Bupa Luxol 67
(10-18, 20-16, 19-9, 18-23)
Siggiewi Smina 66

Luxol just managed to thwart Siggiewi's desperate efforts to beat them with a Chris Sammut free-throw seven seconds from time.

Siggiewi only have themselves to blame for not obtaining their second victory.

Some of their substitutions did not work and, perhaps, anxiety crept inside their game as they failed to call a time-out with a few seconds left, a move that could have seen them re-starting the match from mid-court.

Luxol sorely felt the absence of pivot Derek Schembri and with playmaker Sammut under constant marking, they could not get their attack going. Free-throws came to their rescue.

Siggiewi had the better start and raced to a 17-7 lead. Luxol upped their game and closed the gap to a single point, 18-17 midway through the second session.

Now it was Siggiewi's turn to react and Alex Farrugia's team cantered to a 32-21 lead only for Luxol to hit back and change ends 30-34.

Farrugia opted to change his defensive set-up after the interval but it was Luxol who were finding more space at this juncture and went on to start the last ten minutes 49-43 ahead. Siggiewi lost Steve Sammut, fouled out.

Luxol looked in control but when pivot Silvio Cassar was fouled out, Siggiewi regained confidence and wiped out an eight-point deficit, going on to lead 66-65 in a frantic finale.

Siggiewi's Sassoun Saakian had the chance to put his team further ahead but missed two free-throws. Luxol won possession and Sammut potted a free-throw which proved to be enough for them to win the two points.

Luxol: C. Sammut 9, M. Mercieca 8, R. Azzopardi 12, M. Micallef, M. Portera, C. Pulis, R. Dalli 2, E. Caruana Montaldo 2, S. Cassar 17, S. Schembri 17.

Siggiewi: R. Mifsud, S. Sammut 6, L. Camilleri 12, J. Doughty 2, H. Agius, M. Barberi 8, P. Schultz 18, J.P. Bonnici 4, M. Schultz, S. Saakian 5, A. Huizer 9, E. Xuereb 2.

Refs: E. Mangani, G. Barbara.

Pembroke 63
(23-13, 18-7, 10-15, 12-15)
Depiro 50

Pembroke were after revenge in this match after two defeats to Depiro earlier in the season. They had pivot Matthew Zammit back but Jeffrey Gatt is still nursing an injury. In the end, Joe Galea's team reached their objective in comfortable fashion.

Depiro, without veteran ace Don Ross, were never in contention as Pembroke's early pressure yielded them a commanding 23-13 first quarter lead.

With Adrian Mifsud unable to lift his players, Pembroke continued to dictate matters and extended their lead to 41-20 at the break.

Depiro showed signs of recovery at the restart with Mifsud introducing interesting young players in his team. They fought admirably to reduce the gap but Pembroke were never threatened and the points were safely theirs long before the buzzer signalled the end of hostilities.

Pembroke: M. Naudi 17, J. Zammit, N. Lubrano, E. Bezzina 15, J. Galea, T. Riolo, C. Calleja 2, A. Micallef 12, D. Cuschieri 2, K. Baldacchino 11, M. Zammit 4.

Depiro: R. Vella 12, K. Muscat 4, J. Rodriquez 3, A. Aquilina 2, J. Vella, M. Ciantar 1, J.P. Azzopardi 5, E. Lupo 10, E. Cassar, M. Mallia 7, D. Agius 6.

Refs: C. Farrugia, S. Micallef.

Standings: Hamrun 8 (4-0), Pembroke 8 (3-2), Luxol 8 (3-2), Siggiewi 6 (1-4), Depiro 6 (1-4).

Top scorers: R. Vella (Depiro) 88, S. Cassar (Luxol) 82, M. Naudi (Pembroke) 80, S. Schembri (Luxol) 78, P. Schultz (Siggiewi) 78.

Next fixtures: (Saturday - BoV KO Preliminary Round) 4.15 p.m. Depiro vs Luxol. (Sunday - Super Cup) 4.15 p.m. Hamrun vs Pembroke.