BUPA Luxol 91

Depiro Kyocera 72

(15-14) (18-16) (34-20) (24-22)

Luxol avenged their surprise first round defeat by Depiro, but they had to withstand heavy pressure till the halftime buzzer, as Depiro stayed close and even were in the lead.

The second part of the match went decisively in Luxol’s favour, and Depiro had to play second fiddle to superior opponents.

Luxol once more had Beppe Micallef Trigona missing while Depiro were without Peter Shoults. Depiro replied to Luxol’s thrusts, at the start of the match, with their treys, but Luxol managed a 7-0 run, to lead 13-8. Roderick Vella’s free throws saw Depiro back again and it was a close 15-14 score to Luxol after the first session.

In the second quarter Depiro didn’t take long to go in front, on a 23-21 score, but Luxol retaliated with a 7-0 run. Free shots on both sides were abundant, as both teams were guilty of repeated fouling. Depiro managed to tie the game with Roderick Vella’s free shots but Luxol, with less than a minute to go, obtained three points from direct play, to lead 32-30 at the interval.

After the break Luxol managed a good opening, setting Depiro back. On their part Depiro had Clayton Agius in good shooting form, and they went back at 40-44 down.

Luxol were in full swing, though, and an 11-2 run gave them the lead they needed to ease their minds a little. Despite Agius’s treys Luxol had Silvio Cassar and Steve Schembri to compensate and after three sessions they held a 67-50 advantage.

Luxol could play with more tranquillity in the last session, and could easily reply to Depiro’s frequent hoops. Robert Azzopardi found his shooting touch in treys and a high scoring game ensued. Luxol are now in sole third place.

Luxol: A Cremona 3, M Mercieca 12, R Azzopardi 16, M Micallef, R Dalli, M Bonnici, D Schembri 11, A Bianchi 1, E Caruana Montaldo 2, S Cassar 25, S Schembri 21.

Depiro: R Vella 31, C Agius 18, J Vella 5, M Ciantar 1, J Vassallo, E Lupo 7, M Mallia 2, D Agius 8.

Referees: Carlo Farrugia, Stephen Micallef.

Easy victory for Hamrun

Siggiewi Smina 38

Hamrun L. Go Mobile 92

(11-26) (4-20) (7-24) (16-22)

Hamrun couldn’t have hoped for a better result and a calmer frame of mind, as Siggiewi had to withstand heavy pressure throughout nearly the whole game.

Siggiewi included Bernardo Riolo and young Paul Falzon in their line-up, and Liberty had Alan Borg starting a four-game suspension.

Hamrun made their intentions clear straight from the start, and ably led by Omar Said, went 9-4 ahead.

Siggiewi tried hard but Hamrun were combining well, and a 9-2 run was followed by fast breaks, concluded perfectly by Steve Pace. After the first session it was a 26-11 score.

In the second session Liberty started to put in their bench players, but their game didn’t vary much. Siggiewi were faced by much faster opponents and were hit by a good 14-1 break.

At the end of the session, Hamrun were still in complete command at 45-15.

After the break Siggiewi were still on the receiving end. After conceding an early basket Liberty made up a 9-0 run and then it was fast play from both sides with glaring errors.

Albert Spiteri came into the picture for Hamrun, with help from his teammates. Siggiewi replied as best they could, and after three sessions the score had escalated to 70-22.

The last quarter had both teams playing with less enthusiasm at first, but Hamrun went on a 12-0 run, getting their treys with their subs, as Siggiewi also put in their bench players. Points became plentiful again as both defences became more lax, and Hamrun had another high score win.

Siggiewi: D Bugeja, B Riolo, P Falzon, J Doughty 8, H Agius 4, R Mifsud, P Ferrante 1, A Farrugia 1, C Grixti 4, J Gatt 20.

Hamrun: S Pace 19, K Borg, D Camilleri 12, A Spiteri 13, N Falzon, A Portelli 2, O Said 17, J Jetson 10, I Terribile 9, S Gouder 10.

Referees: Bernard Vassallo, Stephen Micallef.

Standings

Pembroke Athleta 12; Hamrun L Go Mobile 11; Luxol Bupa 9; Footwork 8; Depiro Kyocera 8; Siggiewi Smina 6.