Compleet ease through for comfortable win

BUPA Luxol 52
Compleet IS SW 88
(10-26, 14-20, 9-22, 19-20)

Compleet IS SW chalked up a comprehensive win over rivals BUPA Luxol who were hard hit by the absence of Marko Matijevic last weekend. However, the rebounder's absence cannot be used as an excuse for Luxol's below-par performance as they were outclassed and hardly ever got into gear.

Luxol fizzled away right from the first quarter as Compleet gained control with Michael Naudi having a field day in attack. Luxol lacked bite in defence and their recovery, after a bad pass or erratic shot, was poor.

Such was Compleet's supremacy that coach Joe Galea had the luxury of giving a run-out to all players in his squad. This season, it looks like Galea can bank on a stronger bench than his Luxol counterpart.

At one point, Luxol conceded 26 consecutive points and trailed 32-10 early in the second quarter.

Compleet began to introduce their substitutes but Luxol still failed to get their game going as they lacked cohesion on court.

In the end, Compleet's margin of victory was somewhat unexpected but fully deserved.

Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 9, R. Azzopardi 6, M. Micallef, A. Borg, A. Portelli 3, B. Micallef Trigona, T. Paris, D. Schembri 21, E. Caruana Montaldo, S. Schembri 13.

Compleet: M. Naudi 16, J. Naudi 5, D. Camilleri 9, E. Bezzina 10, C. Sammut 5, O. Said 15, C. Calleja 2, A. Bonnici 8, K. Baldacchino 4, S. Cassar 14.

Referees: G. Barbara, J.P. Sammut, E. Mangani.

Qormi 55
Depiro 71
(13-15, 18-17, 15-20, 9-19)

Depiro profited from Qormi's blunt shooting in the initial stages of the final quarter to go on and claim their first victory and stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

Depiro coach Ray Muscat was boosted by the return of captain Roderick Vella. His fast dribbling proved decisive and paved the way for his team's success. Young Gavin Muscat also had a fine game for Depiro.

Qormi showed improvement on their previous outing but, once again, they were unable to react after falling behind. They had the brighter start to open a 9-4 lead but with Sassoun Saakian coming more and more into the picture, Depiro edged in front.

Qormi regained a two-point lead, 24-22, midway through the second quarter but Depiro fought back to head into the dressing-room for the break 32-31 in front.

The match remained balanced but two consecutive baskets in the last minute of the third quarter put Depiro 52-46 ahead.

At this stage, Qormi became erratic and Depiro duly pounced on the situation to stretch their lead and put the result beyond doubt.

Qormi: K. Scicluna 5, J. Sant, A. Baldacchino, J. Anastasi, R. Formosa 3, J. Dalli 2, K. Borg 8, A. Axiaq 8, G. Borg, A. Costa 23, S. Cauchi 6, C. Bugeja.

Depiro: R. Vella 14, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja, N. Gatt, A. Aquilina 2, G. Muscat 11, J. Gatt 14, D. Debono, E. Lupo 10, S. Saakian 14, I. Tanti 4, D. Agius 2.

Referees: E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro, C. Terrible.

Women's Shield

Luxol and Honey Athleta joined holders Hibs Medsea and Depiro in the semi-finals of the women's MBA Shield. In the semi-finals, Hibs play Athleta and Depiro clash against Luxol.

Against Stunners, Athleta upped their game as the second quarter got underway to open a 27-14 half-time lead. With Stunners unable to turn the pressure on, Athleta went on to secure a 38-25 win.

Luxol were never in trouble against St James Hospital. Fifteen consecutive points saw them finishing the first 10 minutes 19-4 ahead.

The pattern remained the same for the rest of the match as Luxol maintained a firm hold on the proceedings to win 55-29.