Pyrinto 33 Mellieha Libertas 99
(6-29, 2-30, 14-24, 11-16)
The new side, Pyrinto, with a Finnish taste, made their debut in the opening match of the second-tier league. They are a happy go lucky bunch, who seemed quite happy to notch their tally for the match, irrespective of the points mounting against them. Mellieha made a belated try for the century, falling just short of the sum, as the Pyrinto lads kept a long possession, in the final seconds. They started off conceding points at will but did not make any significant retaliation, until after the break, when their tally began hiking up, mainly from Mikka Mustanen, who seemed the best of the bunch. Mellieha, fresh from their Shield success, gave their bench players some useful workouts, and the side responded, with personal tallies, which just left one player unable to put his name on the scoresheet.
Mellieha opened briskly, making points at will, as Robert Loporto started off their run with his triple. Mikka Halmeteja made an early Pyrinto hoop, but then they had to wait till late in the period, before adding two more, whilst the Postuguese, Miguel Costa, and the Serbian, Alex Perunicic, put in treys for Mellieha, as they strode away from their opponents. The second session was harder for Pyrinto, who could only manage a single bucket, as Mellieha poured in their points. The Slovenian, Klemen Skrabec, also netted a trey, with the Serbian, Nenad Stojanovski, and Loporto leading the way to their opponents' basket. At the interval, Mellieha had gone 59-8 ahead.
After the break, Mellieha relaxed their tight defence, and the Pyrinto side could start to up their tally, especially Mustanen, who also managed a triple. For Mellieha there was another Portuguese, Joao Vaz, to nail a brace of triples, as their advantage continued to grow, but not at the pace of the opening two sessions. The last quarter began with Mellieha 83-22 in front. Pyrinto saw more of the ball, as Mellieha began to wind down, although Anthony Schembi and Loporto were still making their hoops. Daniel Bastos sank a Pyrinto trey, with Mellieha putting in a late bid, with a three hoop spread, but time ran out on them, with Pyrinto quite happy to play out the remaining seconds, and avoid an adverse century.
Pyrinto: L. Randala 2, M. Halmeteja 6, M. Mustanen 14, d. Bastos 5, M. Kujanpelto 4, K. Mattila 2, M. Bonucci , J. Ward
Mellieha: A. Schembri 20, R. Loporto 17, J. Vaz 9, C. Lastimosa 4, A. Perunicic 5, C. Briffa 4, N. Stojanovski 12, E. Lupo 4, K. Skrabec 14, C. Sultana 7, R. Costa, M. Costa 3
Referees: K. Dworniczak, M. Laferla