Qormi Phoenix Mendoza 19

Alyssa Ashley Loyola 57

(3-13, 6-16, 3-17, 7-11)

Loyola had no worries against a modest Qormi outfit, as the former advanced to the semis. They could afford to have it easy, as they put in all their bench players, in the final session, with Qormi trying their utmost to hike up a more reasonable score.

Qormi had Carla Marie Vella absent from their first match. Loyola made two changes, with Kim Borg and Petra Montanaro taking the place of Martha Gatt and Kathleen Gouder.

Qormi were pressed from the start, and they had to bear the brunt of Loyola’s frequent assaults. Loyola went into an 8-0 advantage, when Martha Abela netted a triple for Qormi. Till the end of the period Loyola had extended their lead further. In the second quarter Loyola began once more, with a 9-0 run, but this time Qormi’s reaction carried more weight, in a small 6-1 run. Loyola made up a three basket spread, before the session’s end, for a 29-9 advantage at the interval.

After the break it was all Loyola, with their points tally on the increase, but Qormi’s contribution stayed put for nearly all of the session. It was Christina Grima who did most of the damage, with a personal 8-0 consecutive run, in a continuous 17-0 break, closed down in the last seconds, with meagre points from Qormi, as the score stood at 46-12. The last period had a scarcity of points, also by Loyola’s standards. They took the opportunity to put in all the remaining bench players on court. Qormi’s Carina Gauci Meilaq profited most, to hoist her side’s points total a little more.

Qormi 6 M. Abela, 2 V. Agius, 2 F. Micallef, 6 C. Gauci Meilaq, V. Mifsud Tommasi, 3 M. Agius, N. Said, D. Zammit, R. Debrincat, 7 D. Scicluna

Loyola 6 E. Moore, 10 C. Grima, 2 J. Doughty, 2 G. Torpiano, 10 D. Hollier, 2 K. Borg, 3 A. Bonanno, J. Mangion, 9 A. Sciberras, 2 F. Camilleri, 11 SJ Barbara, P. Montfort

Referees C. Terribile, R. Darmanin