A-Z Electronics stay composed to lift Shield - November 8, 2010

Siġġiewi Derby 63
Athleta A-Z Electronics 86
(16-22, 20-26, 18-14, 9-24)

Athleta gained revenge for last year’s loss to Siġġiewi in the final of the pre-season Detur MBA Shield tournament to claim the first honour of the 2010-11 season.

Yesterday, the better and more disciplined team won. Siġġiewi were again let down by their own attitude, confirming that their players are their own worst enemies.

Athleta looked composed from the start and relied on cohesion and team spirit to have the better of their wayward opponents.

The umpires had a good match but one still cannot understand why they allowed Athleta coach Joe Galea to constantly argue and contest most of their decisions without being slapped with a technical foul.

The match was entertaining until Siġġiewi lost composure in the final quarter with the more experienced Athleta team potting the points consistently to secure the title.

After a balanced start, Athleta caught their opponents unawares and nailed six consecutive points to take a slight lead which they administered until the end of the session, 22-16.

Siġġiewi’s defence was leaving too many spaces for the Athleta shooters to manoeuvre, particularly Steve Schembri who together with his brother Dirk brought about Siġġiewi’s downfall.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Athleta extended their lead to 27-18. Peter Farrugia’s team tried to stage a reaction but when they had the chance to close the gap, poor shooting hindered their efforts. Athleta profited from the situation to change ends 48-36 in front.

Siġġiewi tried to recover after the interval but failed to apply any kind of pressure on Athleta who had key players Michael Naudi, Addison Bonnici and Kristen Baldacchino foul-hit.

Siġġiewi, however, were still in contention as the last 10 minutes got underway – 62-54.

However, with Marco Matijevic running out of steam, Siġġiewi failed to keep hold of their nerves even though Athleta lost pivot Bonnici.

As happened in other matches in this competition, some Siġġiewi players tried to resolve the matter single-handed but with scant success, paving the way for Athleta to pull further away and secure victory.

Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 19, M. Shoults 1, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb 2, N. Sultana 2, A. Borg, A. Micallef 21, J. Jetsen, M. Matijevic 18.

Athleta: M. Naudi 17, J. Zammit 1, E. Bezzina, M. Giusti, D. Schembri 18, O. Said 11, C. Calleja, A. Bonnici 4, K. Baldacchino 9, A. Ryan 1, S. Schembri 25.

Referees: G. Barbara, J.P. Sammut, C. Terribile.

National league: Saturday – 15.45 Luxol vs Athleta. Sunday – 16.15 Loyola vs Depiro.