Take it to the hole!

My friend Cikku was exhausted. After spending the best part of a day clearing the flood caused by his DIY escapades (see last week's TITTH) he decided to relax with a cup of hot chocolate in front of the open fire in the living room.

At the same time, he took the chance to hang the drenched rugs in front of the fire to speed up the drying process.

Feeling deadbeat, Cikku was sagged into the armchair, hot chocolate in hand and dreamily drank the warm brew.

As he gingerly sipped the fruits of the cocoa tree, he watched the flames flickering lazily. In a few minutes of fire gazing, his eyes began to feel heavy and his head began to drop. Cikku was at the borders of the land of nod.

As he fell into the first moments of slumber Cikku's grip on his mug loosened and it carelessly spewed the hot liquid all over his lap.

The burning sensation rudely awakened Cikku, who was suddenly feeling very hot. He ran into the kitchen and poured cool water over himself to douse the heat and pain and decided that today was not a very good day!

Call the fireman!

The sports hall in Kordin is situated opposite the Paola Fire Station. This point may have been sorely forgotten by the Hamrun Liberty clan, since only a water cannon would have stopped Robert Azzopardi last weekend.

Azzopardi was on fire! Someone forgot to tell him that a new season has begun! While those around him were struggling with early season blues, Azzopardi continued where he left off in last season's play-offs.

He scored no fewer than 38 points nailing eight three-point shots in the process. In a nutshell, he produced a winning performance in a close encounter giving Luxol the first win in their title defence.

Hamrun, on their part, showed that they have the power under the boards to create problems for other ball clubs since only a regal display of shooting by Azzopardi denied them a win.

It is just a matter of time before they begin to prove they have to be seriously considered for this year's championship.

Challenge Issued

In the other Kinnie National League fixture, Pembroke succumbed to Siggiewi in another close game, which indicates that outcome of the battle for league honours is going to be difficult to predict. Perhaps, the real exclamation mark of this result is that Siggiewi won the encounter without Adrian Micallef who is unavailable due to injury. Pembroke's lack of strength in the paint is once again an issue which Jeffrey Gatt's 19 points bring to the fore.

A question of rules

The under-15 leagues are among the categories which finally began last weekend. Last season, the rules stipulated that no player could play in all of the first three quarters of the game.

This rule ensures that as many players as possible get the chance to play. During the first game Eurobasket, a new club, utilised a player in all three quarters despite the fact that the opposing coach brought this to the attention of the Commissioner present.

The Commissioner insisted that this could happen since Eurobasket had only eight players available for the game.

To make matters worse Eurobasket were allowed to use the same player in the fourth quarter and subsequent overtime!

Either the rules of this category have been changed, in which case all clubs should have been informed, or else the Commissioner was mistaken! Either way I hope the situation is clarified before the next set of games on Sunday.

Toast!

May I propose a toast to the following players who won the best player awards for last season in their respective categories: Nathan Farrugia (Men Senior), Irene Farrugia (Women Senior), Roderick Vella (Men First Division), Addison Bonnici (Men Under 20), Josephine Grima (Women Under 20), Ian Terribile (Men Under 17) and Rachel Camilleri (Women Under 17).

While we are in the subject of honours, the Maltahoops basketball forum is launching a new poll to select the ideal team player from each senior category. You may find Maltahoops at www.maltahoops.cjb.net

Stephen Buttigieg may be contacted at coachsteveishere@hotmail.com