Depleted Luxol struggle to beat Depiro

Depiro 54
BUPA Luxol 64
(16-19, 14-14, 13-15, 11-16)

BUPA Luxol were hit hard by the absence of three of their best players, Dirk and Steve Schembri, and captain Robert Azzopardi. They found it hard to brush aside Depiro's challenge but their experience saw them through as the champions won with a 10-point margin.

With pivot Marko Matijevic given special attention by Depiro's tall players, Luxol struggled in the early stages and trailed their opponents by five points, 11-6.

Luxol got better but it was only in the last seconds of the opening quarter that they put their noses in front thanks to a three-pointer, 19-16.

The match remained balanced in the second quarter with the teams sharing 28 points. Luxol went in for the half-time break with a three-point lead, 33-30.

Luxol made the better start to the third session. A 6-2 break extended their advantage to 39-32 and hard as they tried, Depiro could not cancel that deficit as Luxol started the last 10 minutes 48-43 ahead.

Nine consecutive points by Edgar Caruana Montaldo consolidated Luxol's lead and every time Depiro attempted a comeback , sharp shots by Alan Borg kept them at bay.

To make matters worse for them, Depiro lost pivots Isaac Tanti and Jeffrey Gatt in the last four minutes.

Depiro: R. Vella 12, J.P. Schembri, I. Tanti 12, A. Aquilina 4, J. Gatt 7, E. Lupo 2, S. Saakian 11, M. Mallia 2, D. Agius 4.

Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 9, M. Micallef, A. Borg 11, A. Portelli 13, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, B. Micallef Trigona, E. Caruana Montaldo 9, M. Matijevic 22.

Refs: G. Barbara, J.P. Sammut, C. Terribile.

Compleet IS SW 70
Siġġiewi Smina 53
(24-7, 11-16, 13-16, 22-14)

Compleet IS SW bounced back from their upset to Luxol in the MBA Shield final with a deserved win over Siġġiewi.

Compleet made a strong, aggressive start as Siġġiewi once again struggled to find early rhythm. By the time Siġġiewi settled down, Compleet had already built a comfortable lead, 24-7.

Some substitutions helped Siġġiewi to lift their game. In the last five minutes of the second session, Compleet appeared to lose composure in attack, allowing their opponents to come back and reduce the gap to 12 points, 35-23.

Siġġiewi continued where they left off before the interval to move closer to Compleet, 41-35. However, their recurring inability to control emotions hampered their efforts as they rushed conclusions and their in passing took a nosedive. Siġġiewi's slump played into the hands of Compleet who started the final 10 minutes 48-39 ahead.

Compleet sealed their win in the opening minutes of the last quarter to maintain their perfect run in the league.

Compleet: M. Naudi 6, J. Naudi 16, D. Camilleri 2, E. Bezzina 2, C. Sammut 10, O. Said 5, A. Bonnici 23, J. Valdisere 2, K. Baldacchino 4.

Siġġiewi: J.P. Antoncich, J. Doughty 5, E. Xuereb, I. Mercieca 3, P. Shoults 18, J.P. Bonnici 4, A. Micallef 5, N. Volvic, J. Jesten 18.

Refs: J.P. Sammut, S. Micallef, A. Carbonaro.

Standings: Compleet 14 (7-0); Luxol 13 (6-1); Siġġiewi 10 (3-4); Depiro 10 (2-6); Qormi 7 (0-7).

Top scorers: D. Schembri (Luxol) 142; S. Schembri (Luxol) 141; M. Matijevic (Luxol) 120.

Powerade League: Thursday, 6.15 p.m. Siġġiewi vs Qormi; 7.45 p.m. BUPA Luxol vs Compleet IS SW.