Floriana Francesco Fenech won their direct encounter with Depiro Mtarfa to book a place in the Division One play-offs. Siġġiewi obtained the victory they needed against Loyola Tata Motors while leaders Athleta A-Z Electronics staged an incredible comeback against BUPA Luxol.

Depiro Mtarfa 82
Floriana 85
(16-18, 19-15, 15-17, 20-20, 12-15)

In a balanced and exciting match, Floriana edged clear of Depiro in extra time after the lead had changed hands several times.

Buoyed by their victory over Athleta, Depiro enjoyed the better start, racing into a 10-4 lead after five minutes.

Gradually, Floriana came more into the picture and free-throw conversions by Evan Fjeld enabled the Greens to go 18-16 in front at the end of the first quarter.

Floriana went on to stretch their advantage to five points, 28-23, but Depiro fought back with a number of three-pointers giving them a 35-33 lead at half-time.

The match remained balanced after the interval with both teams tied at 50-all at the start of the last 10 minutes.

With six minutes left, Depiro opened a 61-54 lead. Things looked grim for Floriana when Fjeld missed a dunk and at the other end, Roderick Vella reeled off a three-pointer.

But the Greens refused to throw in the towel as they potted two crucial three-pointers late on to take the match into extra-time.

In over-time, Floriana relied on Fjeld, who finished with 46 points, as they surged ahead.

Depiro had their chances but Nigel Sultana missed two crucial free-throws as coach Mario Tabone suffered his first defeat.

Depiro: R. Vella 26, J.P. Sammut, N. Sultana, A. Aquilina 7, A. Portelli, A. Micallef 18, E. Lupo 4, M. Mallia, I. Tanti 6, G. Hamlin 21.

Floriana: J. Curmi, C. Sammut 18, I. Mercieca 12, S. Sammut 6, C. Calleja 2, A. Baldacchino, E. Fjeld 46, A. Sultana, M. Ciantar 1.

Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, S. Gouder.

Luxol 64
Athleta 72
(26-10, 20-9, 12-20, 6-33)

Luxol missed the chance to boost their play-off chances after throwing away a 27-point lead in their game against rivals Athleta.

Until half-time, leaders Athleta had been unrecognisable, their performance worse than when they lost to Depiro as they showed little ideas in attack and were slack in defence.

With Lee Ross in excellent form, Luxol took advantage to open a 16-4 lead after five minutes.

Dominating underneath the boards, Luxol continued to dictate matters as Athleta couldn’t get going despite coach Joe Galea’s attempts to lift his team. Luxol were 46-19 ahead at the end of the second session.

Galea must have had some tough words for his players in the dressing room as Athleta were an improved lot after the interval. There full-court zone press undermined Luxol’s shooting and also forced them into passing errors.

Athleta recovered some lost ground but Luxol were still in command, starting the last 10 minutes 19 points ahead, 58-39.

Athleta’s press continued to trouble Luxol who were unable to conclude their attacks. With five minutes left, Athleta were five points behind, 59-54.

As Athleta gained control underneath the boards, they got back on level terms before potting the last eight points to complete a remarkable comeback.

Athleta: M. Naudi 16, I. Buldakov, M. Todorovic 7, O. Said 5, D. Schembri 7, A. Bonnici 11, K. Baldacchino 19, S. Schembri 7.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina, M. Mercieca 9, J. Belin 15, A. Micallef Trigona 2, L. Ross 30, A. Costa, T. Paris, N. Vasovic, M. Attard Montaldo, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 8, S. Capello.

Referees: G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro, L. Camilleri.

Loyola 59
Siġġiewi 68
(14-11, 10-24, 23-13, 12-20)

Both teams needed victory to stay in contention for the play-offs but it was Siġġiewi who kept their hopes alive as Loyola remain anchored to the bottom.

Loyola were the better side early on as they closed the first quarter 14-11 ahead.

Rebounder Chris Meier was performing below his usual standards for Siġġiewi but Marco Matijevic’s three-pointers gave them the edge as they changed ends 35-24 ahead.

Siġġiewi failed to maintain their momentum after the interval and wasted several free-throws. A series of three-pointers gave Loyola a two-point lead, 43-41 but Siġġiewi recovered to start the final quarter 48-47 ahead.

Siġġiewi dominated the early stages of the last period to all but secure victory after going 58-47 in front.

Meier hit two three-pointers with five minutes left and, hard as they tried, Loyola never looked capable of catching their opponents.

Loyola: S. Pace 13, D. Camilleri 17, M. Cilia, S. Borg, L. Azzopardi, S. Vella, A. Axiaq 4, J.P. Azzopardi, J. Anastasi, J. Ransley, R. Harris 25.

Siġġiewi: R. Agius, A. Cutajar, L. Camilleri 8, E. Xuereb 8, L. Grima, A. Borg 4, K. Borg, C. Meier 13, M. Kodomaris, M. Matijevic 35.

Referees: E. Mangani, C. Terribile, S. Gouder.

Standings: Athleta 15 (7-1); Floriana 13 (5-3); Depiro 12 (4-4); Siġġiewi 12 (4-4); Luxol 11 (3-5); Loyola 9 (1-7).

Top scorers: J. Belin (Luxol) 239; E. Fjeld (Floriana) 237; R. Harris (Loyola) 224; M. Matijevic (Siġġiewi) 183; G. Hamlin (Depiro) 149.

Next fixtures: Saturday – 15.30 Athleta vs Loyola; Sunday – 14.45 Floriana vs Siġġiewi; 16.30 Depiro vs Luxol.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.