Mellieha Libertas 67 Hibernians 56
(9-6, 21-10, 20-29, 17-11)
Mellieha inscribed their name for the third time, on this honour, and they also kept on with their winning record for the season. They had already beaten the Paolites earlier on, and they also avenged their loss in the 2014 final, against the same Hibs. Mellieha seem to have a superior side to the other sides in this division, as they collected the first honour in this category, but they were made to fight harder, as their large advantage, midway through the third session, was nearly whittled all away. Mellieha recovered in the last stages of the match, to leave their adversaries without any hope of a late comeback. Mellieha retained the same side which progressed from their semi-final win, just two days before, with Anthony Schembri keeping his place, vice the Portuguese, Joao Vaz. Hibs again left out young Neil Cassar, for this final.
The game had a slow start, with points hard to come by. Mellieha managed to go seven points to the good, mostly from their Serbian, Nenad Stojanovski. The Paolites retaliated with a six-point run, as Luke Farrugia sank a triple, with Mellieha's Portuguese, Ricardo Costa, who was the player of the match, in their semi-final win, extending their lead a little bit further. In the second session, Mellieha could hold on to their advantage, as Emanuel Lupo and Stojanovski made their points. Hibs managed a 7-0 run, with Isaac Bonett points, and a trey, to pull nearer, but Mellieha ended the period with a 10-0 run of their own, with Stojanovski and another Serbian, Alex Parunicic hoops, and take better advantage, at the halfway stage of the match, with a 30-16 score.
After the break Mellieha were still in control, with the Paolites unable to make any headway. Mellieha's lead went up to a heavy 46-24 score, but Hibs, who looked seemingly out of the match, suddenly came into shape. Mellieha could only watch, as the Paolites proceeded to make up a solid 18-2 run, with Bonett grabbing a brace of treys, and others from Paul Attard and Kurt Sultana. Hibs were back in contention, as Farrugia made more late points, and Mellieha's advantage went down to a 50-45 score. The last session had Christian Briffa keeping Mellieha ahead, with his hoops, and Kieron Caruana pulling Hibs back every time. Attard's second triple had the Paolites just three points less, but in their haste to pull level on points, Hibs left their back door open, and Stojanovski popped up again, with three hoops from four. Hibs had another hill to climb, and Caruana made his trey, but there was not enough time left, and Mellieha made doubly sure of the result, making the game's last few points, and set their minds at rest.
After the match it was the MBA General Secretary, Joseph Muscat, to present the winning trophy to Mellieha's skipper, Robert Loporto, as the Northerners claimed this division's opening honour, from three.
Mellieha: A. Schembri, R. Loporto 7, F. Lisandro, C. Lastimosa, A. Perunicic 12, C. Briffa 4, N. Stojanovski 19, E. Lupo 10, K. Skrabec 6, C. Sultana, R. Costa 9, M. Costa
Hibs: A. Galea, L. Farrugia 9, I. Bonett 19, K. Caruana 8, P. Attard 8, M. Formosa 2, K. Sultana 7, R. Aquilina, M. Attard 2
Referees: B. Vassallo, K. Dworniczak, L. Camilleri