Floriana found little difficulty in overcoming Siġġiewi and book their place in the semi-finals of the BOV KO competition. Photo: Chris Sant FournierFloriana found little difficulty in overcoming Siġġiewi and book their place in the semi-finals of the BOV KO competition. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Floriana Café Del Mar 78
Remax Siġġiewi Citadel 53

(20-9, 21-10, 20-9, 17-25)

As expected, Floriana booked a place in the semi-finals but the main talk in the lead-up to this match was the fact that both teams had changed coaches.

Mario Tabone took over from Christoff Stoph at Floriana and Ray Muscat replaced Karl Borg on the Siġġiewi hot-seat.

Floriana were in command from the opening minutes as Siġġiewi failed to take off, leaving Muscat with lots of work to do to improve his team’s chances this season.

Floriana potted ten consecutive points to end the first quarter 20-9 ahead and they continued to dictate matters for a cushion 41-19 lead at half-time.

The match continued on the same pattern after ends were changed with Floriana never troubled by Siġġiewi to hold a 61-28 lead before the last session got under way.

It was only in the last quarter that Siġġiewi came to life but by then Tabone’s team had long been home and dry.

Floriana: N. Oudendag 23, M. Mercieca 7, L. Ross 11, N. Sultana 18, S. Borg, N. Vasovic 11, C. Calleja 4, D. Schembri 4, S. Determan, O. Shamla, D. Agius.

Siġġiewi: B. Zammit, J.P. Antoncich, S. Sammut 1, M. Matijevic 11, A. Micallef 23, B. Bartolo, R. Carabott 2, M. Mallia, K. Tribette 10, E. Xuereb 6.

Refs: G. Barbara, C. Terribile, Z. Dobrosarjevic.

Virtus Cynergi 91
BUPA Luxol 45

(23-19, 26-11, 30-6, 12-9)

This match was practically over as a contest midway through the third quarter when Virtus pivot Anton Axiaq required lengthy medical attention after a collision with an opponent in the Luxol’s zone.

At that juncture Virtus were leading 55-30 and by the time Axiaq was whisked away to hospital in an ambulance some 20 minutes had elapsed.

Luxol suggested the match should stop but Virtus, after consultation between coach and players, decided to continue.

Luxol, who were without the services of sharp shooter Jean Paul Cordina, had given a good account of themselves in the first quarter but Virtus were in a class of their own in the next session.

In fact, Luxol became erratic in their shooting and Virtus gradually pulled away to change ends with a comfortable 49-30 lead.

Then came the incident and the prolonged stop. After that there was very little worthy of note with the players from both sides avoiding contact.

Indeed, the last few minutes looked more like a friendly training spin than a competitive cup tie.

Virtus: S. Pace 8, D. Bugeja 2, R. Bonnici 6, C. Doublett, A. Schembri, E. Bruinsma 36, A. Felice Pace 1, A. Axiaq 10, I. Buldakov, G. Coleiro 6, P. Shoults 22, F. Bartolo.

Luxol: A. Portelli 4, E. Bonello, J. Willoughby 2, A. Borg, J.P. Schembri 10, N. Andrejevic, O. Rutledge 21, A. Micallef Trigona 2, J.P. Bonnici 2, S. Capello 4,

Refs: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, L. Camilleri.

MBA Shield final: (Sunday) 16.30 Athleta vs Virtus.

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