Siġġiewi almost upset Compleet IS

Siġġiewi Smina 71
Compleet IS SW 73
(9-19, 18-24, 20-17, 24-13)

Compleet IS SW had to dig deep in their reserve tanks to stave off the bold challenge of Siġġiewi Smina and book a place in the final of the Louis Borg Cup on January 22 and 25.

Siġġiewi almost disrupted Compleet's plans in a remarkable three-minute spell as the last quarter got underway. However, in the end Omar Said and Silvio Cassar saw their team out of trouble.

Siġġiewi, without playmaker Louis Camilleri, had another slow start to fall 19-9 behind by the end of the first quarter. Compleet continued to be the better team and went in for the break enjoying a 43-27 lead.

Siġġiewi looked a different lot after the break. Peter Farrugia's men showed the best ideas and with Compleet in disarray, they potted 17 consecutive points at the start of the fourth quarter to take a surprise 64-60 lead with seven minutes left.

Compleet coach Joe Galea opted for a time-out to help his players surpass a difficult moment. Five points from Said put Compleet back in front but Siġġiewi were not down yet.

Peter Shoults had two free-throws available but Siġġiewi were unable to get the basket needed to force extra-time after winning the rebound from the second shot.

Siġġiewi: J.P. Antoncich, C. Agius, M. Pajec, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb 1, I. Mercieca 5, P. Shoults 23, J.P. Bonnici 13, A. Micallef 23, P. Volovic, J. Sant, J. Jetsen 6.

Compleet IS: M. Naudi 9, J. Naudi 3, D. Camilleri 3, E. Bezzina 3, J. Valdisere 2, O. Said 21, C. Calleja, A. Bonnici 10, K. Baldacchino 6, C. Sammut 3, S. Cassar 13.

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

BUPA Luxol 95
Depiro 79
(19-20, 32-16, 22-19, 22-24)

BUPA Luxol survived a slow start to go on and secure a place in the final.

Luxol had Marko Matijevic back from injury and his presence made the difference. When he was on the bench, Depiro shared the exchanges with Luxol and also held a single point lead at the end of the first quarter 20-19.

But when Matijevic was back on court, helping Dirk Schembri in the rebounds, Luxol showed better qualities to open a comfortable 51-36 lead at half-time.

Luxol continued to hold an edge as Depiro tried hard to stay in touch. Their efforts, however, were not enough to deny Luxol a place in the final.

Depiro: R. Vella 10, D. Debono, A. Aquilina 9, J. Gatt 7, E. Lupo 17, S. Saakian 19, I. Tanti 7, D. Agius 10.

Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 3, R. Azzopardi 5, M. Micallef, A. Borg 3, A. Portelli 9, T. Paris 5, N. Vasovic, D. Schembri 32, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 15, S. Schembri 23.

Referees: G. Barbara, S. Micallef, T. Micallef.

Powerade League: Friday, 19.45 Qormi vs Luxol. Sunday, 16.15 Compleet vs Depiro.