Luxol started the second round with a convincing win over Qormi, registering a double over them. Qormi were denied a second consecutive victory in a row as Luxol momentarily surpassed the two league leaders,with an extra match played. Luxol were in a class of their own for most of the game.

Qormi had their tall players, Antoine Grech and Jason Dalli, both missing for this match. Alex Bianchi made a return to the Luxol ranks, after a long absence from the game, going back to two seasons ago.

Qormi were on the receiving end from the start, as the Violets ran up a 9-0 break, before Keith Scicluna could open Qormi’s account. Luxol kept up the pressure, and Steve Schembri and Robert Azzopardi, the latter with a trey, carved open the Qormi defence, with help also coming from Jide Jetson.

It was still Scicluna for Qormi, as they fell way behind from the first quarter.

Qormi had a bright spell at the start of the second session, with a 9-1 run.

Luxol were stung into action, and a better 12-1 run at the other end restored the Violets’ large lead.

Qormi couldn’t muster a decent reply, and Luxol went on another, good, 12-2 break, this time with treys by Steve Schembri and Alan Borg. At the interval Luxol were already home and dry, on a 60-21 advantage.

After the break Marco Mercieca was snapping up all the assists from his team, but Qormi were able to offer up a good reply, as Adrian Baldacchino’s points and Simon Cauchi’s trey, helped them to share the play.

The parity in this part of the match continued till the end of the quarter, as carlos Bugeja also sank a trey for Qormi. After three sessions, and a high-scoring quarter, it was 80-45 for Luxol.

In the final session, and with the game out of their reach, Qormi gave their youngsters a try out. Luxol didn’t press so hard, and they failed most of their shots. Steve Schembri sank his third trey, and Bianchi made his first seasonal hoop. The Violets then made a late bid for a second consecutive century, but left it just too late. At the very end Reuben Baldacchino put in a long trey to close down the match.

QORMI: 6 W. Grixti, 18 K. Scicluna, J. Anastasi, 2 A. Camilleri, J. Micallef, 8 R. Formosa, 5 R. Baldacchino, 3 C. Bugeja, 5 S. Cauchi, 8 A. Baldacchino

LUXOL: 4 C. Sammut, 18 M. Mercieca, 7 R. Azzopardi, M. Micallef, 7 A. Borg, 4 A. Bianchi, C. Pulis, R. Dalli, 22 D. Schembri, E. Caruana Montaldo, 10 J. Jetson, 26 S. Schembri

REFEREES: Gordon Barbara, Stephen Micallef, Alfred Carbonaro