Depiro, Hibs reach final

Depiro McDonald’s had the better of Luxol in the first semi-final of the women’s Louis Borg Cup to set up a showdown with rivals Hibs Medsea who were never troubled by St Andrew’s in the other last-four tie played on Sunday.

The final, over two legs, is due to be played on March 11 and 13.

Luxol could not have hoped for a better start against Depiro as they potted the first six points of the match. Depiro hit back strongly though and reduced the gap to a single point, 6-5, before Luxol raced into a comfortable 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Brian Mifsud’s Depiro, however, were determined to turn the tide in their favour as the second session got underway. They pulled back gradually to six points behind, 30-24, but Luxol still held on to change ends 36-31 in front.

But, Depiro continued where they had left off before the interval to forge 42-41 ahead in the third quarter. The lead changed hands several times until Depiro got the breakthrough they wanted to start the last 10 minutes leading 48-47.

This was a tight affair as Luxol regained the lead in the opening minutes of the last quarter, 53-50.

However, this time they could not keep the momentum going. Limiting their opponents to a single basket until the final whistle, Depiro took control to win the tie and reach the final with a hard-earned 58-55 victory.

As expected, Winnie Buhagiar’s Hibs easily dismissed the challenge of St Andrew’s.

Despite playing without regular Doreen Micallef and leaving some established players on the bench, Hibs paved the way for victory from the opening minutes. They led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Hibs continued to dictate matters till half-time, 34-16, and with the Saints unable to produce any kind of challenge, Hibs emerged clear winners – 71-32.

Crucial meeting

The MBA, still without a solution to the impasse that brought all men’s competitions to a halt this season, will be hoping to resolve some, if not all, pending issues today when another meeting is held for all parties concerned.

Matches from the men’s league and other knockout competitions were all cancelled these past two weeks following a dispute that arose after two Luxol players had their hefty suspensions significantly reduced by the Appeals Board.

Three other clubs, Siġġiewi, Rabat and Loyola, objected to the reduced bans, putting pressure on the association and leading the President’s Council to opt for a drastic measure of calling off all competitions until procedures to the case are properly executed.

Next fixtures: (women’s League)
Friday, 18.15 Mtarfa vs Luxol, 19.45 Hibs vs St Andrew’s.
Saturday, 14.00 Depiro vs Starlites.
Sunday, 14.30 Loyola vs Athleta.