Pembroke and Luxol joust for men's title

The final bout for the Kinnie League championship title will begin in earnest this weekend when BUPA Luxol and Pembroke Tumas Group clash in the opening two ties from the best-of-five play-off final series at the Corradino Pavilion. The first match is scheduled for this afternoon with the second pencilled in for tomorrow.

Champions Luxol, who moved into the final after beating Siggiewi Smina 3-1 in the previous round, face a tough task to defend the title against Pembroke.

This decisive series should prove a balanced encounter judging by the previous meetings between these two rivals. John Tabone, the Luxol coach, and Pembroke's Joe Galea can bank on their best formations.

Without doubt, the Reds' strongest point is their solid defence which should strengthen their hopes of taking an early advantage. Luxol, on their part, must show better cohesion in their play to make it two championships in a row.

The first two matches from the women's league final are also this weekend as the two most prominent teams, reigning champions Depiro Still and Hibs Go Mobile, will again face each other.

Between them, these two teams have shared all the domestic honours during the past two seasons. After losing the title to Depiro, Hibernians still managed to retain the BoV KO title for a record fifth successive time. There was consistent improvement after coach Mario Tabone took charge of the team but wresting the national league championship from Depiro's grasp will be difficult indeed.

Certainly, both coaches need all their players to perform to the best of their abilities as the sharper team on the day will be crowned Malta champions.