Luxol and Siġġiewi rely on experience to prevail in extra-time

Mtarfa Depiro 60
Luxol 66
(9-14, 14-16, 15-13, 17-12, 5-11)

In the opening match from the men's Division One MBA Shield, holders Bupa Luxol met Mtarfa Depiro.

Luxol sorely felt the absence of strong rebounder Marco Matijevic who has joined Siġġiewi. Jean Paul Bonnici, formerly of Siġġiewi, made his debut for Luxol.

It was Depiro who made the better start only for Luxol to hit back and led 14-9 after the first quarter.

Luxol maintained their tempo at the start of the second session to go 21-10 up but Depiro went through a good patch to level at 21-all by the fifth minute.

Again, Luxol regained the upperhand to change ends 30-23 in front but the tit-for-tat nature of the match continued as Depiro nosed ahead, 33-32, seven minutes into the third quarter.

Luxol bounced back to take a five-point lead, 43-38, but Depiro refused to lie down. Back they came and, with only seconds left, Depiro thought they had clinched the points only for the basket to be disallowed.

In extra-time, Luxol relied on their experience to dominate their opponents.

Loyola 84
Siġġiewi 92
(17-24, 23-20, 16-16, 25-21, 3-11)

In an entertaining and high-scoring match, Siġġiewi Kent Beringer were stretched to the limit by newcomers St James Hospital Loyola who enjoyed a positive debut.

Siġġiewi had Marco Matijevic to thank for their victory but surely coach Peter Farrugia must work on the defence if his team are to seriously challenge for the honours.

After a balanced start, Siġġiewi pulled away in the closing minutes to lead 24-17.

Siġġiewi looked to be in control as they extended their lead to 34-22, but Loyola had other thoughts. They nailed a series of three-pointers to trim the gap to 44-40 at half-time.

Loyola continued to keep the pace with their more-quoted opponents, with the lead changing hands several times. In the final seconds, Loyola managed to force extra-time but their resistance fizzled out thereafter as the experienced Siġġiewi prevailed.