Athleta make sure of topping Group by beating neighbours Luxol
Bupa Luxol 49
A to Z Elec. Athleta 82
(10-18)(16-22)(9-19)(14-23)
Athleta made sure of topping the group with a wholesome win over their neighbours as they won all of the four sessions of play.
Luxol were hit hard from the start and although there were times until midway through the second period when Bupa looked as if they could make a game of it they fell further behind till the interval and were smothered after the break. The final quarter only served for both sides to pile up more points for a better scoreline.
Sean Mizzi took Mark Micallefs place for Luxol who also had Antoine Costa missing. Athleta had only one absentee Etienne Bezzina.
Marco Mercieca netted the opening hoop for Bupa but Athleta then took over and reeled in a steady 15-0 run from all of their five players on court. Luxol recovered well to put in an 8-0 run with a Robert Azzopardi triple.
Till the end of the session free shots from one of the ex-Luxol brothers Steve, had Athleta on a useful advantage.
At the start of the second period Athleta pulled away some more but Bupa had a decent reply with a 9-5 run as Nikola Vasovic also netted a trey with Michael Naudi doing likewise at the other end. Then it was Athleta’s turn once more putting in a 10-0 run from Kirsten Baldacchino and Dirk Schembri. Luxol stopped their opponents late in the session when Jean Paul Bonnici netted a trey but at the halfway stage Athleta had already put together a good 40-26 advantage.
After the break Luxol tried to recover as they began with a 7-2 opening run and a second Azzopardi triple. That was as far as it went for them in this quarter save for another mere hoop to close the session.
By that time Athleta had amassed a hefty 17-0 run with Steve Schembri in the thick of the action. Bupa were left behind as Athleta started the final period with a handsome 59-35 advantage.
The first part of the session was shared but as time wore on Athleta started to get the upper hand once more and Luxol were hit again this time with another solid 21-4 when their triples came from Naudi Said and Steve Schembri. Bonnici also nailed his second triple for Luxol and the latter closed down the match with their free throws to improve on their final score.
Luxol: E. Bonello, 10 M. Mercieca, 14 R. Azzopardi, A. Micallef Trigona, S. Mizzi, 8 N. Vasovic, 2 T. Paris, 3 A. Cremona, E. Caruana Montaldo, 12 JP Bonnici
Athleta: 20 M. Naudi, 2 J. Zammit, C. Galea, M. Giusti, 14 D. Schembri, 5 O. Said, 4 C. Calleja, 11 A. Bonnici, 10 K. Baldacchino, 16 S. Schembri
Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, S. Micallef .