Pembroke Ath. 47

Hamrun L. Go Mobile 72

(11-13)(10-23)(8-19)(18-17)

A creditable performance by Hamrun completely upset Pembroke’s position at the top of the standings, having been overhauled by their opponents. Pembroke were never in the game and trailed badly at the end of the game.

Alan Borg returned for Hamrun after his four-match suspension. The Reds came out blocking every Pembroke attempt at basket, and Omar Said was getting the necessary points to put them ahead. They went on a 12-2 run before Pembroke could make a reaction, to reduce their deficit. They did that, and by the end of the quarter, it was 13-11 for Hamrun.

In the second session Pembroke seemed to get the hang of it, but then Hamrun produced another good patch. A 10-0 run pushed them clear of Pembroke, who couldn’t find any answer, and Liberty kept capitalising on their fast breaks, leaving Pembroke reeling.

JP Azzopardi salvaged something at the very end with his trey, although Hamrun had a 36-21 lead at the interval.

After the break Pembroke still couldn’t find their form, as Liberty were thwarting them at every opportunity. The champions were falling behind, as their attempts were to no avail.

They had also lost Matthew Zammit injured earlier. A 9-0 run by Hamrun till the end of the session punctuated their superiority, as they led 55-29 with a session to go.

Pembroke went out pressing from the start of the last session, and their treys produced a telling effect on Liberty’s performance, as the latter’s players were shaken and lost possession. Eventually they got over their discomfort and long possessions helped the time pass. They then put the finishing touches with Karl Borg’s treys, as Hamrun’s subs went on court for the last minutes.

Pembroke: M Naudi 11, J Naudi 2, M Zammit 9, E Bezzina 8, J Galea, M Pisani 1, JP Azzopardi 6, D Cuschieri 3, M Pisani 3, J Ransley 4, D Ross.

Hamrun: S Pace 9, K Borg 10, D Camilleri, A Spiteri 12, A Borg, A |Portelli 9, O Said 18, J Jetson 9, I Terribile, A Sultana 2, S Gouder 3.

Referees: Bernard Vassallo, Stephen Micallef

Depiro Kyocera 57

Footwork 72

(12-24)(13-15)(9-17)(23-16)

Footwork kept in the hunt for a play off place, reaching Luxol on four wins and leaving Depiro a game behind. Their splendid ending to the first session helped in no small way, as they held off Depiro’s attempts for the rest of the game.

Footwork were still without Anthony Huizer for this match. It was Depiro who had the better opening, with an 8-2 score, but Footwork didn’t take long to overturn the result with a string of free shots.

Depiro came back to lead by three, but that was as far as they got. Footwork closed down shop and then, with Chris Sammut running everywhere they hit Depiro with a long 15-0 run, as they started off with a Sammut trey, and then methodically put in their hoops and free throws, to lead 24-12 after the first session.

The second session saw Footwork still controlling their opponents and also managing to increase their lead. Depiro’s reaction wasn’t all that strong, as Footwork’s treys put a dent in their adversaries’ plans to get near. At the interval it was a 39-25 game.

After the break Depiro’s expected reaction didn’t materialise, and further treys by Footwork added to Depiro’s woes. But then Footwork also seemed to dry up and a string of free throws gave Depiro some hope, but that quickly died down, as Footwork finished the session with a flourish, and a last second Chris Sammut trey atoned for his falling out: score at 56-34.

In the last quarter Depiro put in their last bid. They started chasing every ball and getting their points. They found a stumbling block in Eman Xuereb, who was ghosting in behind the defence, and getting the necessary points, to keep his side enough ahead.

The time ran out on Depiro as Michael Barberi sank in a killing trey to settle the issue. Though there were three minutes left the Depiro side had a mountain to climb, which they failed to do. Just before the end Peter Shoults was sent off after his fifth foul.

Footwork: L Camilleri 8, S Sammut 8, I Mercieca 2, C Sammut 27, M Barberi 3, JP Bonnici, A Bonnici 8, E Xuereb 16.

Depiro: R Vella 14, M Sammut, M Shoults, P Shoults 19, C Agius 8, J Vella, M Ciantar 4, J Vassallo, E Lupo 4, A Shoults, M Mallia, D Agius 8.

Referees: Carlo Farrugia, Jean Paul Sammut.

Standings

8-1 Hamrun L Go Mobile 17pts; 8-1 Pembroke Athleta 17pts; 4-5 BUPA Luxol 13pts; 4-5 Footwork 13pts; 3-6 Depiro Kyocera 12pts; 0-9 Siggiewi Smina 9pts.