BUPA Luxol 63
Siggiewi Derby 80
(18-15)(16-23)(11-21)(18-21)
After being left out of a place in the Play-off finals, and unable to defend their first ever Championship success, Siggiewi are hoping to end the season on a good note, by notching up their second seasonal honour, after the Louis Borg Cup. They had the better of a depleted Luxol outfit, and it was after the break that they could ease away from their adversaries, marking up a high score, to boost their morale for the tough final in store, against the in-form champions.
Luxol were without Petar Apcev and Robert Azzopardi. Siggiewi had Jide Jetson making a late appearance, after the interval.
The game began with free throws for Luxol, after a mix up in the Siggiewi vests, which had them starting the match late. The Violets sportingly did not make proper use of them, to begin the match on an even keel.
There was a slow start, but then triples went in at either end, with Adrian Micallef for Siggiewi, and a reply from Antoine Costa, for Luxol, and both players also made more points.
Luxol addede a further 11-1 run, after some Siggiewi careless play, with the latter closing down on their deficit, but were still behind. In the second period Siggiewi had Lee Ross with a triple, as they swept in front, only for Costa to bring the Violets level.
Four times more Siggiewi held slight leads, but Costa nailed in another trey, and Luxol were tied yet again. Siggiewi produced an 8-2 run, as Micallef also put in his second triple.
At the interval Siggiewi were on a small 38-34 advantage.
After the break, and a quick Luxol hoop, Siggiewi had a 7-2 run, with a Peter Shoults triple. JP Bonnici reacted for the Violets, but Micallef was on hand for Siggiewi, with another trey. Marco Mercieca made points for Luxol, late in the session, before Siggiewi built up another 8-1 run by the session’s end for a solid 59-45 advantage.
Alan Borg netted a triple at the start of the final quarter, and Siggiewi were on their way.
Luxol replied on several occasions, including a Nikola Vasovic triple, but later on it was Siggiewi with more treys, as Eman Xuereb, John Doughty, both fresh from the bench, and again Micallef, pushed Siggiewi’s lead upwards.
Luxol ended the agme with a 7-0 run, and a rare Edgar Caruana Montaldo triple, to close up their season, leaving the other two protagonists to square up for the last honour.
Luxol: 2 C. Cordina, 7 M. Mercieca, A. Micallef Trigona, 18 A. Costa, 8 N. Vasovic, 4 T. Paris, 15 A. Cremona, 3 E. Caruana Montaldo, 6 JP Bonnici
Siggiewi: 10 P. Shoults, 3 J. Doughty, 3 E. Xuereb, 5 A. Borg, 34 A. Micallef, 5 L. Ross, 3 K. Borg,
2 J. Jetson, 15 M. Matijevic
Referees: E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro, C. Terribile