Luxol off to a fine start

Fiat Luxol kickstarted their league campaign with an extra-time victory over Siggiewi while champions Pembroke Tumas Group proved too strong for Stingers.

Fiat Luxol 88
Siggiewi 79
(14-13, 20-21, 28-22, 12-18, 14-5)

A victory over in-form Siggiewi, the MBA Shield winners, gave Fiat Luxol the sort of positive start they were yearning after their disappointment in the MBA Shield. John Tabone's team were eliminated by Pembroke in their MBA Shield semi-final which was resolved in extra-time after Luxol had led for long stretches.

Sunday's Kinnie League game developed into an interesting affair with Siggiewi forced to play catch-up for most of the match.

While Luxol fielded their standard formation, Siggiewi had Nathan Farrugia missing and his absence was felt, especially when forward Adrian Micallef was fouled out towards the end of the fourth session.

Both sets of shooters took advantage from gaps in their opponents' defences to record 20 three-pointers between them. Luxol veteran Richard Schembri and Siggiewi's Alan Borg helped themselves to six three-pointers each.

It was Siggiewi who made the better start to lead 7-2. Captain Ivan Attard's introduction brought about an improvement in Luxol's play as they closed the first session a point ahead, 14-13.

After extending their advantage in the initial exchanges of the second session, 18-13, Luxol struggled to cope with Siggiewi's reaction which brought the latter on level points, 18-18.

Luxol recovered and a 9-2 break saw them 27-20 ahead only for Siggiewi to again force their way back into contention.

An Alan Borg three-pointer on the stroke of half-time made it 34-34.

After the interval, Luxol were back in the driving seat, going ahead 62-56 before the last ten minutes got underway.

A bold rally between the fifth and eighth minutes helped Siggiewi to forge 71-69 ahead. Luxol surpassed this difficult moment with the battling Siggiewi forcing extra-time as both teams spurned their last opportunity.

Here the absence of Adrian Micallef took its toll on Siggiewi who were unable to stop Luxol from dominating extra-time.

Luxol: D. Falzon, M. Mercieca 6, R. Azzopardi 10, R. Schembri 26, B. Micallef Trigona, R. Dalli, A. Bianchi, W. Spiteri, I. Attard 19, S. Cassar 27.

Siggiewi: D. Agius, M. Pisani 14, J. Doughty, A. Borg 19, A. Portelli 16, A. Micallef 16, R. Mifsud, S. Cauchi 2, J. Gatt 12.

Stingers 45
Pembroke Tumas Group 75
(2-27, 14-15, 13-15, 16-18)

Pembroke, with forward Duncan Cuschieri back in the fray after missing the MBA Shield final, were intent on atoning for their loss against Siggiewi in the shield showdown. Coach Joe Galea opted for a full-court press from the jumpball.

Stingers were surprised by Pembroke's tactical choice and found the going tough, surrendering possession time and again to Pembroke's effective double-teaming. This often resulted into fast-break points for Galea's men.

Stingers coach Felix Schembri clearly needs to work hard on psychological preparation as his team have been looking vulnerable in terms of concentration when things were not going their way.

After obtaining the first 11 points, Pembroke went on to stamp their authority on the match, accumulating a comfortable lead by the end of the first session, 27-2.

With the result already in their bags, Pembroke were less aggressive thereafter, allowing Stingers to come more in the picture. However, Schembri's lads were never capable of upsetting Pembroke's applecart as the latter still changed ends 42-16 ahead.

There was no change in the pattern of the game after the interval as Stingers' hard efforts were well controlled by the more-experienced Pembroke who emerged comfortable winners.

Stingers: C. Sammut 2, E. Xuereb 2, I. Mercieca 5, L. Camilleri 3, M. Barberi 2, D. Schembri 8, K. Azzopardi, A. Bonnici 5, A. Huizer 4, S. Schembri 14.

Pembroke: M. Naudi 23, J. Naudi 4, E. Bezzina 4, M. Spiteri, M. Borg, O. Said 24, J.P. Azzopardi 2, D. Cuschieri 12, T. Degiorgio 4, G. Cassar 2.

Next fixtures: Saturday 5 p.m. Hamrun vs Stingers; Sunday 4.15 p.m. Luxol vs Pembroke.