Bupa collected their second seasonal honour, again defeating Compleet, for their sixth success in this competition, in eleven finals.

They took an early lead, which they kept till the second quarter, when they went behind, minimally, on three occasions. in the last two sessions they regained their advantage, and kept in front till the end of the encounter, to make sure of the silverware, and make it two wins out of three against Compleet this season.

Compleet recovered Etienne Bezzina, back after the birth of his son, Jake.

Bupa began with a 5-0 burst, only for Compleet to pull two hoops back. Dirk Schembri was in good form under the boards, as Bupa went 9-4 in front. Michael Naudi and Silvio Cassar were Compleet’s scorers, but Matijevic made free shots for Bupa, who ended the session with a Robert Azzopardi trey, extending their lead.

In the second quarter Compleet went to within a basket, at 13-15, but Bupa had a good reply, with treys by Steve Schembri and Matijevic, in an 8-2 run. Bupa kept their lead for some time, but Compleet compiled an 8-0 run, as Bezzina sank two hoops, to go in front. Bupa recovered, with a 7-2 run of their own, and an Alan Borg trey, to overturn the score.

The session didn’t end there, as Naudi’s points, including a glorious last second trey, from the opposite side of the court, gave Compleet a 35-34 halftime lead, but also having lost Silvio Cassar on fouls.

After the break Bupa caught Compleet cold, with Azzopardi sinking two treys, in an 8-0 run. Compleet tried to recover, even though Naudi was given special attention by Bupa. The latter stitched together a 7-0 run, with some fine collective play. It was left to Naudi to obtain his side’s points, but at the other end there was Dirk Schembri to keep Bupa’s lead, with his team mates extending it to a 61-46 advantage, after three sessions.

The final quarter saw Compleet begin the long way back, with their free shots, only for Azzopardi to sink two more treys, and restore Bupa’s handsome lead. at 70-52.

As if that was not enough, Azzopardi made his sixth trey, and Michael Naudi was ejected for dissent. Bupa went further ahead, and although Compleet came back at the end, with treys by Bezzina and Baldacchino, in a 10-2 run, it was a lost cause, and in the final moments Azzopardi crowned a superb performance, with yet another trey, to set the seal on another honour winning match.

After the game MBA’s vice president, Joe Depasquale Schranz, presented the Super Cup to Robert Azzopardi, as Bupa celebrated their second honour, after a lapse of just ten days.

Compleet: 31 M. Maudi, J. Zammit, C. Calleja, 6 E. Bezzina, J. Galea, 1 T. Riolo, 13 O. Said, 6 A. Micallef, I. Buldakov, 6 K. Baldacchino, 7 S. Cassar, R. Mifsud

Bupa: 2 M. Mercieca, 25 R. Azzopardi, M. Micallef, 5 A. Borg, A. Bianchi, M. Bonnici, T. Paris, 21 D. Schembri, E. Caruana Montaldo, 18 M. Matijevic, 14 S. Schembri

Referees: Emanuel Mangani, Jean Paul Sammut, Alfred Carbonaro