Depiro hold off Athleta’s comeback

Alyssa Ashley Loyola and Depiro McDonald’s advanced to the semi-finals of the BOV Knock-Out after beating Qormi Phoenix and Athleta respectively.

Depiro, who were led for the first time by Adrian Mifsud following the departure of former coach Brian Mifsud, were given a stern challenge by Athleta. It was only in the final minutes that Depiro sealed their victory after notching nine consecutive points for a 63-53 victory.

It was Athleta who began brightly, scoring the first six points of the match. However, Depiro produced an instant reaction to surge 12-10 ahead at the end of the first quarter. Depiro continued to be the better side, increasing their advantage to 18 points by half-time, 32-14.

Athleta refused to give in though and their improved showing in the third quarter rattled Depiro whose advantage was whittled down to just four points, 40-36.

Depiro were struggling to contain their opponents’ resurgence as Athleta moved one point ahead, 47-46, with only seven minutes left.

Gradually, Depiro regained their composure and nine consecutive points confirmed their passage to the semi-finals.

In the other match, Loyola, on a high after their victory in the MBA Shield final, found little difficulty to overcome Qormi. Loyola were in control from the start, surging into a 17-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Qormi struggled to produce a fightback as Loyola increased their advantage to go in for the interval 30-10 in front. Loyola eased the pressure in the final two sessions, allowing Qormi to share the exchanges but they still ran out comfortable winners, 50-25.

The draw of the BOV KO semi-finals will take place on Thursday, with the matches scheduled for next weekend.