WILLIE VASSALLO
The men’s final will go to the third deciding match, as Compleet recovered admirably from their overtime defeat, four days ago, to keep their hopes alive for a major honour this season, seeing that Bupa have already acquired all the other four previous honours. Bupa seemed good enough at first, to obtain their second straight win, and they made two returns in the last two quarters, but in the end Compleet proved to be well organised, and ran out worthy winners, leaving the league title up for grabs, to the team with the best performance on the day.
As in the first game, Alan Borg opened with a trey for Bupa, who then went on to a 10-5 lead, as as Omar Said netted a trey for Compleet, and Robert Azzopardi did likewise for Bupa. Compleet rallied to a point difference, but then they were hit by a good Bupa spell, as the Violets registered a 12-2 run, starting with a Steve Schembri trey. Said put in a hoop for Compleet at the end of the session.
Compleet began the second quarter on a high note, nearly wiping out their whole deficit, with a 7-0 run. Bupa stopped them, and held on for some time, as both sides lost favourable occasions. In the latter stages of the quarter Compleet profited from free throws, to grab the lead, and forge in front, with a 9-0 run, which carried them on to the end of the session. At the interval they led 36-30.
After the break Bupa didn’t make any inroads at first, as Compleet held on to their advantage, when they replied to Bupa’s hoops. The next minutes saw Bupa force their play, and a strong 13-3 run, first brought them to a point down, then get hit by a Michael Naudi trey, and produce two treys thenselves, a second from both Steve Schembri and Azzopardi. They didn’t enjoy their lead long, as Compleet came up with some sound play, and an Adrian Micallef trey, to lead 58-51, after three sessions.
IN the final quarter Bupa forced their way back, to wipe up their deficit quickly. Compleet kept calm, and once more opened their lead. This time Bupa had no adequate reply, and Compleet could indulge in some possession play, which left Bupa in dead ends. Their shooting was hurried and erratic, and Compleet’s defensive rebounds did the rest. Time went by for Bupa, and they failed to get near enough to make a go for the result. Everything now hinges on the third, and final, match.
Compleet: 28 M. Naudi, I. Buldakov, 5 M. Zammit, 3 E. Bezzina, J. Galea, 2 T. Riolo, 14 O. Said, 13 A. Micallef, 2 K. Baldacchino, 8 S. Cassar, R. Mifsud
Bupa: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca, 8 R. Azzopardi, M. Micallef, 14 A. Borg, a. Bianchi, M. Bonnici, T. paris, 16 D. Schembri, E. Caruana Montaldo, 18 M. Matijevic, 9 S. Schembri
Referees: Gordon Barbara, Emanuel Mangani, Jean Paul Sammut