Floriana Fr. Fenech 58

Depiro Mtarfa 77

(12-20, 16-15, 17-22, 13-20)

Depiro followed up on their solid win in the second game and made Floriana’s task so much greater. Depiro were in front straight from the start and they never relinquished their advantage.

It was only on one occasion that the Greens came to within a basket after the interval but most of the time, Floriana had to trail at a distance and their efforts came to naught against Depiro’s resilience as the Mtarfa side played confidently all through the encounter.

The last time Depiro were in a playoff final was 11 seasons ago and they were last champions three years before that.

Floriana had Adrian Baldacchino abroad while Depiro had their full squad on show.

Depiro began with a brace of hoops before Floriana had Evan Fjeld with a reply. Depiro went forward once more with a 7-0 run and Greg Hamlin points and an Adrian Micallef triple.

The Greens’ reaction were a couple of hoops but Depiro were the busiest and a 9-2 run with a Roderick Vella triple had them on a solid advantage.

Before the end of the session, Chris sammut sank a Floriana trey to edge his side nearer.

In the second period Floriana began to be hustled by Depiro again as the latter side started with a 7-2 run and an Andrew Aquilina triple. Fjeld obtained points for the Greens and a 7-2 run with a second Chris Sammut trey had them nearer.

Depiro’s response saw Nigel Sultana making his points also with a triple. It was Floriana who ended the session on a 6-0 run going closer to their opponents on a 28-35 score at the interval.

After the break, Floriana had Fjeld with his free throws to draw them very near to their adversaries but Aquilina netted another triple for depiro. Floriana were not daunted and they crept to just a basket behind through more Fjeld points. Depiro bounced back strongly with a 10-0 run and a further Aquilina triple which took them back to their previous advantage.

The Greens tried to hit back but Depiro were equal to the occasion as they ended with a Sultana triple to lead 57-45.

In the last quarter it was Adrian Sultana for Floriana with two hoops but Depiro went into their stride once more and a 9-0 run, almost all of it from Vella also with a triple had them away from their opponents.

Floriana’s reply was a triple by Jeremy Curmi but Depiro were in full control as they swung the ball around to their hearts’ content and with Vella and Hamlin, the former with a further trey, combining well to regale the large crowd present with some fancy stuff.

They also obtained the necessary points to deny Floriana any chance of a recovery.

Floriana: 3 J. Curmi, 10  C. Sammut,  I. Mercieca, 4 S. Sammut, 9 C. Calleja, E. Fjeld, 6  A. Sultana, 2  M. Ciantar

Depiro: 19 R. Vella,  JP Schembri, 10 N. Sultana, 14 A. Aquilina, 1 A. Portelli, 12 A.Micallef,  E. Lupo,  M. Mallia,  I. Tanti, 21 G. Hamlin

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro, S. Gouder

A to Z ElecAthleta 94

Siggiewi      58

(22-15, 23-13, 20-14, 29-16)

Athleta played decisively all through the encounter and brushed aside Siggiewi’s challenge which was nowhere to the standard they displayed in the previous two matches.

Athleta were truly dominant also having the ‘luxury’ of playing without Michael Naudi at first. There were also quite a large amount of triples netted at both ends especially on the losing side which still didn’t help them in a cause which was looking more lost as the game wore on.

Athleta are now in their 16th final out of the last 17 – a remarkable achievement. Their only blip was exactly 11 seasons ago when Depiro made their last championship final losing out to Luxol.

Athleta included the Hungarian Andras Fekete after a long absence. Siggiewi had Louis Camilleri back from abroad.

Athleta’s early hoop had a Siggiewi reply when the latter went 6-4 ahead. Addison Bonnici’s next two hoops took Athleta ahead but Alan Borg sank a triple for Siggiewi.

It was the champions’ turn once again and an 8-0 run with a Steve Schembri triple took them to a first real lead. The end of the session had triples pouring in at either end with Marco Matijevic and Karl Borg for Siggiewi and in between Omar Said and again Schembri kept Athleta’s advantage intact.

In the second period Athleta were first off the blocks with a good 11-1 run and Bonnici and David Bugeja points the latter also with a triple. Siggiewi came up with a reaction and a 7-0 run started off with a Chris Meier trey. Athleta still held a double figure advantage and they proceeded to increase it.

After some shared exchanges the champions had the better ending to the session with an 8-2 run solely from free throws coming from the hands of Steve Schembri.

At the interval Athleta had raced away to a heavy 45-28 lead.

After the break, Siggiewi were dealt another heavy blow as Athleta came out with all guns blazing. They began with a second Said triple and went on to a 15-1 run leaving their adversaries way behind.

Siggiewi managed a positive run with an 11-0 score and two more triple from Karl Borg but they were still at a distance. Said sank a third trey leaving Athleta with a prohibitive 65-42 advantage.

The last session was not much different from the others. Athleta were always in control and their lead was continually growing especially from Marco Todorovic.

Matijevic netted a triple for Siggiewi but midway through the period Athleta put in another strong 15-3 run ending with a Bonnici triple to put the icing on the cake.

The game was still not finished as Siggiewi had Matijevic and Peter Shoults with triples the latter with two but it was Fekete who ended the match with his points for the champions including a late triple.

The final is on a best of five basis starting next Sunday.

Athleta: 2 M. Naudi, I. Buldakov, 5 D. Bugeja, 20 M. Todorovic, M. Giusti, 14 S. Schembri, 13 O. Said, 4 D. Schembri, 23 A. Bonnici, 8 K. Baldacchino, 5 A. Fekete

Siggiewi:  R. Agius, 2 L. Camilleri, 15 P. Shoults, 3 E. Xuereb,  L. Grima, 3 A. Borg, 13 K. Borg, 8 C. Meier, C. Kodomaris, 14  M. Matijevic

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile