Loyola break their duck

Phase One of the men's National League was completed last weekend with Loyola St James recording their first victory of the competition this season while leaders Athleta Compleet IS again had the better of rivals BUPA Luxol.

Depiro Mtarfa 70
Loyola St James 72
(29-11, 15-25, 17-18, 9-18)

A Kirsten Baldacchino basket 14 seconds from time saw Loyola finally breaking their duck and winning the first match in the league after 11 defeats.

Depiro have only themselves to blame for this upset but credit must be given to Loyola. They produced a spirited display to unsettle their opponents who must have thought that the match was over after opening a comfortable lead in the opening quarter - 29-11.

Loyola had other ideas though and when Depiro released their foot off the pedal, they managed an 18-7 run to reduce the gap to 44-36 at half-time.

Loyola crept to within four points behind Depiro in the opening minutes of the third quarter, 46-42, but Ray Muscat's Depiro reacted to start the last ten minutes 61-54 ahead.

Loyola kept battling on as Depiro became frustrated by some decisions from the referees.

Then, with a handful of seconds left, Baldacchino forced his way through a static Depiro defence to pot what proved to be the winning basket.

Depiro: R. Vella 29, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 7, M. Arsovski 12, A. Aquilina, J. Dalli, E. Lupo 11, M. Mallia 3, I. Tanti 8, D. Agius.

Loyola: S. Pace 13, B. Zammit 4, D. Camilleri 13, C. Cassar 5, G. Cuschieri, N. Sultana 6, S. Vella 2, G. Mihajlovic, A. Axiaq, K. Baldacchino 28, S. Borg, M. Cilia 1.

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro, C. Terribile.

Athleta Compleet IS 88
BUPA Luxol 82
(22-14, 20-25, 20-15, 26-28)

Luxol again had to bow their heads in front of rivals Athleta and though the reigning champions are in the Championship Pool, they still face an arduous task to defend the title they won last year.

Luxol's fighting qualities were again very much in evidence but as often happened this season some of their players lost focus and forgot all about teamwork during such key matches.

An 11-point break after the fifth minute, saw Athleta 18-9 ahead with Luxol managing to close the gap at the end of the quarter to 22-14.

Luxol continued to show better qualities and moved 23-22 ahead following a Robert Azzopardi three-pointer. However, a time-out helped Athleta to try different tactics and the move paid off as they changed ends 42-39 in front.

Luxol were the better team as the third quarter got underway but after taking the lead (44-42), they suffered a slump in form and 18 consecutive points paved the way for Athleta to open a 62-44 lead.

Luxol coach John Tabone opted for press tactics and Azzopardi's three-pointers steered the team back into contention as they nosed ahead 71-69 with five minutes left.

Young Clayton Calleja stood out for Athleta at this difficult moment and with Luxol resorting to individual play, Joe Galea's men took control despite having to do without pivot Addison Bonnici who was fouled out late on.

Athleta: M. Naudi 26, C. Doughty 4, E. Bezzina 2, M. Giusti, C. Galea, O. Said 22, C. Calleja 7, A. Bonnici 12, J. Zammit, S. Cassar 15.

Luxol: M. Mercieca 7, R. Azzopardi 33, A. Borg 8, A. Portelli 6, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, D. Schembri 8, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 13, S. Schembri 7.

Referees: E. Mangani, S. Micallef, C. Terribile.

Standings: Athleta 23 (11-1), Siġġiewi 21 (9-3), Luxol 17 (5-7), Depiro 16 (4-8), Loyola 13 (1-11).

Top scorers: M. Naudi (Athleta) 314, R. Vella (Depiro) 216, O. Said (Athleta) 214.

March 31: BOV KO final - 16.15 Athleta vs Depiro.