BUPA Luxol maintained their hopes of a place in the Cham-pionship Pool after having the better of Loyola Tata Motors twice last weekend, one match being the continuation of the second-round fixture.

Depiro, however, failed to keep the pace with Luxol as they went down to champions Siġġiewi.

Loyola Tata Motors 51
BUPA Luxol 61
(15-20, 12-20, 15-2, 9-19)

Luxol did what they were expected to do and beat Loyola to continue aspiring for a place among the top three. Now, they’ll have to wait for Depiro to play their last match in the regular season to know their fate.

Luxol had dominated the five extra minutes of the continued match to beat Loyola 84-76.

On Sunday, they again made the better start in both opening sessions to take a 40-27 lead but John Tabone’s team lost their rhythm after the break and inac-curate passes and erratic shots gave Loyola renewed energy.

Loyola gradually closed the gap and even went ahead in the opening minute of the last quarter, 44-42.

But, the match took another twist as Luxol regained control underneath the boards as Loyola focused their play mainly on Giovanni Mihalovic with the result that they started giving away possession cheaply.

Luxol potted seven consecutive points to pave the way to victory while Loyola continued to falter, also messing up things from the free-throw line.

Loyola: S. Pace 8, B. Zammit 5, D. Camilleri 4, S. Borg, S. Vella 4, A. Axiaq 3, G. Mihalovic 22, J. Anastasi, J. Ransley 1, A. Tabone 4.

Luxol: J. Cordina, M. Mercieca 8, R. Azzopardi, A. Micallef Trigona, P. Apcev 16, A. Costa, N. Vasovic 16, T. Paris 1, A. Cremona 4, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 16.

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

Depiro Mtarfa 59
Siġġiewi Derby 76
(17-16, 12-14, 7-27, 23-19)

Much more was expected of Depiro as this match was crucial to their challenge for third place.

Instead, they produced one of their worst performances of the season even though Siġġiewi had to do without strong rebounder Marco Matijevic.

The champions also started without Peter Shoults and Lee Ross but Depiro, who play Athleta next, did not profit from the situation as they only managed a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The introduction of Siġġiewi’s best players injected new life into the team as on the stroke of half-time, Shoults put his team ahead, 30-29.

Depiro were never able to raise their game and Siġġiewi had a field day in their opponents’ zone to pull away and start the last ten minutes with a handsome 57-36 lead.

Depiro did put up a decent fight in the last quarter but by that time it was too late as Siġġiewi administered their lead wisely to secure victory.

Depiro: R. Vella 12, J.P. Schembri 6, D. Bugeja 11, A. Aquilina 14, J. Gatt, E. Lupo 5, M. Mallia 11, G. Mercieca.

Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 8, E. Xuereb 7, J. Doughty, A. Borg 6, A. Micallef 28, K. Borg 2, J. Jetsen 12, L. Ross 13.

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

Standings: Athleta 21 (10-1), Siġġiewi 19 (8-3), Luxol 17 (5-7), Depiro 15 (4-7), Loyola 12 (1-10).

Next fixtures
Today – 17.45 Athleta vs Depiro.
Thursday – Siggiewi vs Loyola.
Sunday, BOV KO semi-final – 16.15 BUPA Luxol vs Athleta.

Women’s league

Hibs Medsea prevailed in the direct clash with Depiro McDonald’s to earn the right to challenge Luxol for the title in a best-of-three final series.

However, Hibs almost threw away victory as they led by as many as 20 points at one stage before being reeled in by Depiro who two days before had seen their chances take a nosedive after going down to long-time leaders Luxol 55-47.

In a low-scoring first quarter, Hibs led by a single point (9-8) before they stepped up a gear to change ends 18-10 in front. Depiro were clearly finding it hard to conclude their attacks.

Those present, however, still expected Depiro to hit back after the interval but it was Hibs who continued to hold an edge to start the last ten minutes 32-15 ahead.

Hibs looked coasting towards the final after adding three points to that advantage but suddenly Depiro burst into life as the champions lost the influential Joselle Cardona through injury.

Depiro started potting points consistently and went a single basket behind (40-38) in the final stages but Hibs did well from free-throws to secure a 43-38 win and a passage to the final.

Standings: Luxol 34; Hibs 29; Depiro 27.

Final play-offs (1): Saturday, 14.00 Luxol vs Hibs.