Hibs Medsea 80
Sliema Wanderers 17
(21-3)(13-6)(28-2)(18-6)
The champions had a good tryout, in their first league match, before their Shield final against Depiro, next Sunday. They found an inferior opposition than thAt expected, as Sliema played without inspiration, and they were chasing shadows for practically the whole match. Hibs were intent in their play for most of the time, only relaxing for a short period in the last quarter.
Lonika Calleja finally went on court for Sliema this season, but Francesca Farrugia still has weeks to go to become fit, and Leanne Sciberras was also missing, with a recurring injury, which deprived Sliema of one of their best players.
The champions began in a no-nonsense fashion, as Kirsten Micallef led her team to a 10-1 opening run. It was Samantha Tabone who made the points for Sliema, before the Paolites took over again, and a long
11-0 run ended the session, with Maria Desira and Nadia Mifsud the main scorers.
In the second quarter Hibs changed their court players. Sliema took the opportunity, to put in a small 6-2 run, but then the champions settled down, and all the players put their name on the score sheet.
There were also treys by the two Francescas, Tabone and Bianco, for a convincing 34-9 score at the interval.
Sliema were a demoralised lot after the break. They were dominated by an efficient outfit, who played confidently, as they picked holes in the opposing defence. Led by Doreen Parnis and Alexis Darmanin, Hibs ended the session with a strong 21-0 break, and treys by Parnis and Kirsten Micallef. Sliema could only account for a Lonike Calleja hoop, and after three sessions it was a 62-11 lead for the Paolites.
With such a large lead, interest waned for a bit, and the champions started to get careless in their play. Sliema held their own at first, but when the Paolites found their rhythm again, a second Tabone trey and Marylou Cutajar hoops, in a 9-0 run, increased Hibs’ lead. At the end it was Maria Desira who obtained the last Paolites’ points.
Hibs: 15 Maria Desira, 10 Doreen Parnis, 10 Alexis Darmanin
Referees: Gordon Barbara, Alfred Carbonaro
* * *
SN Suns JC 18
Luxol 69
(8-17)(2-16)(0-20)(8-16)
Luxol garnered their second league win, an expected one, against the modest Suns outfit. The Violets could afford to play all their players, and still dominate throughout.
Suns had a promising beginning, in the opening session, but they faltered, and it was only in the final quarter that they could exploit some open play, to acquire more points.
Luxol had Justine Mangion back in the side, after missing their defeat by Hibs, and player-coach Ruth Spiteri played for the first time this season. Francesca Psaila Savona did not play.
The Violets had an easy start, going ahead 9-0, before Suns could reply, and the latter relied on Diane Falzon, who potted all her side’s points, including a couple of treys. Luxol managed to end the session on an 8-3 run, with Julienne Attard their main scorer.
In the second quarter the Violets changed their whole court players, but still dominated their opponents, who were only able to answer once throughout the period, with Svetlana Micallef.
It was young Nicola Said and Diane Muscat who were the chief markswomen in this period, with a 33-10 halftime score.
After the break Luxol kept up their rhythm, and their average score in the first three sessions didn’t falter. Suns fared worse, as they failed to find their opponents’ basket.
For Luxol it was Ruth Spiteri who put in three hoops in a row, late in the session, and three other players made a couple of hoops each.
The final quarter was more open than the previous ones. It wa SUns who began with a Petra Zammit basket, but then Luxol took over once again, with Lara Chetcuti and Diane Muscat the forefront scorers. There were more points for Suns, again by Diane Falzon, as the game trickled out to an end.
Suns: 12 Diane Falzon
Luxol: 13 Diane Muscat, 10 Ruth Spiteri
Referees: Gordon Barbara, Stephen Micallef
* * *
Kerygma 32
Depiro 53
(7-16)(6-14)(12-11)(7-12)
Depiro didn’t have it all their own way, as in the case against Suns, but it was still a comfortable victory, their second in the league. The first part of the match was detrimental to Kerygma, as they fell behind, and could never make up the leeway.
It was their first league defeat, after their single point win over Sliema.
Kerygma had Gozitan Carla Vella missing, but her compatriot, after a quiet first session, was the one who managed to pierce the Depiro defence to obtain Kerygma’s points.
They had first to suffer Depiro’s insistence, and a 0-11 deficit, from four different players. Then Kerygma settled down, making six points in a row, before Depiro could get in their stride again, to open up their lead, till the end of the quarter.
In the second session Kerygma managed to share the play with their more quoted adversaries, and Nadia Cassar concluded two fast breaks. At the other end it was Rachel Camilleri’s speed which spearheaded Depiro’s attacks, as they had a good ending to the session, with a 10-2 run, to end up 30-13 in front at the interval.
After the break it was a balanced match in more ways than one. Kerygma replied to every Depiro hoop, and it was Cynthia Saliba who was the main threat, getting nearly all of Kerygma’s points. This prevented Depiro from adding on to their lead, and after three sessions it was a 41-25 score.
In the final quarter the scoring started to die down. It promised better, at first, as Sarah Pace sank a trey for Depiro. Saliba kept up her scoring sequence for Kerygma, and there were free shots for Joselle Cardona, before she was fouled out. At the end the score didn’t change much except for a last second trey by Rachel Camilleri for Depiro.
Kerygma: 18 Cynthia Saliba
Depiro: 14 Rachel Camilleri, 12 Joselle Cardona, 12 Greta Zarb
Referees: Emanuel Mangani, Jean Paul Sammut