Luxol, Depiro book semi-final berth

Luxol and Depiro McDonald’s attained victories over Athleta and Hibs Medsea respectively to book their place in the semi-finals of the Detur Shield.

Loyola Alyssa Ashley closed in on a semi-final berth after beating GuzelPinar Mtarfa while St Andrews also stayed in contention thanks to their victory over Starlites Sports Experience.

In Group A, Depiro rattled rivals Hibs in the opening minutes of their clash. After going 9-2 down, Hibs improved but they failed to stop Depiro’s march as the latter led 26-17 at half-time.

Already plagued by the absence of pivot Maria Desira, injured, Hibs suffered another blow when Alexis Darmanin left the court after picking up an injury at the start of the third quarter.

Hibs made a reaction towards the end of the session to cut the gap to five points, 33-28. But, their hopes fizzled out as the last 10 minutes got underway as Depiro increased their lead to 46-32 before sealing a 50-37 victory.

In the other Group A game, St Andrews recovered from a slow start to record their first victory. After Starlites notched the opening seven points, St Andrews gained control to lead 16-11at the end of the first quarter, going on to change ends 25-19 ahead. They easily preserved their lead for a 44-37 victory.

In Group B, Luxol obtained their second victory after beating Athleta 61-53.

Luxol were the better side in the first two quarters as they went in for the break 35-16 ahead. Luxol remained in command to surge into a 61-40 lead but Athleta scored 13 consecutive points in the last minutes to make the score look more respectable.

As expected, Loyola bagged their second victory at the expense of Mtarfa. Loyola took matters in hand from the jumpball, taking a 25-16 half-time lead on way to a 55-42 victory.

Standings: Group A – Depiro 4 (2-0); Hibs 3 (1-1); St Andrews 3 (1-1); Starlites 2 (0-2).

Group B – Luxol 4 (2-0); Loyola 4 (2-0); Athleta 2 (0-2); Mtarfa 2 (0-2).

Next fixtures: Friday, 18.15 Hibs vs Starlites; 19.45 Mtarfa vs Athleta. Saturday, 14.00 Depiro vs St Andrews. Sunday, 14.30 Loyola vs Luxol.