A- Z Elec. Athleta 45

Siggiewi 58

(Agg. 102-99)

(6-20, 12-11, 16-12, 11-15)

Siggiewi really put their hearts in this second match and they were rewarded with a stirring victory but it was not enough by three points because of the lacklustre display they had put up the day before.

It’s not every day that Athleta are soundly beaten but the last laugh still belonged to the champions after a precarious opening. Athleta recovered till the last period but a last ditch rally by Siggiewi had Athleta worried and the champions were quite relieved at the end as they gathered the fourth seasonal success winning the Louis Borg Cup for the seventh time while denying Siggiewi a trio of Cup wins.

Athleta recovered Ivan Buldakov and Etienne Bezzina returned after a long absence and Steve Schembri was on the bench once more but nobody played. Siggiewi’s Karl borg also made a first appearance although also remaining on the bench.

Siggiewi began with a three basket spread but Athleta replied with a couple of triples from Addison Bonnici and Mohammed Kuwaid the latter playing his last match before returning to his homeland Bahrain.

Siggiewi pressed forward once more and the champions suffered a 0-12 reverse when Siggiewi ended with a brace of triples by Peter Shoults and a last gasp one from Marco Matijevic.

In the second session Siggiewi were still increasing their advantage with two more hoops. Athleta turned in a 7-0 run to recover and then there was a balanced spell with Siggiewi holding on to their sound lead but with the aggregate still eluding them as both sides began to experience difficulty in obtaining points with the strict marking adopted at both ends.

At the interval the score stood at

31-18.

After the break, Siggiewi were again adding on to their tally with Chris Meier hoops. Athleta reacted with an 8-0 run and triples from Omar Said and Michael Naudi. There was a response from Siggiewi and Louis Camilleri netted a triple with Siggiewi still holding on to their double figure advantage.

The champions thought otherwise and free shots brought them to a 34-43 score after three sessions.

Siggiewi chased the aggregate being so close but Athleta made enough points to keep ahead of their opponents. It was only in the last seconds of the encounter that the champions were sure with Siggiewi netting a last hoop for a very close score on two matches, never mind the solid victory on the day.

After the match, the MBA President Emeritus Louis Borg presented both sets of players with their medals and the Athleta captain Michael Naudi with the winning trophy for the seventh time and their fourth seasonal honour on the trot. For them it’s now four down and two to go.

Athleta: 12 M. Naudi, D. Bugeja, 2 A. Fekete, 9 D. Schembri, M. Giusti, I. Buldakov, 7 O. Said, E. Bezzina, 9 A. Bonnici, K. Baldacchino, 6 M. Kuwaid, S. Schembri

Siggiewi: R. Agius, K. Borg, 8 L. Camilleri, 3 P. Shoults, 2 E. Xuereb, 4 N. Sultana, 2 A. Borg, JP Azzopardi, 12 C. Meier, C. Kodomaris, 27 M. Matijevic

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro, C. Terribile