Athleta A-Z Electronics and PAVI Depiro lead the table at the end of the first round of the BOV men’s league thanks to victories over Starlites and Royce Floriana respectively. Remax Siġġiewi occupy third place after having the better of BUPA Luxol.

Samuel Deguara in action for BUPA Luxol. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Royce F loriana 71
PAVI Depiro 78

(17-23, 23-12, 13-22, 18-21)

Christoff Stolp’s reign as Floriana coach started on a wrong footing as the champions continued to fall behind in the race for play-offs positions.

A Depiro 13-2 break saw them move 20-7 ahead but after a Stolp time-out the Greens improved to close the gap to 23-17.

Floriana kept their momentum to go 36-28 in front with three minutes left for lemon time. It was Depiro coach Mario Tabone’s turn to call a time-out and his changes helped as the team started moving around better even though Floriana went in for the break 40-35 ahead.

Floriana held the lead but Tabone opted for more changes and this time Depiro recovered lost ground and took a 54-51 advantage.

The match was open with Floriana hitting back to level at 69-all.

However, their efforts proved futile as Turrel Morris’s late baskets put Depiro in the driving seat to secure a useful victory.

Floriana: O. Shamala, D. Elston 21, D. Camilleri 18, P. Shoults 10, S. Borg, C. Calleja 6, D. Schembri 10, S. Saakian, D. Agius 6.

Depiro: R. Vella 11, N. Sultana 10, T. Morris 31, A. Aquilina 3, A. Portelli 5, S. Bartolo 9, A. Axiaq 7, E. Lupo, I. Tanti 2.

Remax Siġġiewi 72
BUPA Luxol 69

(22-17, 27-15, 11-19, 12-18)

With both teams needing victory to keep in touch with the leaders, it was Siġġiewi who finished on top thanks to their last-quarter efforts that turned the match decisively in their favour.

Both teams paraded new signings – Siġġiewi had Chris Maier making his debut and the towering Samuel Deguara was playing his first match for Luxol.

Besides, Siġġiewi had playmaker Lee Ross in fine form. He potted seven three-pointers.

Siġġiewi opened the first gap at 22-13 but Luxol came back to trail 22-17 at the end of the first quarter.

The next session looked tight until the last minutes before half-time when Siġġiewi clicked into gear and a 12-1 run enabled them to change ends 49-32 ahead.

The interval helped Luxol to reshuffle their pack. The break did them a wealth of good and a 12-2 break saw them getting closer to their opponents, 51-44. Siġġiewi surpassed a cricital moment to start the last ten minutes 60-51 ahead.

Luxol kept battling and their efforts were rewarded when Meyers Keitt levelled at 62-all and Deguara then put the team ahead.

Siġġiewi lost their plot for a couple of minutes but an Alan Borg shot from outside the arc saw them back in front. Luxol fought bravely to avoid defeat but Ross’s shots from the distance proved to be the trump card for his team.

Siġġiewi: C. Maier 11, A. Doublett, S. Sammut 7, C. Sammut, E. Xuereb, N. Falzon, A. Borg 9, L. Ross 23, J.P. Antoncich, I. Hoeger 10, M. Mallia, M. Matijevic 12.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 5, M. Mercieca 6, A. Micallef 5, A. Micallef Trigona 1, J. Willoughby, J.P. Schembri, N. Vasovic, J.P. Bonnici 2, M. Meyers Keitt 28, S. Deguara 22, S. Capello.

Starlites 67
Athleta A-Z Electronics 94

(11-31, 22-18, 14-22, 20-23)

As expected, Starlites found the going tough and the game was won and lost by the end of the first quarter when Athleta, with their full-court zone press, completely overwhelmed the inexperienced Starlites team.

Starlites looked more settled in the second quarter and did well to stem the tide against them with Marco Todorovic, formerly of Athleta, finding more space in the zone. Starlites’ shooting percentage improved to share the session and trail 49-33 at half-time.

But Athleta again showed their true qualities after the interval to open an assuring 71-47 lead.

At this point, both coaches gave more playing time to their substitute players. These same two teams are set to clash again next weekend in the BOV KO semi-finals.

Starlites: M. Todorovic 31, R. Loporto 5, R. Bonnici 14, A. Schembri, S. Bonnici 8, J. Curmi 5, A. Cutajar, M. Vassallo, B. Soler 2, G. Coleiro 2.

Athleta: M. Naudi 13, C. Galea, D. Bugeja 3, C. Patus 31, W. Spiteri 2, O. Said 9, S. Pace 8, B. Bartolo 2, D. Ross 2, S. Bischoff 7, S. Schembri 17.

Standings: Athleta 9 (4-1), Depiro 9 (4-1), Siġġiewi 8 (3-2), Luxol 7 (2-3), Floriana 7 (2-3), Starlites 5 (0-5).

Top scorers: D. Elston (Floriana) 156, M. Meyers Keitt (Luxol) 154, M. Todorovic (Starlites) 146, T. Morris (Depiro) 142, C. Patus (Athleta) 129.

Sunday: KO SFs 13.00 Athleta vs Starlites, 16.30 Depiro vs Floriana.