Athleta A-Z Electronics 75
Siġġiewi Derby 63
(22-23, 12-11, 16-17, 25-12)

Despite playing without Marco Matijevic, Siġġiewi did well enough to stay in touch with Athleta until four minutes from the final whistle.

Once again, the champions made life difficult for themselves as, quite unexpectedly, their players went for difficult shots or resorted to individual moves.

Athleta, on the other hand, are a disciplined side who turn the ball around in attack until they release a player in a good shooting position.

This represented the main difference between the two teams and unless Siġġiewi learn their lesson, they will continue to play second fiddle and lose their title.

After a slow start, Athleta hit Siġġiewi with a series of fast breaks to go 15-6 ahead.

Siġġiewi coach Peter Farrugia urged his players to play more as a team and track back when not in possession. His instructions left the desired effect as the champions overturned the deficit until the end of the first quarter, 23-22.

Athleta regained the upperhand to open a 30-26 lead by the fifth minute of the second session. But again, Siġġiewi hit back to level matters at the halfway mark, 34-34.

Siġġiewi remained the better side after the interval, going 43-34 in front, but rushed play allowed Athleta to recover lost ground. Joe Galea’s team began the final 10 minutes a point behind, 51-50.

Six consecutive points stretched Siġġiewi’s lead to 57-50 as the last quarter got underway. But, the tiring Siġġiewi then pressed the self-destruct button as Athleta dominated the remainder of the session to cruise to victory.

Athleta: M. Naudi 21, J. Zammit, D. Schembri 10, M. Giusti, C. Galea, O. Said 20, C. Calleja, A. Bonnici 3, K. Baldacchino 4, A. Ryan, S. Schembri 17.

Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 21, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb, N. Sultana 13, A. Borg 3, A. Micallef 19, K. Borg, J. Jetsen 7.

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

Depiro 59
BUPA Luxol 64
(8-20, 17-19, 20-14, 14-11)

Luxol’s strong opening rattled Depiro but the loss of Petar Apcev, through injury, halted their momentum.

The introduction of Sergio Yuste helped to kickstart Depiro’s recovery but they fluffed chances in the final minutes, paving the way for Luxol to clinch victory.

Luxol raced into a 14-2 lead by the fifth minute, forcing Depiro coach Ray Muscat to ask for a time-out.

His team improved to share the exchanges, going on to reduce the gap in the opening minutes of the second quarter, 22-16, as Luxol struggled to overcome Apcev’s loss.

Robert Azzopardi took over the playmaker’s role and five three-pointers helped Luxol change ends 39-25 ahead.

Towards the fifth minute of the third session, Depiro launched a fightback and went ahead with six minutes remaining.

The excitement grew but missed baskets and slack marking allowed Antoine Costa to nail a three-pointer and a rebound basket that decided the game in favour of Luxol.

Depiro: R. Vella 18, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 4, F. Agius, A. Aquilina 3, S. Yuste 15, J. Gatt 7, J. Camilleri, E. Lupo, M. Mallia, I. Tanti 12, G. Mercieca.

Luxol: M. Mercieca 10, R. Azzopardi 24, A. Micallef Trigona, P. Apcev, A. Costa 5, N. Vasovic 5, T. Paris 2, E. Caruana Montaldo 4, J.P. Bonnici 14, S. Mizzi.

Referees: B. Vassallo, S. Micallef, A. Carbonaro.

National League: Saturday – 15.45 Athleta vs Loyola. Sunday – 16.15 Luxol vs Siġġiewi.

Women’s Shield

The first phase of the women’s Detur Shield got underway last weekend with favourites Luxol, Hibs Medsea and Depiro McDonald’s cruising past their opponents.

In Group A, Hibs found little resistance from St Andrews as they moved into a 23-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. After changing ends 36-11 ahead, Hibs went on to register a 66-24 victory.

In the other Group A match, Depiro returned home with a comfortable 86-33 victory over Starlites Sports Experience.

With Kaila Agius at her best, Depiro had the game wrapped up by half-time, 50-15.

In Group B, Luxol also dominated from the jumpball as they surged into a 26-4 lead against Mtarfa.

Luxol were never troubled as they continued to extend their 30-point half-time lead, 40-10, to emerge 71-30 winners.

In another match, Loyola, inspired by Christine Grima, opened a 27-10 lead at the end of the second quarter against Athleta.

Athleta’s improvement in the last two sessions was not enough to wipe out the deficit as Loyola went on to win 50-35.

Detur Shield: Friday – 18.15 Luxol vs Athleta; 19.45 St Andrews vs Starlites. Saturday – 14.00 Loyola vs Mtarfa. Sunday – 14.30 Hibs Medsea vs Depiro.