Remax Siġġiewi 82
Athleta A-Z Electronics 68

(29-16, 17-9, 12-28, 24-15)

Chad Patus skipped this match for Athleta and his absence was sorely felt as Siġġiewi went on to beat their opponents for the first time this season.

With Ivo Hoeger and Chris Maier in dominant mood in the zone, Siġġiewi were a solid bet for victory and they paved the way for their success with a fine showing in the opening two sessions to build a 46-25 lead at half-time.

The interval talk must have revved up Athleta though as they hit back strongly, never allowing Siġġiewi to settle on court. They carved their way back into contention as Siġġiewi lost most of their focus while disputing refs’ decisions, also incurring a couple of technical fouls in the process.

At one point confusion reigned supreme as it seemed that Maier had committed his fifth foul but after consulting each other the officials handed the penalty to the bench.

Athleta were now six points behind 49-43 as Siġġiewi effected some changes with Maier back on court to the disapproval of the opposing team.

Siġġiewi managed to steady the ship before regaining the upperhand in a five-minute spell in the last quarter to lead 70-57. Athleta tried hard to react but in the end they ran out of time.

Siġġiewi: C. Maier 18, A. Debattista, S. Sammut 24, E. Xuereb, L. Camilleri 2, A. Borg 2, L. Ross 11, J.P. Antoncich, I. Hoeger 20, M. Mallia, M. Matijevic 5.

Athleta: M. Naudi 19, D. Bugeja 8, C. Galea, K. Baldacchino 4, O. Said 10, S. Pace 8, W. Spiteri, S. Bischoff 7, S. Schembri 12.

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

Royce Floriana 82
BUPA Luxol 81

(12-12, 23-29, 27-15, 20-25)

Coach Christoff Stolp finally obtained his first victory in charge of Floriana who still have a slim chance of reaching the play-offs and defend the title they won last year.

The Greens had Omar Shamala, David Camilleri and Peter Shoults back but David Agius was missing.

Stolp’s team showed significant progress with Dirk Schembri having another fine match, both in attack and defence where he had the difficult task, along with with Derek Elston, to stop Samuel Deguara.

There was nothing to separate the two teams in the first quarter but Luxol were the first to up their game. They potted ten points to lead 30-20 with five minutes left for the break but Floriana hit back to halve the deficit to 41-35 at the end of the quarter.

With Elston finding his shooting touch, Floriana took the upperhand and towards the seventh minute they shot in front 60-52.

The champions held on to their lead and started the last ten minutes of the match 62-56 ahead.

Luxol looked more determined after the short rest and regained the initiative with four minutes left – 70-68.

The lead changed hands several times in a tense finale but Luxol then missed a couple of sitters and trailed 76-82 with less than a minute left.

Luxol opted for a time-out and potted the next five points when play resumed. Then, Floriana lost possession and it seemed all over for them.

However, Luxol’s hopes were dashed when an erratic pass to Deguara was intercepted with seconds left.

Floriana: O. Shamala, D. Elston 22, D. Camilleri 20, P. Shoults 8, S. Borg, B. Zammit 6, C. Calleja 2, D. Schembri 24.

Luxol: J.P. Cordina 2, M. Mercieca 8, A. Micallef, J. Willoughby, J.P. Schembri 6, N. Vasovic 4, J.P. Bonnici, M. Myers Keitt 32, A. Micallef Trigona, S. Deguara 29, S. Capello.

Referees: E. Mangani, S. Micallef, T. Helenius.

Naxxar Starlites 63
PAVI Depiro 86

(18-27, 10-9, 16-24, 19-26)

Depiro profited from Athleta’s upset to Siġġiewi to regain top place after having the better of bottom-placed Starlites for whom pivot Marco Todorovic had an excellent match.

Depiro raced ahead in a lively first quarter but play deteriorated after that. There was a period of error-strewn play but Depiro still led 36-28 at half-time.

Starlites shared the exchanges until the last minutes of the third quarter when Depiro took control to start the last ten minutes with a comfortable 64-44 lead.

Todorovic and Starlites tried hard to make the score look more respectable but Depiro held on their their cushion advantage.

Starlites: M. Todorovic 39, R. Loporto 4, R. Bonnici 9, A. Schembri, S. Bonnici, A. Cutajar, J. Curmi 5, B. Soler 4, J. Zammit 2, G. Coleiro.

Depiro: R. Vella 19, M. Adekponya 23, N. Sultana 2, A. Aquilina 10, A. Portelli, S. Bartolo 17, A. Axiaq 6, E. Lupo 2, I. Tanti 7, M. Agius.

Referees: E. Mangani, S. Micallef, T. Helenius.

Standings: Depiro (7-2) 16, Siġġiewi 15 (6-3), Athleta 15 (6-3), Luxol 13 (4-5), Floriana 12 (3-6), Starlites 10 (1-8).

Top scorers: M. Myers Keitt (Luxol) 257, M. Todorovic (Starlites) 239, D. Elston (Flo-riana) 232, I. Hoeger (Siġġiewi) 196, C. Patus (Athleta) 173.

Next fixtures: Saturday, 16.30 Depiro vs Floriana. Sunday, 13.00 Luxol vs Siġġiewi, 16.30 Starlites vs Athleta.