Qormi Kia 41
Mellieha SVS Reflections 79
(12-29, 5-13, 15-18, 9-19)
Bupa Luxol reached their fourth final of the season after staving off the challenge of Compleet IS SW in the semi-finals of the Louis Borg Cup. Their opponents in the two-legged final, scheduled for March 28 and 31, are Mellieha SVS Reflections who had the better of second division side Qormi Kia.
Bupa Luxol 81
Compleet IS SW 73
(25-22, 21-8, 9-27, 26-16)
Bupa Luxol chalked up their fifth successive win over rivals Compleet IS SW to stay on course for their third domestic title this season, having already secured the MBA Shield and the Super Cup.
Both Luxol and Compleet IS took to the match with their strongest line-up and their bold endeavours resulted in a well-contested encounter that was decided in the final stages.
Michael Naudi made a much-awaited return for Compleet IS after injury kept him out of action for one month.
The game was balanced early on until Marco Matijevic began to make his mark, carving out openings in the Compleet IS defence as Luxol raced to a five-point lead, 22-17. Compleet managed to reduce that gap to three points by the end of the first quarter, 25-22.
Two consecutive three-pointers by Steve Schembri strengthened Luxol. Pembroke were clearly struggling at this stage as their opponents pressed on to stretch their lead to 46-30 at half-time.
Joe Galea's half-time talk led to a brave rally by his Pembroke players at the start of the third session. With Luxol finding it hard to finish their attacking moves, Compleet grabbed the opportunity to lead 55-53 towards the end of the third session.
Luxol surpassed their difficult moment and with Pembroke's Naudi showing signs of tiredness, a three-pointer by Robert Azzopardi put John Tabone's team back in front, 66-65.
It was any team's game now and two missed free-throws by Naudi allowed Luxol to move five points clear, 74-69.
Pembroke came back to within three points but it was Schembri who had the final say when, with 30 seconds to go, he nailed a crucial three-pointer to seal Luxol's place in the final.
Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 4, R. Azzopardi 10, M. Micallef, A. Borg 11, A. Bianchi, M. Bonnici, T. Paris, D. Schembri 14, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 21, S. Schembri 21.
Pembroke: M. Naudi 19, I. Balakov, C. Calleja, E. Bezzina 16, J. Galea, T. Riolo 2, O. Said 7, A. Micallef 16, M. Zammit 2, K. Baldacchino 1, S. Cassar 10, R. Mifsud.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani.
Qormi Kia 41
Mellieha SVS Reflections 79
(12-29, 5-13, 15-18, 9-19)
Mellieha were too strong for Division Two side Qormi to reach their first major final since earning promotion to the top flight.
With playmaker Chris Sammut back in the fray, Mellieha took control from the jumpball to forge 17-2 ahead after the opening minutes.
Qormi quickly called a time-out and a couple of substitutions brought a significant improvement in their play but at the end of the first quarter, it was Mellieha who were in charge, 29-12.
The experience of Julian Naudi helped Mellieha to maintain a firm grip on the match in the second quarter as the northerners changed ends with a comfortable 42-17 advantage.
When play resumed, Mellieha coach Hilary Fenech opted to give some playing time to his players on the bench but these still proved themselves good enough to hold a 60-32 advantage at the start of the final 10 minutes.
In the final session, Mellieha easily administered their advantage to secure their place in the final.
Qormi: W. Griscti, J. Sant, K. Scicluna 12, C. Zammit, D. Bugeja, C. Vella 1, R. Formosa 7, A. Axiaq 11, G. Borg, J. Anastasi 6, S. Cauchi 2, C. Bugeja 2.
Mellieha: C. Sammut 16, J. Naudi 17, S. Sammut 6, S. Aquilina 4, E. Xuereb 3, J. Jetsen 21, B. Aquilina 2, J. Aquilina 2, M. Cauchi, J. Muscat 3, R. Loporto 5.
Referees: E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro.
Next fixtures
Gatorade League: Championship Pool - Tomorrow, 7.45 p.m. Siggiewi vs Luxol.
Relegation Pool - Friday, 7.45 p.m. Floriana vs Depiro.