Athleta see off Luxol to join Siġġiewi on top

The first round of the National League was completed last weekend at Ta' Qali. Depiro Mtarfa had the better of Loyola St James Hospital and Athleta Compleet IS overcame rivals BUPA Luxol to join Siġġiewi at top of the standings

Athleta Compleet IS 64
BUPA Luxo l52
(15-16, 13-14, 16-13, 20-9)

Athleta Compleet IS condemned fierce rivals BUPA Luxol to their second league defeat and moved to top of the standings, level with Siġġiewi on seven points.

Athleta were at full strength for this match but Luxol sorely felt the absence of forward Abraham Portelli.

Neither team managed to gain the upperhand until the last five minutes when Luxol, whose shooters had an off day, crumbled.

In the end, the three-pointers potted by Athleta proved to be the difference between the two teams.

The opening quarter was evenly-poised but a 7-2 break in the early stages of the second session put Athleta 22-18 ahead. Luxol brought on fresh players who helped them to cancel out the deficit as the champions led 30-28 at half-time.

Luxol stayed ahead for most of the third session but in the last minute, Athleta gained a slight lead, 44-43.

Joe Galea's team started the last 10 minutes with a bang, scoring seven consecutive points without reply. Luxol lost their composure and suddenly there was no semblance of teamwork in their approach.

This allowed Athleta to consolidate their lead and dash all hopes Luxol had of staging a late rally.

Athleta: M. Naudi 19, C. Sammut 5, C. Doughty, E. Bezzina 8, M. Giusti, C. Galea, O. Said 12, C. Calleja 4, A. Bonnici 8, S. Cassar 8.

Luxol: M. Mercieca 7, R. Azzopardi 2, A. Spiteri 3, A. Borg 6, A. Cremona 2, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, D. Schembri 11, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 7, S. Schembri 14.

Referees: G. Barbara, S. Micallef, A. Carbonaro.

Depiro Mtarfa 70
Loyola St James 58
(13-22, 12-17, 25-6, 20-13)

This match was a two-facet affair as Loyola dominated the first two quarters and Depiro reserved their best for the last two sessions.

Loyola, who were without their coach Paul Sultana, enjoyed the better start. Their pick-and-roll approach in attack unhinged Depiro's individual defence who conceded a string of easy baskets.

Besides, Depiro were having problems undoing Loyola's individual marking which was more effective than in previous matches.

Loyola opened an early seven-point lead, 11-4. Depiro coach Ray Muscat tried to improve his team's performance by making several substitutions but Loyola stayed in control to lead 22-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Depiro made a better start to the second session, closing the gap to three points, 28-25. When Marko Arsovski missed three consecutive free-throws, Depiro passed through a difficult moment as Loyola potted the last 11 points before the interval to lead 39-25.

The break helped Depiro to regroup. They brought some much-needed aggression to their defending and with Malcolm Mallia leading their charge, Depiro improved their accuracy from the three-point zone to overturn the result and hold a five-point lead, 50-45, ahead of the final 10 minutes.

As the last quarter got underway, two consecutive Loyola baskets suggested that the latter had recovered from their third-session slump but it was not to be as Depiro regained control to dominate until the final whistle.

Depiro: R. Vella 17, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 1, M. Arsovski 20, J. Gatt, J. Dalli, E. Lupo 2, M. Mallia 7, I. Tanti 11, D. Agius 4, A. Aquilina 8.

Loyola: S. Pace 5, S. Borg, D. Camilleri 10, N. Sultana 9, S. Vella 3, A. Axiaq, G. Mihajlovic 11, K. Baldacchino 13, J. Ransley 7, M. Cini.

Referees: B. Vassallo, J.P. Sammut, C. Terrible.

Standings: Siġġiewi 7 (3-1); Athleta 7 (3-1); Luxol 6 (2-2); Depiro 6 (2-2); Loyola 4 (0-4).

Top scorers: D. Schembri (Luxol) 80; M. Naudi (Athleta) 78; P. Shoults (Siġġiewi) 73.

National League: Dec. 19, 16.15 Athleta vs Loyola. Dec. 20, 16.15 Depiro vs Siġġiewi.