No surprises as Siġġiewi, Athleta set up showdown

Siġġiewi 108
Depiro Mtarfa 100
(Two legs – 57-51, 51-49)

Siġġiewi came through a difficult spell before six consecutive free-throws by playmaker Alan Borg booked their place in the final.

Marco Matijevic was back for Siġġiewi while Depiro gave a debut to American player Greg Hamlin in the first leg of this semi-final. Two former Siġġiewi players, Adrian Micallef and Abraham Portelli, were in Depiro’s initial line-up.

Siġġiewi were first to settle as they opened an eight-point lead which they preserved until the end of the quarter, 18-10. They retained a slight edge over Depiro to increase their lead to 13 points by half-time, 33-20.

Starting the last quarter 47-30 ahead, Siġġiewi looked set for an easy win but they dropped their guard and Depiro took advantage to reduce the gap to six points, 57-51.

Depiro potted the first two baskets of the second leg but Alan Borg sparked a reaction from Siġġiewi who moved 13-7 in front.

Siġġiewi’s momentum was disrupted when Borg committed his third foul and had to be substituted. Depiro recovered to move to within a point of their opponents, 19-18.

The exchanges remained balanced but it was Depiro who led 30-27 at half-time.

After the interval, play became erratic as both teams opted for hurried conclusions.

Depiro began the last 10 minutes 42-40 ahead. In a low-scoring final session, Depiro were only a basket away from forcing extra-time but their captain committed his fifth foul with a minute left and Siġġiewi capitalised to seal their qualification to the final.

Athleta 138
Loyola 118
(Two legs – 68-64, 70-54)

With Athleta handicapped by the absence of injured captain Michael Naudi, the match had a slow start. Loyola kept in touch with their opponents, 13-10.

Athleta brought more aggression to their game in the second quarter to surprise Loyola who struggled to cope. Athleta led 42-26 at half-time.

Athleta maintained their supremacy as, with six minutes left, they were 68-44 ahead but Loyola’s press frustrated the champions to the extent that the latter scored 20 consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four points, 68-64, at the end of the first leg.

In the second match, Loyola continued where they left off the day before, opening an eight-point advantage,13-5.

Trailing 19-12, Athleta had to raise their game and their 2-1-2 defence troubled Loyola who could only muster one more basket, changing ends 29-21 behind.

Athleta continued to dictate matters after the interval and led 54-35 for the last 10 minutes. Loyola intensified their pressure in the final period but this time, Athleta neutralised their efforts without much difficulty.

Next fixtures
Saturday: Louis Borg Cup final, first leg 15.30 Siġġiewi vs Athleta.
Sunday: Louis Borg Cup final, second leg 16.30 Athleta vs Siġġiewi.