Hamrun Go Mobile 63
(17-14, 11-13, 21-9, 14-22)
Pembroke 58

Hamrun Go Mobile strengthened their position at the top of the Kinnie League standings. On Sunday, they returned to winning ways by beating Pembroke but only after emerging unscathed from anxious moments late in the match.

The champions, ousted from two cup competitions in a matter of days this month, had to do without sharp shooter David Camilleri but relied on Alan Borg who looked unstoppable from the three-point line.

Pembroke's play was affected by the low-key performance of Michael Naudi who did not look 100 per cent fit.

There was an auspicious start to the game with Hamrun leading 17-14. However, the second session was riddled with errors from both sides. Alfred Mifsud's men just managed to hang on to their lead at half-time - 28-27.

Play improved after the interval and Pembroke put their nose in front, 34-33, for the first time. Then, Hamrun, mostly through three-pointers, hit their best patch of the game to open a 49-36 lead before the final ten minutes got underway.

Hamrun looked comfortably in the lead when Mifsud opted for a time-out.

The wily Joe Galea, the Pembroke coach, took advantage to switch to full court press. His tactic looked to have paid off as Hamrun fumbled possession and with Naudi coming more into the picture, Pembroke reduced the gap to a single basket with less than two minutes left.

However, Borg's eighth three-pointer of the day saved the champions as Pembroke, who missed a series of free-throws, were not able to sustain the pressure.

Hamrun: K. Borg 3, A. Spiteri 11, A. Borg 26, A. Portelli, O. Said 5, J. Jetsen 10, A. Bonnici 8, N. Falzon.

Pembroke: M. Naudi 15, J. Zammit, N. Lubrano, E. Bezzina 9, J. Galea, T. Riolo 8, C. Calleja, A. Micallef 9, D. Cuschieri 9, K. Baldacchino 8.

Referees: B. Vassallo, J.P. Sammut.

Depiro Kyocera 42
(14-18, 11-13, 9-16, 8-17)
Bupa Luxol 64

Luxol notched their fourth league victory in the regular season, again at the expense of Depiro who have to lift their game to make the play-offs with only one round to go.

Depiro confirmed they cannot maintain the pace for a whole match and, once again, they were let down by a poor shooting rate. With a number of regulars suffering from poor form, coach Adrian Mifsud chose to start with several youngsters against Luxol.

At first, Depiro stayed in touch with Luxol but towards the end of the first session John Tabone's team started pulling away to lead 26-15 midway through the second session.

A time-out and substitutions helped Depiro to surpass that difficult moment and the team reduced the gap to 31-25 by half-time.

Depiro's mini-revival continued but when they were a point behind, Luxol veteran Reuben Dalli potted eight consecutive points to put Luxol back on track and start the last quarter 47-34 ahead.

Depiro ran out of steam and were never in a position to get back into contention. In the end, they gave up as Luxol ran out comfortable winners.

Depiro: R. Vella 11, C. Cassar 6, G. Muscat 2, A. Aquilina, J. Vella, M. Ciantar, J.P. Azzopardi, D. Ross 6, M. Mallia 5, D. Agius 2, E. Lupo 10.

Luxol: C. Sammut 19, M. Mercieca 2, R. Azzopardi 3, M. Micallef, M. Portera, C. Pulis, R. Dalli 12, D. Schembri 7, S. Cassar 10, S. Schembri 11.

Referees: C. Farrugia, E. Mangani.

Standings: Hamrun 15 (7-1), Pembroke 12 (4-4), Luxol 12 (4-4), Siggiewi 11 (3-5), Depiro 10 (2-6).

Top scorers: M. Naudi (Pembroke) 129, C. Sammut (Luxol) 128, P. Schultz (Siggiewi) 121, R. Vella (Depiro) 119, S. Schembri (Luxol) 119.

Next fixture: (Sunday, BoV KO final) 4.15 p.m. Luxol vs Pembroke.