Siġġiewi bow out with a win

Siġġiewi Smina 86
Compleet IS SW 79
(20-16, 27-17, 20-22, 19-24)

Siġġiewi Smina completed their commitments for the season on a positive note after beating Gatorade League finalists Compleet IS on Sunday.

Siġġiewi had started the season with a win over Compleet but failed to keep the good work going, slipping out of contention for a place in the final play-off. Compleet face BUPA Luxol in the play-off.

Compleet had Matthew Zammit making a return but Etienne Bezzina and Kristen Baldacchino were absent. Nothing was at stake in this match but Siġġiewi still produced one of their best performances this season with pivot Addison Bonnici in fine form.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Siġġiewi opened a four-point lead and extended it to 47-33 before half-time. Both coaches sent out their best formations after the interval. Compleet improved but were unable to close the gap and trailed 67-55 at the end of the third session.

Siġġiewi seemed to be well in control when leading 75-60 but hesitant play underneath the boards allowed Compleet to get back into the match following a series of successful three-pointers. They narrowed the gap to four points, 83-79, with two minutes left but then ran out of steam and failed to add another point.

Siġġiewi
L. Camilleri 18, D. Camilleri 7, J. Doughty, A. Portelli 10, I. Mercieca, P. Shoults 11, J.P. Bonnici 10, A. Bonnici 30, J.P. Antoncich.

Compleet
M. Naudi 15, I. Baldakov, J. Galea, M. Zammit 8, T. Riolo, O. Said 27, A. Micallef 16, K. Micallef, S. Cassar 11, R. Mifsud 2.

Refs: J.P.Sammut, E. Mangani, A. Micallef.

Floriana 68
Mellieħa SVS 86
(20-20, 13-17, 20-20, 15-29)

Despite playing without several key players, most notably Chris Sammut and Jide Jetsen, Mellieħa were still too strong for Floriana and underlined their superiority in the Relegation Pool.

Floriana will have to improve in defence if they want to avoid the drop.

Floriana led 11-6 after five minutes but with Julian Naudi leading the charge, Mellieħa levelled matters by the end of the first quarter and opened a 37-33 advantage at half-time.

Floriana kept fighting on though and started the last quarter four points behind, 57-53.

Their hopes were dashed in the opening minutes of the last session when Mellieħa profited from some confused play by their opponents to pull further away and secure the points.

Floriana
B. Riolo 3, P. Ferrante 2, A. Sultana 6, K. Azzopardi, S. Saakian 37, G. Gilson 8, M. Pajec, K. Borg 12.

Mellieħa
J. Naudi 25, S. Sammut 26, S. Aquilina 11, E. Xuereb 2, M. Cauchi 6, R. Loporto 16.

Refs: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro, C. Terribile.

Championship Pool: Luxol 26 (13-1), Compleet 21 (9-5), Siġġiewi 18 (7-7).

Relegation Pool: Mellieħa 22 (8-6), Depiro 14 (4-9), Floriana 12 (1-13).

Top-scorers: M. Matijevic (Luxol) 305, S. Saakian (Floriana) 235, D. Schembri (Luxol) 220, R. Vella (Depiro) 218, S. Sammut (Mellieħa) 207.

Gatorade League final: Game One, Thursday 4.15 p.m. Luxol vs Compleet. Game Two, Sunday 4.15 p.m. Compleet vs Luxol.

Saturday: 4.15 p.m. Floriana vs Depiro.