Luxol     55

McDonalds Depiro     63

(11-15, 17-17, 14-15, 13-16)

Hibs’ opponents in the KO final will be Depiro who had the better of Luxol in a pulsating semifinal which had the first player expulsion of the season.

It was Depiro who were in front for most of the time but the Violets were always close by. The fouls then mounted against Luxol and they lost a total of four players which did not help their cause even though they had gotten closer yet again.

The Violets had Clementina Medina unavailable and Louisa serge on a long term injury. Depiro recovered Edwina Vella with Martina Mifsud taking the place of Justine Xuereb.

The game went Luxol’s way at first as they grabbed a 5-2 lead. Depiro took the match in hand and an 11-2 run with points from Sam Brincat and a Steffi De Martino triple had them sweeping ahead.

Luxol recovered with free throws but Depiro opened their advantage once more. In the second period Depiro held on to their lead and Antoinette Borg’s hoops offset Becky Naudi’s entance on court for Luxol.

Sarah Pace netted a triple for the Violets but Depiro still had a good advantage as Francesca Bianco made a brace of hoops. Amelie Paul concluded in the paint for Luxol but it was Depiro on a 32-28 lead at the interval.

After the break, Depiro opened up their advantage and then Luxol’s Beverlee Zammit was ousted out of the game for dissent.

Depiro’s lead went into double figures but the Violets made their free throws and were back into contention. With a quarter to go Depiro held on to a 47-42 lead.

The Violets clawed their way back to level the score but Depiro had Brincat nailing a triple as she began a 7-0 run quickly followed by another trey to steer her side to a better position. Luxol’s insistence and a Pace second triple brought them to a basket in arrears but the game’s final points came from Depiro as they made their way into the final.

Luxol: 8  S. Pace, 8 M. Sciortino, 2 L. Serge, 2 K. Portelli, 3 J. Busuttil Gaerty, 7 G. Zarb, P. Ellul, 8 A. Paul, 9 D. Muscat, 2 C. Baena Medina, 13 B. Zammit

Depiro: A. Mifsud, G. Mifsud, J. Xuereb, 21 S. Brincat, M. Bonett, 8 F. Bianco, 8 T. De Martino, 11 A. Borg,2  C. Sammut, M. Mifsud,  S. Micallef,  13 S. De Martino

Referees: G. Barbara, C. Terribile

Hibs Melita Gardens     55

Alyssa Ashley Loyola     25

(10-12, 17-7, 19-0, 9-6)

Hibs avenged their Shield final defeat by Loyola when they beat them by a wide margin which came about after the interval.

Loyola were whitewashed in a whole period of play and their earlier efforts all came to nil with Hibs on such a winning score. It was actually Loyola’s first defeat of the season - a very heavy one indeed - which saw Hibs progressing to the final.

The Paolites were missing two young players Mandy Zammit and Julia Scerri. Loyola recovered two players on their part, Christina Grima and Adalia Bonanno.

Both sides put in their opening hoop before Loyola opened up the first advantage at 6-2. Hibs struck back and managed to draw level.

A couple of hoops gave Loyola  a first session lead despite the Paolites’ next hoop.

In the second session Hibs began with a couple of triples from nadia Arrigo and Lucienne Bezzina to take their first advantage. They improved on this with Kirsten Baldacchino and Lena Gipson points making up a 7-2 run. Points were then obtained at both ends before Hibs went in at the interval on a 27-19 advantage.

After the break, Loyola collapsed completely. They were left pointless for the whole period as they were repulsed time and time again.

On the other hand the Paolites grew in confidence with each passing minute. Their main scorers were Maria Desira and Baldacchino the latter also nailing a triple. A solid 19-0 run had Hibs way out in front on a 46-19 lead.

The game lost much of its importance and the remaining quarter was shared on a low score basis as Loyola finally managed to obtain points. Later on it was free throws for Hibs and their advantage did not waver in their march towards the final.

Hibs: E. Cassar,  F. Mifsud, 7 L. Bezzina, 11 M. Desira, K. Gatt, A. Cutajar,  5 N. Arrigo, 14 K.Baldacchino, 8 J. Cardona, 10 L. Gipson

Loyola: 12 E. Moore, 4 C. Grima,  J. Doughty, 2 L. Denooz, 2 D. Hollier,  K. Tonna, A. Bonanno, 2 J. Mangion, 1 A. Sciberras, 2 SJ Barbara, K. Borg

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro