, overturning the South Seasiders’ momentum to draw level at 10-10 by half-time.

The third session saw a tight and thrilling contest, with both sides trading goals in a balanced and entertaining eight-goal spell. But when it came to the final stretch, Nagaev took matters into his own hands, decisively tipping the scales in Valletta’s favour.

Birżebbuġa, despite their spirited effort, will now drop to Division One.

VALLETTA 21

BIRZEBBUĠA 16

(4-7, 6-3, 4-4, 7-2)

VALLETTA: A. Bugeja, M. Mifsud 4, M. Carani, J. Sciberras 2, S. Busuttil 1, J. Colombo, M. Zammit 1, I. Nagaev 7, K. Borg 1, K. Erdogan 3, M. Chircop 2, K. Cremona, G. Borg

BIRZEBBUĠA: M. Sladden, M. Aquilina 4, M. Cassar, N. Bursac 4, J. Ciantar 2, I. Galea, J. Abdilla, N. Saliba 1, D. Farrugia, M. Cutajar 1, M. Mannino 1, N. Bugelli 2, S. Livori, J. Saliba 1.

Refs: Federico Braghini, S. Licari

NEPTUNES 17

SIRENS 7

(4-1, 3-4, 5-0, 5-2)

NEPTUNES: Matthew Castillo, S. Gialanze 1, G. Zalanki 6, L. Mallia, J. Camilleri 1, J. Valletta 1, S. Camilleri 4, Mark Castillo 1, B. Schranz, J. Bajada 2, A. Fenech, M. Azzopardi 1, M. Rossi, E. Mallia.

SIRENS: J. Parnis, P. Serracino, N. Bicari 3, P. Borg, J. Cachia, K. Agius, M. Ortoleva 1, I. Riolo 2, J. Zerafa Gregory, M. Sciberras, Z. Mizzi, G. Farrugia, 1 M. Bonello Dupius, G. Pace.

Refs: Angelo Petraglia, Ronnie Spiteri

SLIEMA 14

SAN ĠILJAN 16

(4-1, 4-6, 3-5, 3-4)

SLIEMA: N.Grixti, E. Schembri 2, L. Galea 3, J. Gambin 2, J. Cassar, B. Cachia, J. Cutajar, D. Rizzo 1, J. Chircop, A. Galea, A. Vlachopulos 3, D. Zammit 2, B. Busuttil, S. Engerer

SAN ĠILJAN: J. Tanti, D. Bugeja, D. Tully, R. Caruana, A. Younger 4, J. Bonavia 1, B. Plumpton 3, J. Abela 3, N. Zammit 3, D. Zammit 1, N. Schiavone, Z. Attard, G. Bonavia

Refs: Federico Braghini, Massimo Anigileri

Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators, Aurora Gaming and Natus Vincere improved to 2-0 at PGL Wallachia Season 5 with victories Sunday in Bucharest, Romania.

In Round 2 of the five-day group stage, Spirit swept Edge 2-0, Gaimin Gladiators blanked Team Tidebound and Aurora beat Xtreme Gaming by the same score, while Natus Vincere notched a 2-1 victory over Team Liquid.

The group stage runs through Wednesday and features 16 teams in a modified Swiss system. All matches are best of three. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs, which are double elimination and run from June 26-29. All playoff matches are best of three except for the final, which is best of five.

The prize pool totals $1 million, with the winner taking home $350,000.

On Sunday, Spirit earned a quick 25-minute win on red before outlasting Edge in 72 minutes on green for the sweep. GG defeated Tidebound in 42 minutes on red and 29 minutes on green, while Aurora similarly wrapped things up against Xtreme in 34 minutes on red and 33 minutes on green.

In the other match between 1-0 teams, Natus Vincere opened with a 36-minute triumph on red, then lost to Team Liquid in 44 minutes while on green. NaVi bounced back to win the do-or-die third map in 33 minutes on red.

There were also four matches pitting 0-1 teams against each other, with the losers falling to the brink of elimination Monday. Tundra Esports defeated AVULUS 2-0; BetBoom Team shut out Virtus.pro 2-0; OG topped Nigma Galaxy 2-0; and Wildcard pushed past HEROIC 2-1.

The tournament continues Monday with eight matches in Round 3:
2-0 Group
–Aurora Gaming vs. Gaimin Gladiators
–Team Spirit vs. Natus Vincere
1-1 Group
–Xtreme Gaming vs. BetBoom Team
–Team Tidebound vs. Wildcard
–Team Liquid vs. OG
–Edge vs. Tundra Esports
0-2 Group
–AVULUS vs. HEROIC
–Nigma Galaxy vs. Virtus.pro

Prize pool:
1. $350,000
2. $145,000
3. $100,000
4. $80,000
5-6. $60,000
7-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $15,000
15-16. $10,000

–Field Level Media