Kerygma avenged their first round defeat, which put paid to their hopes of a championship pool place, and made it three wins out of four against Sliema.

They also pulled clear of the Wanderers in the standings.

It was a close enough match, with Sliema coming back from their first session deficit, and the game was decided in the last two seconds, as both sides made turnovers in the last moments.

Kerygma were under the guidance of Geoffrey Scorey, in lieu of Daniel Bugeja.

Sliema had the better opening, with a 6-2 lead, with Ariana Grixti points. Kerygma had Josette Calleja’s treys, and points, in a strong 14-2 ending of the quarter, to post a good advantage.

The start of the second session saw Sliema come back well, after conceding an opening hoop. They made a 9-0 run, to go to within a point of Kerygma, but the latter rallied well, and a 10-4 run of their own, ending with a third Calleja trey, saw them hold a 30-26 half time lead, despite Sliema’s good ending to the session.

After the break it was still a balanced affair. Kerygma’s lead went down at first, but an 8-1 run, with treys by Lara Cauchi and Elaine Cutajar, opened up their advantage again. Sliema’s reply was enough to close down the gap to a mere point, before Calleja’s free throws put Kerygma in a 45-42 lead, with a session to go.

In the final quarter Sliema stormed into the lead, as Grixti was still their main scorer. Renette Debono’s personal points gave the lead back to Kerygma, and in the last seconds Sliema stole, then gave the ball back to Kerygma, and Elaine Cutajar’s close range hoop gave her side the points, with Sliema bitterly disappointed at finishing on the losing side.

KERYGMA: 26 Josette Calleja, 15 Renette Debono, 9 Elaine Cutajar

SLIEMA: 18 Ariana Grixti, 9 Leanne Sciberras

REFEREES: Alfred Carbonaro, Jennifer Mangani

Luxol 67

SN Suns JC 29

(15-8)(24-8)(17-7)(11-6)

Luxol consolidated their top position in this category, with a handsome win, their fourth this season, against the modest Suns side.

It was plain sailing for the Violets, after the second quarter. Suns were consistent in their low scoring throughout the match, but Luxol’s points varied.

Luxol will surely feel that their place should have been in the championship pool, but their enigmatic displays in the previous round put them in a lower category.

At the start Suns could reply to every Luxol hoop, but the Violets had the better ending to the session, with a 9-2 run, which saw young Nicola Said grabbing a trey, for a first session Luxol advantage.

In the second quarter things changed for the better, for Luxol. At first Suns traded points, but a 10-0 run, with Julienne Attard very active, put Luxol in a good 29-12 lead.

Suns recovered slightly to cut down their deficit, but Luxol ended the session on an 8-0 run, and at the interval they were 39-16 ahead.

After the break Luxol were still intent on increasing their advanatge. An 11-2 opening run, as Justine Mangion made her mark, found Suns falling further behind. Suns did rally for a while, but Luxol made three hoops in a row, at the end of the quarter, to go 56-23 in front, after three sessions.

In the final quarter the tempo of the game slowed down. It was Suns with the better start, but Luxol recovered, to end the match on a 9-2 run, as Psaila Savona made a trey, with four Luxol players on double figure scoring.

LUXOL: 13 Francesca Psaila Savona, 11 Amanda Sciortino, 10 Emma Moore, 10 Justine Mangion

SUNS: 8 Nicolette Buhagiar

REFEREES: Emanuel Mangani, Clive Terribile

Standings: 20 Luxol, 19 Kerygma, 15 Sliema Wanderers, 12 SN Suns JC