Depiro 57
Athleta 78
(18-25, 14-15, 14-19, 11-19)
Despite having pivot Addison Bonnici missing through injury, Athleta A to Z Electronics still proved too strong for an inconsistent Depiro Pavi whose hopes of winning this final were dealt an early blow when American Shawn Morgan suffered an injury in the closing minutes of the first quarter.
Athleta deserved their win as they were more organised in attack and their zone defence gave little space to Depiro’s tall players whose shooting left much to be desired.
Athleta were dominant underneath the boards but Depiro’s tactics of attempting early shots or going for the basket after only one pass in attack didn’t help their cause.
By contrast, Athleta turned the ball fast in attack until they released a player in a good shooting position.
After a balanced start, 12-all in the fifth minute, Depiro took a slight lead, 18-15, prompting Athleta coach Joe Galea to call a time-out.
Athleta recovered to score the next 10 points, finishing the first session 25-18 ahead.
With Depiro unable to find their shooting touch, Athleta continued to pull further away. They led 36-21 with five minutes left for half-time.
In the final minutes, Depiro improved to reduce the gap to eight points, 40-32.
Depiro stayed in touch until the closing minutes of the third quarter when Athleta capitalised on their opponents’ hurried conclusions and individual play to start the last 10 minutes 59-46 ahead.
Andrew Aquilina’s shooting gave Depiro a lifeline as the last quarter got underway with Athleta 59-53 in front.
Once more, Depiro lost the plot and, instead of steadying their attack, they continued to rush their shots.
The experienced Athleta took full advantage of their opponents’ errors to retain the MBA Shield, their second honour of the season.
Depiro: R. Vella 11, N. Sultana 4, K. Kun, A. Aquilina 16, A. Portelli, A. Micallef 7, E. Lupo 2, M. Mallia 4, I. Tanti 4, S. Morgan 9.
Athleta: Z. Borg, D. Bugeja 3, M. Todorovic 28, M. Giusti 2, S. Hagul, O. Said 5, S. Pace 2, K. Baldacchino 11, M. Gauci Montaldo, S. Schembri 27.
Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro.
Next fixtures
Sunday: BOV National League 13.00 Athleta vs Floriana; 14.45 Depiro vs Luxol.