Bupa Luxol     65     Hibernians     84

(17-20, 23-23, 13-24, 12-17)

The Paolites' victory put them at the top of the standings, even if they were already assured of a top position, regardless of the result. Luxol were out of the Play Offs, a rare setback for them, but the day was characterised by the departure of Luxol's mentor icon, John Tabone, who finally called it a day, and was awarded with a retirement do, after the match. Tabone was a mainstay of the Luxol club, giving his all to just one team, and his final match coincided with his 1000th game at the helm of the Violets, after years of serving them as a player. His departure will leave a void, and it will be strange, next season, watching Luxol trooping out, without him on the bench.

We wish John Tabone many more active years of life.

Luxol fielded Marco Mercieca and Dirk Schembri for this match, in the absence of CJ Cordina, Keith Dimech and the Montenegro player, Filip Sekulic. The champions had just the one change, with Matthew Attard in lieu of Paul Attard, and captain, Marco Matijevic, went on court, after staying on the bench for a number of games.

It was a close match at first, with Hibs on a small advantage, after the opening session. JP Schembri and Serbian, Vukasin Jandric, put in triples for Luxol. Jandric finished up as the game's top scorer. In between Spaniard, Alvaro Lizaur also netted treys for the Paolites. The second session was an even tie, with Hibs holding on to their earlier lead. Swede, William Ahlberg, sank Luxol's triple, with Roderick Vella doing likewise, in the late stages of the session. At the interval Hibs were 43-40 in front.

After the break the two sides were still hanging close to each other. Luke Farrugia netted a trey for the Paoliyes, and Italian, Luca Tardito, poured in more points. Luxol had Ahlberg with a brace of late triples, but a good ending to the session, with an 8-0 run, thrust Hibs into a better advantage, on a 67-53 score. The last quarter had falling further behind, as the champions assured themselves of victory, with a solid 13-2 run, and a third Lizaur trey. Philip Engelbert came off the bench, for the Violets, to claim a trio of buckets, whilst Serbian, Ivan Demcesen, continued to force home more points, from inside the paint. Luxol played their last minutes of the season, whilst Hibs will start preparing for their semi-final clash, with Floriana, in the Paly Offs.

Luxol: V. Jandric 35, P. Engelbert 6, L. Caruana Montaldo, JP Schembri 5, W. Ahlberg 9, D. Schembri 4, M. Mercieca 6, S. Cappello

Hibs: R. Vella 3, M. Attard,  K. Sultana, L. Farrugia 3, M. Formosa, I. Bonett 4, L. Tardito 16, A. Axiaq 2, M. Matijevic 4, A. Lizaur 13, I. Demcesen 28, C. Cuschieri Patus 11

Referees: T. Mantere, K. Dworniczak, M. Hraisha