Loyola Tata Motors 50
Depiro Mtarfa 47
(26-4, 2-9, 11-10, 11-24)
Loyola needed a comprehensive victory over Depiro to qualify for the semi-finals of the MBA Shield and for most of the match, they looked well-placed to reach their aim and oust Luxol from the competition.
Their hopes, however, fizzled out very late in the match as a David Debono three-pointer and a string of baskets from veteran Jeffrey Gatt narrowed Depiro’s deficit signi-ficantly, much to the satisfaction of interested on-lookers Luxol.
After captain Roderick Vella potted the first basket, Depiro had to wait until the last minute before half-time to claim another two-pointer as, incredibly, their other points only came from free-throws.
Inspired by David Camilleri and pivot Giovann Mihajlovic, Loyola took full advantage to build a comfortable lead at the end of the first quarter. Loyola’s performance dipped, allowing the erratic Depiro to recover some ground until half-time, 28-13.
With both sides unable to lift their game, Loyola started the last 10 minutes 39-23 ahead. At that stage, a 16-point advantage would have been enough to send them into the last four.
Loyola were still in the frame with two minutes to go when Debono downed a three-pointer and then Gatt used his height to shatter Loyola’s hopes.
Loyola: S. Pace 5, B. Zammit, D. Camilleri 12, C. Cassar, S. Borg, M. Cilia, S. Vella 3, A. Axiaq 5, G. Mihajlovic 20, J. Anastasi, J. Ransley, A. Tabone 5.
Depiro: R. Vella 19, J.P. Schembri, D. Debono 5, F. Agius, A. Aquilina 2, J. Gatt 13, J. Camilleri, E. Lupo 1, M. Mallia 1, I. Tanti 6, G. Merceica.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, S. Micallef.
Siġġiewi Derby 84
BUPA Luxol 69
(23-23, 24-12, 16-15, 21-19)
Luxol showed improvement on their previous two matches but they were still not good enough to deny Siġġiewi a third consecutive victory.
Both sides turned the ball round efficiently in attack but, in the end, Siġġiewi’s experience proved too much for Luxol.
Coach John Tabone, however, should feel satisfied with Luxol’s performance in the hope that his youngsters gain more experience when playing against the top clubs.
Both sides enjoyed good moments in the opening quarter as Robert Azzopardi’s three-pointer in the last second tied the score at 23-all.
Siġġiewi’s better start then lifted them 10 points clear, 38-28, and they stayed in control by half-time.
Luxol tried to make a comeback after the interval but after narrowing the gap to seven points, 51-44, they committed several mistakes which allowed Siġġiewi to regain the lead, 63-50 for the last 10 minutes.
Hard as they tried, Luxol could not cancel out that deficit as Marco Matijevic dominated underneath the boards and Alan Borg provided several assists to his team-mates.
Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 2, M. Shoults, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb, N. Sultana 11, A. Borg 18, A. Micallef 24, K. Borg, J. Jetsen, I. Matijevic 29.
Luxol: M. Mercieca 2, R. Azzopardi 12, A. Micallef Trigona 5, N. Vasovic 14, A. Costa 5, T. Paris 7, A. Cremona 9, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 15.
Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbon-aro, C. Terribile.
Semi-finals: Saturday, 3.45 p.m. Siġġiewi vs Depiro. Sunday, 4.15 p.m. Athleta vs Luxol.
Women’s League
As expected, Hibs Medsea, Luxol and McDonalds Depiro again registered easy victories in the Women’s League last weekend and in the other match in programme, Loyola Alyssa Ashley did well to beat Athleta and jump into fourth place.
Loyola, strengthened with the return of Christine Grima, clinched their second victory from four matches. Grima left her mark and, in fact, she finished the match as top-scorer with 24 points.
Ten consecutive points midway through the first half, saw Loyola 15-8 ahead but Athleta hit back strongly to close the gap to a point 24-23. But Loyola soon regained the upperhand to change ends 36-23 ahead.
Athleta tried hard to get back into the reckoning.
Their efforts, particularly at the start of the fourth quarter, were impressive. However, Loyola never relinquished their lead to win the match 55-47.
Against St Andrew’s, champions Hibs were always in control as they opened a 48-9 half-time lead. With captain Lucienne Bezzina in fine form, Hibs went on to finish 78-21 winners.
Luxol, the joint leaders, were also never troubled when playing newcomers Mtarfa.
Luxol recovered from a slow start and led 34-16 at the interval. Bot-tom-placed Mtarfa ran out of steam and Luxol went on to clinch a pronounced 70-34 victory.
Depiro kept in touch with the top two thanks to an 86-41 win over Starlites.
With forward Greta Zarb back in the team, Depiro imposed their superiority right from the opening minutes and at half-time they already had victory under wraps as they led 40-20.
Standings: Hibs 8 (4-0), Luxol 8 (4-0), Depiro 7 (3-1), Loyola 6 (2-2), Athleta 5 (1-3), St Andrews 5 (1-3), Starlites 5 (1-3), Mtarfa 4 (0-4).
Top scorers: L. Bezzina (Hibs) 85, K. Agius (Depiro) 82, S. Demartino (Luxol) 70, B. Zammit (Luxol) 66, L. Sciberras (Athleta ) 61.
Next fixtures: Friday, 6.15 p.m. Mtarfa vs Athleta; 7.45 p.m. Hibs vs Starlites. Saturday, 2 p.m. Loyola vs St Andrews. Sunday, 2.30 p.m. Depiro vs Luxol.