Depiro Mtarfa 59

Siggiewi Derby 76

(17-16)(12-14)(7-27)(23-19)

Depiro’s expected pressure to qualify for the Championship Pool fizzled out after the break when their defence broke down and the champions opened up a very comfortable advantage to see them through the rest of the encounter.

There were still quite a good number of points to be obtained by both sides but Siggiewi’s lead was never threatened.

Depiro had Isaac Tanti still injured from their last game. Siggiewi had Marco Matijevic unavailable but recovered Lee Ross.

The two sides stayed close to each other in the opening period. Siggiewi had Adrian Micallef with an early triple but Depiro went into a lead.

Siggiewi tied the score again through Micallef but Depiro’s Roderick Vella netted a triple before the champions put in made up a 7-2 run with an Alan Borg trey. David Bugeja restored Depiro’s advantage and then the lead changed hands twice with minimal leads.

Depiro lost their advantage momentarily in the second session but then made up a 9-2 run with Vella and Andrew Aquilina hoops. to open up a lead. It was then Siggiewi’s turn with an 8-2 run allfrom Peter shoults to tie the score.

At the interval it was the champions with a slim 30-29 advantage.

After the break Depiro’s opposition took a nosedive. Siggiewi had no difficulty in establishing a strong lead. They began with a 13-2 run when Ross also sank a triple.

A Bugeja trey stopped them but the champions went on till the end of the quarter putting in another solid 14-2 run with triples by Micallef and Ross again when the score was at 57-36.

The final session was somewhat of a formality but the points were still plentiful for both sides. JP Schembri managed a couple of treys for Depiro with a third triple from Ross in between. Siggiewi kept a safe distance from their adversaries even when Depiro made a late burst for a better scoreline.

Depiro: 12 R. Vella, 6 JP Schembri, 11 D. Bugeja, 14 A. Aquilina, J. gatt, J. Camilleri, 5 E. Lupo,

11 M. Mallia, G. Mercieca

Siggiewi: 8 P. Shoults, J. Doughty, 7 E. Xuereb, 6 A. Borg, 28 A. Micallef, 13 L. Ross, K. Borg, 12 J. Jetson

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile

Bupa Luxol 61

Tata Motors Loyola 51

(20-15)(20-12)(2-15)(19-9)

Less than two hours after winning their delayed second overtime against Loyola Luxol beat the same opponents in their last match of the second round to leave Depiro with the uphill task of beating league leaders Athleta in their final encounter and oust Luxol from their third position.

Bupa seemed safe at the interval but Loyola upset their adversaries to draw level only to fade away in the game’s last stages as Luxol procured the last points of the match.

The opening belonged to Luxol with an 8-0 run and triples from Petar Apcev and JP Bonnici.

Jovan Mihailovic sank a triple for Loyola but Luxol increased their lead and Apcev and Nikola Vasovic put in more treys for the Violets although David Camilleri also netted a triple for Loyola who reduced the deficit till the end of the session.

Luxol made a further 12-2 run in the second period with another Vasovic triple before Loyola replied with an 8-2 run mainly from Mihailovic. Luxol extended their advantage and at the interval were holding a 40-27 advantage.

After the break the page turned and the Violets could only make up a Marco Mercieca hoop when Loyola then poured in a heavy 13-0 run with a series of Shawn Pace points including a triple.

Loyola erased all of their deficit and drew level by the end of the session at 42-42 to open up the match once more. Loyola even went in front but Luxol came up with a 7-0 run before being stopped with a Billy Zammit triple.

Luxol’s next two hoops also saw a reply from Loyola but the game’s last stages had the Violets obtaining an 8-0 run denying Loyola any more points in the match and run out winners.

This meant a two point advantage over Depiro leaving the onus on the latter side.

Luxol: C. Cordina, 8 M. Mercieca, R. Azzopardi, A. Micallef Trigona, 16 P. Apcev, A. Costa, 16 N. Vasovic, 1 T. Paris, 4 A. Cremona, E. Caruana Montaldo, 16 JP Bonnici, S. Capello

Loyola: 9 S. Pace, 5 B. Zammit, 4 D. Camilleri, S. Borg, L. Azzopardi, F. Nicastro, 4 S. Vella, 2 A. Axiaq, 22 J. Mihailovic, 1 J. Anastasi, J. Ransley, 4 A. Tabone

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile

Tata Motors Loyola 76

Bupa Luxol 84

(17-17)(14-14)(13-21)(22-14)

– (7-7)(3-10)

The second overtime was played exactly 32 days after the game had taken place and then ordered to continue with the score at 73-73 after a 66-66 score at normal time.

The result meant that Luxol remained in contention for a Championship Pool place.

This extension went Luxol’s way after they began with a couple of free shots carried over from the original game. Nikola Vasovic converted them and Luxol extended their lead before Loyola came back to a point behind.

Those were all the points that they could muster but Antoine Costa then sank a triple for the Violets and they completed a 7-0 run to close down the match and put Depiro under pressure for the third coveted spot in the third phase of play.

Loyola: 2 David Camilleri, 1 Alex Tabone

Luxol: 4 Antoine Costa, 2 Petar Apcev, 2 Nikola Vasovic, 2 Jean Paul Bonnici, 1 Tom Paris

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile