Starlites GIG     48     Caffe Moak luxol     41

(9-9, 17-13, 12-7, 10-12)

Starlites made the first step, in their quest to make it to the final, in a best-of-three encounters, against Luxol. They had to dig deep against a determined Luxol outfit, who battled on to the end, but Starlites had more staying power, to claim the victory. Starlites were again with their Santo Domingo player, Geocelis Reynoso, in place of the Welshwoman, Hayley Acreman. Luxol were missing Paula Ellul, with Lara Caruana Montaldo in her stead., and Beverlee Zammit made an appearance, after missing a number of matches.

It was Luxol with the better start, notching up the first six points of the match, before Starlites could open their account. Luxol held on for some more time, but the end of the session found the two sides locked on points, with a late Reynoso hoop. The second period had Spaniard, Patricia Arguello, netting the game's first triple, for Starlites, with Luxol's Monique Caruana replying likewise, later on. Joey Grima took Starlites to another lead, with a brace of hoops, Luxol clawed back to a tied score, as American, Alexis Dillard, despite heavy pressure on her presence in the zone, delivered a trio of buckets. Starlites went ahead once more, , and stayed there till the end of the session, for a 26-22 halftime score.

After the break Christine Curmi's free throws enhanced Starlites' lead, but Luxol were back, as Kay Portelli netted a triple, and they were just a point behind. The Violets then dried up for some time, allowing Starlites to make up a long 10-0 run, almost all from Reynoso, who was active under the opposing boards. Dillard made her second hoop of this period, but Luxol were trailing 29-38, into the last session. Two further hoops had the Violets back in contention. Arguello sank her second Starlites trey, but up came Spaniard, Ina Baena, with the same, for Luxol. Grima added on two more hoops, but Baena sank a second triple, and hope remained. Luxol lost Sharon Vella on two technical fouls, in the last minute of play, as Starlites made their last points from free shots, with Luxol fouling to stop the clock. Starlites now need only one more win, from the remaining two matches, to progress to the final.

Starlites: M. Zammit Cordina 4, K. Galea 4, M. Riolo, S. Farrugia, M. Bonett 1, G. Reynoso 12, C. Curmi 2, J. Grima 10, P. Arguello 15, M. Cutajar, S. Davies, A. Lupo

Luxol: S. Pace 6, B. Zammit, N. Vella, I. Baena 10, N. Vella, S. Vella 1, K. Portelli 3, A.Borg , M. Caruana 3, L. Caruana Montaldo , A. Dillard 18

Referees: T. Mantere, Z. Dobrosavljevic, D. Torok