Luxol out of the play-offs

BUPA Luxol have dropped out of contention for the play-offs after an upset to rivals Depiro Mtarfa on Sunday. In other matches from the championship, Siġġiewi obtained a priceless victory over Floriana as leaders Athleta just managed to edge Loyola.

Depiro Mtarfa 72
BUPA Luxol 71
(21-12, 22-19, 12-15, 17-25)

Depiro consolidated their top-four placing but for Luxol, this was a costly defeat as they have missed out on the play-offs for the first time in several years.

Luxol had enough chances to overturn the result but missed a series of shots or gave away possession at crucial moments.

Despite hitting 51 points, Jerome Belin was unable to see Luxol through as John Tabone’s side dropped to their fourth consecutive defeat in the second round.

Luxol’s defence was at sixes and sevens at the start of the match and Depiro potted the first seven points through Andrew Aquilina.

They led 21-12 at the end of the first quarter and though Luxol showed some improve-ment after that, Depiro still changed ends 43-31 in front.

Greg Hamlin came more into the picture after the break, helping Depiro to start the last quarter 54-46 ahead.

Luxol stepped up their game as the last 10 minutes ticked away and a Belin shot from outside the arc reduced the deficit to three points – 54-51.

Strangely, Luxol were unable to maintain the pace and wasted easy baskets, allowing Depiro to open a seven-point lead (61-54) with five minutes left.

Depiro did not miss a shot from the free-throw line to frustrate Luxol who did not attempt a three-point shot at 72-69 down in the last few seconds.

Depiro: R. Vella 10, J.P. Schembri, N. Sultana 2, A. Aquilina 15, A. Portelli 6, A. Micallef 18, E. Lupo 5, M. Mallia, G. Hamlin 16.

Luxol: J.C. Cordina, M. Mercieca 11, J. Belin 51, A. Micallef Trigona, L. Ross 9, A. Costa, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, M. Attard Montaldo, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici, S. Capello.

Refs: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, E. Mangani.

Floriana Francesco Fenech 52
Siġġiewi 81
(14-24, 10-24, 20-15, 8-18)

Siġġiewi needed victory to enhance their chances of a play-off place. They achieved their objective without breaking a sweat as the scoreline clearly shows.

In fact, Floriana, bar Evan Fjeld, never got to grips with the sound play of Siġġiewi duo Marco Matijevic and Chris Meier.

Siġġiewi took an early lead and never looked back. Floriana playmaker Chris Sammut was tightly marked by Louis Camilleri and Siġġiewi continued to hold the upperhand with their advantage increasing to 48-24 at half-time.

Floriana tried to lift their game after the break but Siġġiewi never lost pace and held a handsome 63-44 lead before the last 10 minutes were played.

The Greens were a demoralised lot and Siġġiewi administered their lead easily for a morale-boosting win.

Floriana: J. Curmi, C. Sammut 3, I. Mercieca 3, S. Sammut C. Calleja 2, A. Baldacchino, E. Fjeld 44, A. Sultana, M. Ciantar.

Siġġiewi: R. Agius 2, A. Cutajar, L. Camilleri 5, E. Xuereb 5, A. Borg 3, K. Borg 3, C. Meier 26, C. Kodomaris 7, M. Matijevic 30.

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.

Athleta A-Z Electronics 75
Loyola Tata Motors 72
(15-12, 27-13, 23-24, 10-23)

Athleta made sure of finishing top of the standings at the end of the first phase but they had to dig in to stave off Loyola’s challenge.

The first session was a ding-dong affair with Athleta holding a narrow three-point lead before hitting their best before half-time for a 42-25 advantage.

Loyola lost the injured Raschanti Harris after the break but still managed to narrow the gap to 65-49 before the last quarter got underway.

The underdogs kept pressing and came within three points of Athleta, who, however held out for their eighth victory.

Athleta: M. Naudi 11, I. Buldakov 2, M. Todorovic 20, M. Giusti, O. Said 3, D. Schembri 13, A. Bonnici 12, K. Baldacchino 5, S. Schembri 9.

Loyola: S. Pace 6, B. Zammit 5, D. Camilleri 25, M. Cilia, S. Borg, S. Vella, A. Axiaq 7, J.P. Azzopardi 8, R. Harris 21.

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

League standings
Athleta 17 (8-1), Siġġiewi 14 (5-4), Floriana 14 (5-4), Depiro 14 (5-4), Luxol (3-6) 12, Loyola 10 (1-8).

Top scorers
J. Belin (Luxol) 290, E. Fjeld (Floriana) 281, R. Harris (Loyola) 245, M. Matijevic (Siġġiewi) 223.

Next fixtures
(Friday) 18.15 Luxol vs Floriana, 20.00 Siġġiewi vs Athleta. (Saturday) 16.30 Depiro vs Loyola. (Monday) BOV KO final 16.30 Floriana vs Luxol.