Mellieha had to pull out all the stops to emerge victorious over a well-prepared Floriana side, and the final score does not do justice to the Greens, who came back twice after the break, from double-figure deficits, only for mistakes in offence to ruin their chances of a first win this season.

Mellieha had to claw their way back at first, but then handsome leads were nearly lost as complacency set in, and it was only at the end that they could make sure of the result.

Mellieha, who change their shirt numbers on a regular basis, had brothers Samuel and Ben Aquilina missing. Floriana were allowed to play Milan Pajic again, after an Executive Council decision ruled in his favour.

Mellieha began with a 5-0 lead, but then Floriana sprung to life. A powerful 17-0 run, with treys by Karl Borg and Gareth Gilson, surprised Mellieha no end.

The Greens held their own, at 20-11, but Mellieha came back strongly, and a Steve Sammut trey, in a session-ending 9-0 run, tied the score.

Mellieha had settled down, and an 8-2 run at the start of the second quarter, put them in front. Karl Borg made his second trey for Floriana, but Mellieha started to pull away. Robert Loporto came off the bench, to enhance Mellieha’s lead further, with personal points and a trey. At the interval Floriana had fallen 31-41 behind.

After the break Mellieha were putting more space between the two teams at first, but then the Greens hit another bright patch, and a fast 10-0 run, with treys by Gilson and Borg once more, saw Mellieha’s lead whittled down to a 46-43 score.

Mellieha recovered sufficiently, to put in a good 10-2 run. Gilson sank his third trey for Floriana, and after three sessions Mellieha held a 56-48 advantage.

Jide Jetson’s hoops at the start of the final quarter gave Mellieha a double figure lead again, but Floriana were fighting back, and a 10-2 run made it a one-hoop game, at 60-62.

Steve Sammut’s third trey for Mellieha found a reply from Saakian, but Chris Sammut’s other trey opened up Mellieha’s lead once more, as the clock wound down. Mellieha played out time, and a stolen ball killed off Floriana’s hopes, as Mellieha breathed a sigh of relief.

Mellieha: 9 J. Naudi, J. Muscat, 2 M. Pisani, E. Xuereb, 14 J. Jetson, M. Cauchi, J. Aquilina, 15 C. Sammut, 6 T. Degiorgio, 21 S. Sammut, 8 R. Loporto.

Floriana: M. Pajic, N. Falzon, 2 J. Tanti, 2 B. Riolo, R. Micallef Trigona, 19 G. Gilson, 13 S. Saakian, 12 A. Sultana, 17 K. Borg

Referees: Jean Paul Sammut, Emanuel Mangani, Alfred Carbonaro

The final score was a close result, and the match was exciting, maybe too exciting in fact.

Both teams ended the game in a decimated state, with multiple expulsions at both ends, after an incident which could have easily been avoided.

BUPA preserved their unbeaten league status, and marked their third straight victory over Siggiewi this season. The latter had ample opportunities to save the match, as BUPA seemed more vulnerable after the sendings off.

Siggiewi are still awaiting the return of David Camilleri from his injury.

Peter Shoults opened the proceedings for Siggiewi, with personal points and a trey, but BUPA didn’t take long to reply, through an Alan Borg trey.

BUPA kept chasing until Borg put them in front, and then it was Siggiewi to tie the score twice, before Dirk Schembri put BUPA ahead once more, before the end of the quarter.

In the second session Siggiewi tied the score twice more, before taking the lead, with a second Shoults trey.

It was the turn of BUPA’s Matijevic to overturn the score, also sinking a trey, at 23-21. Siggiewi retaliated, with a 7-3 run, suffering a Robert Azzopardi trey, but their lead was shortlived, as Bupa made a 7-0 run, with the session ending with a rare Marco Mercieca trey in the last second. Halftime score at 33-28 for BUPA.

After the break Siggiewi came back to a hoop difference, but everything changed as a technical foul against the Siggiewi coach resulted in a 10-0 personal run, with two treys by Azzopardi, for a 43-33 score.

Then there was mayhem, as BUPA’s Marco Mercieca ended on the court floor. A few seconds of pushing, shoving and the involvement of a good number of players from both sides, brought the game to a standstill.

When order reigned the officials ejected three players from both sides, on charges of disorder and invasion of the court from the bench.

Play restarted with both teams on a low note, but Siggiewi were the first to react, and a 9-2 run made it a very close game. After three sessions Bupa were leading 47-44.

In the final quarter BUPA extended their advantage, only for Siggiewi to come back to within a point, aided by a Billy Zammit trey.

Matijevic’s points gave BUPA some elbow room, but a second Billy Zammit trey opened up the possibilities again for Siggiewi, as they were breathing down BUPA’s neck one more time. Dirk Schembri free shot closed down the game score, but there were occasions at bothe ends for further points, only for the score to remain intact. It now remains to be seen how these expulsions will affect the two teams’’ performances in the coming matches.

Siggiewi: 2 Albert Spiteri, 11 Louis Camilleri, J. Doughty, 13 A. Portelli, I. Mercieca, 10 P. Shoults, 6 JP Bonnici, 12 A. Bonnici, JP Antoncic, 7 B. Zammit

BUPA Luxol: 3 M. Mercieca, 11 R. Azzopardi, A. Cremona, 5 A. Borg, 3 A. Bianchi, M. Bonnici, T. Paris, 14 D. Schembri, E. Caruana Montaldo, 23 M. Matijevic, 4 S. Schembri

Referees: Bernard Vassallo, Stephen Micallef, Alfred Carbonaro

Standings

16 BUPA Luxol (8-0); 14 Compleet IS SW (6-2); 12 Siggiewi Smina 4-4); 11 Mellieha SVS Reflections (3-5); 11 Depiro (3-5); 8 Floriana (0-8).