Starlites Fijo and Mellieħa Libertas booked their passage to the competition final which will be played on February 19.

The Naxxar side and the northerners respectively had the better of Depiro and Gżira Athleta in games which ended prematurely as the 75-point win threshold was applied, albeit possibly under different circumstances in the two games.

Whereas Mellieħa were firmly in command in the latter stages of their contest against Gżira Athleta and never seemed in danger of losing the game, Starlites had to dig deep in their arsenal to get the better of a resolute Depiro side who even led for a good part of the game before falling behind.

However, even then, the Mtarfa side did their best to keep on battling.

Starlites Fijo       75

Depiro  66

(17-18, 25-24, 27-20, 6-4)

Depiro had a positive start as they set off with a 10-point run as they surprised their opponents with treys from Cornelius Cameron and Andrew Aquilina and points off Kameron Rooks.

Although Darius George netted Starlites’ first two hoops, Depiro still maintained the clear upperhand as they added a tris of buckets from Cameron for 16-4.

This double-digit lead was however neutralised by the end of the first quarter especially after Starlites had a late rally and ten consecutive points had them close down the gap to a solitary point, 17-18.

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