Hibs Melita Gardens     49

Luxol     46

(Agg. 108-91)

(11-7, 17-10, 11-7, 10-22)

Hibs kept hold of the Louis Borg Cup for the fourth year running - and for the seventh time in their history. It was a well-planned out victory just as the first final and some long possession play and solid defensive work gave them the spoils.

The only player they couldn’t batten down was Mandi Sciortino who played her heart out for the champions.

The two teams presented the same formations as in the first final the day before. The Saturday match had ended in a 59-45 win for the Hibs girls.

At the start, the Hibs players were a relaxed outfit with their solid lead. Luxol tried to speed things up but this backfired as the Paolites put in a trio of hoops before the Violets had Sarah Pace netting a triple. Joselle Cardona was accurate for Hibs as she extended their advantage once more. Hibs were limiting Luxol in their play as the latter sought to make up some leeway from the first match. In the second session Luxol drew nearer only to be denied once more by the Paolites as the Hibs players chased every ball and Lucienne Bezzina nailed a triple which started an 8-2 run.

It was Sciortino who provided the Luxol points till the end of the quarter but Hibs were in a confident mood with their long possessions. They made up another 7-0 run to draw further away and, at the interval, the Paolites were 28-17 ahead.

After the break the scoring rate fell down which suited Hibs. Luxol didn’t decrease their deficit as triples flew in at either end with Sciortino for Luxol and Bezzina’s second for Hibs.

At the start of the last session the Paolites enjoyed a 39-24 score. Luxol had to make their move and a good 11-0 run took them nearer. Hibs recovered and shared the next plays before slightly increasing their lead.

Luxol came back once more. To edge closer but time was against them and they suffered their second defeat.

At the end of the game, the MBA President Emeritus, Louis Borg, presented both sets of players with their commemorative medals and the Hibs captain Lucienne Bezzina received the winners’ trophy as her side kept the silverware for a fourth successive time.

Hibs: J. Xerri,  E. Cassar,  F. Mifsud, 10 L. Bezzina, 10 M. Desira, K. Gatt, N. Arrigo, 2  K. Baldacchino, 11 J. Cardona, 14 L. Gipson

Luxol: 5 S. Pace, 22 M. Sciortino,  C. Medina,   B. Naudi,  J. Busuttil Gaerty, 2  G. Zarb, 2 P. Ellul, 15 R. Murphy,  D. Muscat,  L. Chetcuti,   B. Zammit

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro