Depiro already focused on winning fifth successive title

Depiro Still, Malta's basketball women's champions, were finally presented with the Peugeot National League trophy yesterday.

It was an occasion to savour for Depiro after a hard campaign but their sights are already set on winning their fifth title in a row next season.

Charles Bonnici, the Depiro coach, spoke of his satisfaction that his players have beaten the challenge of rivals Hibs for yet another year.

"It was a very difficult campaign for us," Bonnici said.

"Hibs gave us a strong challenge but the players showed great determination. They worked very hard and their efforts have yielded four main honours... the Peugeot League, Louis Borg Cup, MBA Shield and Super Cup. Our aim now is to make it five titles in a row next season."

"It was a pity that the final series ended with a walk-over after Hibs refused to accept the appeals' board decision that Joselle Cardona and Josephine Grima were eligible to play," Bonnici added. "However, the decisions by the relevant bodies made it clear that there was no infringement of rules by Depiro."

After falling 2-0 behind Depiro in the final, Hibs filed a protest with the Malta Basketball Association (MBA), claiming that Cardona and Grima were ineligible to play as they had also figured for Virtus Siracusa during the same season.

The MBA Protests' Board dismissed their case and after their appeal was also rejected, Hibs decided not to turn up for the third match of the final which effectively sealed Depiro's fourth successive title.

Andorra hopes

Captain Dorianne Bezzina and Grima are two established players in the Depiro side. Both are currently preparing to represent Malta in the Andorra GSSE where the national team will be defending the gold medal they famously won in Malta in 2003.

"We hope that our success on the domestic scene will give us the boost to get a good result for Malta in Andorra," Bezzina said. "It will not be easy as our team has gone through a lot of changes since 2003 but we will do our best to obtain a good result and possibly a medal."

Grima is hopeful that her participation in Andorra will accelerate her pursuit of a lifetime dream... to play professional basketball abroad.

"This season has been very important for me personally as I had the chance to improve my skills by working with Santino Coppa in Sicily," Grima said.

"My goal is to earn a contract abroad. Contacts have already been made and I hope that a good showing in Andorra will help me to fulfil this ambition."