Thanks to their victory over Remax Siġġiewi, coupled with Athleta A-Z Electronics’ upset to BUPA Luxol, PAVI Depiro are the sole leaders of the men’s league. In the other match from the championship, Starlites surprised Royce Floriana to notch their first victory.

Remax Siġġiewi 60
PAVI Depiro 71

(18-19, 14-16, 10-17, 18-19)

This was a balanced and exciting match with victory finally going to Depiro who registered a league double over Siġġiewi to claim top place in the table.

Depiro had Australian Matthew Adekponya making a satisfactory debut, finishing top scorer of the match with 33 points.

Siġġiewi were coming from a victory over Luxol and they looked to take revenge for their first-round upset to Depiro but the latter had other ideas even though playing without pivot Nigel Sultana.

The first two quarters saw the lead changing hands several times with Depiro shifting ends enjoying a 35-32 advantage.

No team managed to break the deadlock until the final minutes of the third quarter when Depiro potted the last six points for a 52-42 lead in the final ten minutes.

Siġġiewi were unable to cancel that deficit as Depiro admini-stered their lead wisely to register a vital win.

Siġġiewi: C. Maier 2, C. Sammut 2, S. Sammut 4, L. Camilleri, E. Xuereb, A. Borg 3, L. Ross 17, J.P. Antoncich, I. Hoeger 28, M.M. Mallia, M. Matijevic 4.

Depiro: R. Vella 7, M. Adekponya 33, A. Aquilina 10, A. Portelli 4, S. Bartolo 4, A. Axiaq 11, E. Lupo, I. Tanti 2, M. Agius.

Referees: G. Barbara, S. Gouder, T. Helenius.

Athleta A-Z Electronics 63
BUPA Luxol 92

(8-21, 17-19, 18-21, 20-31)

While with the signing of pivot Samuel Deguara was expected to lift Luxol’s game significantly, few would have imagined that they could inflict such a heavy defeat on former leaders Athleta.

On Sunday, Joe Galea’s team suffered badly underneath the boards where Deguara dominated as he recovered innumerable rebounds that yielded him points or a chance to launch fast breaks.

Together with Michael Mayer Keitt, Deguara posed an insurmountable obstacle for Athleta and it would be interesting to see where this duo would lead Luxol this season.

Fourteen consecutive points after the third minute opened the way for Luxol’s big victory.

Though Athleta improved in the second quarter, Luxol still changed ends with a comfortable 40-25 lead.

Athleta had their best moment to close the gap to 12 points (48-36) after the break. But after a time-out and substitutions, Luxol hit back strongly to start the last ten minutes 61-43 ahead.

Athleta doubled their efforts and started to press full court, obtaining the first two baskets.

However, Luxol’s reaction was overwhelming as they added 16 points without reply before taking complete control, never allowing Athleta back in contention.

Athleta: M. Naudi 19, H. Soufain, D. Bugeja 4, C. Patus 18, M. Giusti, W. Spiteri, O. Said 13, S. Pace 2, D. Ross, K. Baldacchino 2, S. Bischoff 2, S. Schembri 3.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 15, M. Mercieca 2, A. Micallef, N. Andrevic, J. Willoughby, J.P. Schembri 9, N. Vasovic, J.P. Bonnici, M. Mayer Keitt 37, A. Micallef Trigona, S. Deguara 29, S. Capello.

Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.

Starlites 69
Royce Floriana 65

(16-19, 19-16, 18-15, 16-15)

Floriana’s bad patch continued as this time they were beaten by bottom team Starlites who chalked up their first victory of the season at the expense of the misfiring Greens.

This setback hindered Flo-riana’s chances of a place in the play-offs to defend the title they won last year.

Floriana had the better start but Starlites recovered lost ground and levelled matters in the second quarter thanks to a Saviour Bonnici pot from outside the arc.

Floriana then opened a 30-26 lead with five minutes left for half-time but Starlites came back to equalise at 35-all.

The match continued to be a balanced affair with the Greens always a couple of points in front.

Then, a 10-2 break helped Starlites put their noses in front to start the last ten minutes 53-50 ahead.

In a tense and exciting finale, Starlites did well to keep their opponents in check and hang on to their slim lead for their first league victory.

Starlites: M. Todorovic 39, R. Loporto 4, R. Bonnici 13, A. Schembri, S. Bonnici 9, J. Curmi, A. Cutajar, B. Soler, J. Zammit, G. Coleiro 4.

Floriana: O. Shamala, D. Elston 18, D. Camilleri 9, P. Shoults 9, S. Borg, B. Zammit 3, C. Calleja 12, D. Schembri 6, D. Agius 8.

Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.

Standings: Depiro 11 (5-1), Athleta 10 (4-2), Siġġiewi 9 (3-3), Luxol 9 (3-3), Floriana 8 (2-4), Starlites 7 (1-5).

Top scorers: M. Mayer Keitt (Luxol) 191, D. Elston (Floriana) 174, M. Todorovic (Starlites) 174, T. Morris (Depiro) 142, C. Patus (Athleta) 135.

MBA Shield Final: Sunday – 16.30 Athleta vs Floriana.

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.