Bupa went into their third seasonal final, beating Mellieha for the third time, in a high scoring match. bupa were given a tough time by a resilient Mellieha outfit, who fought for every ball, and also enjoyed leads over their more quoted adversaries, as late as the third session. Bupa’s cless came through in the end, as Matijevic turned on the style, but Mellieha gave notice that they have come of age in the top division.

Bupa’s Robert Azzopardi and Alan Borg still had a second suspended match to go, but they recovered Steve Schembri. Reuben dalli was roped in once more, after his positive display against Siggiewi. Mellieha had Trevor Degiorgio, Joshua Aquilina and Robert Loporto all missing.

The start of the game was in Bupa’s favour, as they went into a 7-2 lead. They kept on, with a Matijevic trey, as Mellieha kept chasing, and cutting down on their deficit. Then Chris Sammut and Julian Naudi came up with a couple of treys, to put Mellieha in front. Bupa reacted till the end of the session, to go back in front, on a slim lead.

In the second quarter Mellieha were back again, and an Eman Xuereb trey gave them a 26-24 advantage. Bupa’s reaction was immediate, and a good 10-2 run gave them a useful lead. This was erased by Mellieha, as they put in treys by Eman Xuereb, his second, and two by Steve Sammut. Mellieha held on to their lead till the interval, as they went in with a surprising 39-38 score.

After the break Mellieha held on, despite Matijevic’s trey, which levelled the score. Jide Jetson’s hoop gave Mellieha a 48-45 lead, but Bupa rallied strobgly, and a 10-2 run put them ahead, so that after three sessions they were on a 58-54 advantage.

In the final quarter Mellieha stuck close, but later they couldn’t prevent Bupa from edging away. Matijevic had it easier after his direct opponent, Jetson, was fouled out. He was given a helping hand by Dirk Schembri, as Mellieha had to bow against Bupa’s pressure, though they managed more treys by Michael Pisani and a second by Chris Sammut. Bupa had enough of a lead to control the rest of the match, and join the surprising Depiro into the final.

Bupa: 4 R. Dalli, 6 M. Mercieca, S. Mizzi, 2 A. Bianchi, M. Bonnici, T. Paris, 21 D. Schembri, E. Caruana Montaldo, 36 M. Matijevic, 16 S. Schembri

Mellieha: 29 C. Sammut, 9. Naudi, 15 S. sammut, S. Aquilina, 6 E. Xuereb, J. Muscat, B. Aquilina, M. cauchi, 10 J. Jetson, 5 M. Pisani

Referees: Emanuel Mangani, Stephen Micallef, Alfred Carbonaro