BUPA Luxol, Hibs Medsea capture league titles

Hibs Medsea players and close relatives pose with the championship trophies yesterday.

BUPA Luxol and Hibs Medsea yesterday clinched the men's and women's basketball titles respectively after prevailing in the decisive third game of their final play-offs.

Having collected all four basketball honours contested before their appearance in the league showdown, Luxol made it a clean sweep when they outsmarted rivals Compleet IS SW 67-61 to win the best-of-three Gatorade League final series 2-1.

As expected, yesterday's decider unfolded into a hard-fought encounter with Luxol's Marko Matijevic and Michael Naudi, of Compleet IS SW, calling the tune for their respective teams.

After a balanced start, Luxol opened a five-point gap towards the end of the first session, 17-12, but Compleet fought back in the second to narrow the deficit to just two points. Their comeback was cut short by Luxol who reeled off seven consecutive points to head for half-time 29-21 ahead.

Luxol controlled their advantage in the third session to begin the final 10 minutes 44-36 in front. Compleet rallied in the final quarter, their increasing pressure forcing Luxol into a series of mistakes. But two missed free-throws by Kirsten Baldacchino scuppered Pembroke's hopes of clawing back the deficit. Luxol held firm in the dying minutes to secure their 11th championship.

Matijevic was the game's top-scorer with 25 points while Naudi contributed 23 of Compleet's 61 points.

The Peugeot League final was a more straightforward affair as Hibs cruised to a 65-49 victory over rivals Depiro to complete a 2-1 series win. For the Hibs girls, this was their 12th championship and third in a row.

Depiro enjoyed the better start but Hibs stemmed the tide with an 11-0 scoring run. The first session ended 17-16 in favour of Depiro.

Hibs took the initiative in the early part of the second session but a dip in their performance saw them squander a four-point advantage as Depiro capitalised to go in for the break 31-27 in front.

After the interval, Hibs stormed into Depiro and won the third session 17-4 to take a nine-point lead. Depiro tried to get back in contention in the final quarter but Hibs remained the better side to seal the title.

Depiro's Rachel Camilleri led the scoring charts with 20 points while Doreen Micallef hit 16 for the winners.