Athleta hand Siġġiewi second defeat

Siġġiewi Derby 64
Athleta A- Z Electronics 78
(23-18, 4-26, 19-13, 18-21)

Defending champions Siġġiewi slipped to their second league defeat at the hands of leaders Athleta who maintained their perfect record.

Siġġiewi were without the injured Peter Shoults but Lee Ross was available for the first time this season after recovering from the injury he sustained in the championship play-offs last season.

Peter Farrugia’s team showed improvement on their last outings but were outshone by Athleta underneath the boards, an area where more was expected from Marco Matijevic, Siġġiewi’s tallest player.

Turning the ball around well, Siġġiewi were precise in their shooting to lead 10-4. Gradually Athleta improved to share the exchanges until the end of the quarter, 23-18.

Athleta’s defence adopted a more aggressive approach as the second quarter got underway. With Siġġiewi struggling to keep up their early momentum in attack, Athleta produced lethal fast breaks from rebounds to surge 44-27 ahead by half-time.

Siġġiewi fought back after the interval, scoring the first nine points to close the gap to 44-36. At this stage, Siġġiewi repeated their earlier mistakes by rushing their shots and this allowed Athleta to regain control.

Adrian Micallef’s fluffed effort, when he could have passed to Eman Xuereb, paved the way for Athleta to move back in front by the end of the quarter, 57-46.

A tense finale looked on the cards when Siġġiewi reduced the gap to four points, 63-59, with six minutes left, but lost possessions and individual play played into the hands of Athleta who took advantage to make it six wins in a row.

Siġġiewi: K. Borg, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb 11, A. Borg 7, A. Micallef 21, L. Ross, J. Jetsen 4, M. Matijevic 21.

Athleta: M. Naudi 14, J. Zammit, E. Bezzina 5, C. Galea, D. Schembri 14, O. Said 16, C. Calleja, A. Bonnici 7, K. Baldacchino 5, A. Ryan, S. Schembri 17.

Referees: G. Barbara, J.P. Sammut, A. Carbonaro.

BUPA Luxol 51
Depiro Mtarfa 63
(19-19, 2-12, 16-15, 14-17)

Depiro halted a run of four consecutive defeats with a 63-51 win over the depleted Luxol. The latter were severely weakened by the absence of Marco Mercieca and Robert Azzopardi, both suspended.

After a good start, Luxol faltered as their inexperienced youngsters struggled to cope with the pressure. David Bugeja’s individual marking on Luxol’s top scorer Petar Apcev also boosted Depiro’s hopes.

Luxol went 9-3 ahead but Depiro staged a reaction to take control underneath the boards. Depiro levelled the score by the end of the quarter, 19-19.

Driven by the forceful movement of captain Roderick Vella, Depiro rattled Luxol who only managed another basket till half-time. Depiro changed ends 31-21 to the good.

Luxol improved after the interval but this was not enough to unsettle Depiro who started the last 10 minutes 46-37 in front.

Persistence on Luxol’s part saw them trim the gap to just one basket, 50-48, six minutes from the end, but they lost their way in attack in the closing stages.

Depiro made their opponents pay, notching several points on the break to put the issue beyond Luxol.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina, M. Attard Montalto, E. Bonello, A. Micallef Trigona, P. Apcev 16, A. Costa, N. Vasovic 19, T. Paris 2, A. Cremona 6, E. Caruana Montalto, J.P. Bonnici 8, S. Mizzi.

Depiro: R. Vella 25, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 10, A. Aquilina 10, J. Gatt, E. Lupo 9, M. Mallia 9, G. Mercieca.

Referees: E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro, C. Terribile.

Standings: Athleta 12 (6-0); Siġġiewi 8 (3-2); Luxol 8 (2-4); Depiro 8 (2-4); Loyola 6 (1-4).

Top scorers: M. Naudi (Athleta) 116; P. Apcev (Luxol) 113; R. Vella (Depiro) 110; O. Said (Athleta) 109; A. Micallef (Siġġiewi) 103.

Next match: Detur Super Cup final – Sunday, 16.15 Siġġiewi vs Athleta.