MEN - TOP 48 - FOUR GAMES:
Thomas Gross of Vienna, Austria kept pounding away at the strike pocket over this evening's four-game stint but failed to maintain pole position as the men's division of the 2006 Malta Open is now whittled down to just 18.
The lithe Austrian opened the block with a pair of high 200s but fell away with 222 and 176, opening the door for Dutchman Mark de Jong (pictured), whose 278 finish brought him up to take the lead by the slim margin of six pins.
The 25-year-old student and part-time financial adviser from Scheveningen, bowling the Malta Open for the first time, hit 951 over his four games, but the best score of the block was a 971 from defending champion Chris van Damme of Belgium.
The cut to 18 came at 2141, a 214 average and lofty Wim van der Veen from the Netherlands squeezed in and out went Stefano Coppa of Naples, Italy, host of the Oltremare Championships ranking event, the penultimate stop of the European Ranking Tour in November.

STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2:

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For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale679@aol.com