Athleta A-Z Electronics 70
Virtus Cynergi 74
(18-27, 15-23, 25-12, 12-12)
Virtus marked their first season in the MBA competitions with a re-markable victory over Athleta in the Shield final on Sunday.
Paul Ferrante’s team had opened a 50-33 lead at half-time but Athleta came back roaring after the break and almost completed their comeback only for Virtus to hold tight for victory.
Athleta fielded their best formation but Virtus had to do without injured pivot Anton Axiaq.
With former Athleta duo Shaun Pace and David Bugeja leading the charge, Virtus could not have hoped for a better start as they dominated possession underneath the boards besides being accurate in their shooting.
One expected the experienced Athleta to show more grit and determination in the second quarter but after potting the first basket, they were torn apart by Virtus who extended their lead to a comfortable 17 points at half-time.
Virtus may have thought that the match was theirs but they were wrong.
In fact, Athleta adopted a different attitude after the interval... now the team looked more aggressive and with Chad Patus doing a fine job to mark Evan Bruinsma their play quickly gathered momentum.
Athleta starting winning most of the rebounds in the zone and a 19-3 break saw them closing the gap significantly.
Ferrante did well to halt play for a time-out but though his instructions helped his players surpass a difficult moment, Athleta continued to eat into their opponents’ advantage to start the last ten minutes of the match only four points behind – 62-58.
All was set for an exciting final. As tension grew both teams committed a few extra mistakes as the game’s shooting percentage dropped.
An Andrew Aquilina three-pointer put Joe Galea’s Athleta to within a point with two minutes left. However, Pace’s only basket of the match allowed Virtus to breathe better.
Then, when Bruinsma missed his two free-throws, Athleta had the opportunity to tie the score but captain Michael Naudi failed to conclude his drive.
Virtus pounced on the rebound and with six seconds left Bugeja was fouled. He controlled his emotions to pot his free-throws and seal the victory for the league newcomers.
Athleta: M. Naudi 12, R. Vella 4, C. Patus 23, A. Aquilina 7, M. Gauci Montaldo, O. Said 18, M. Gouder, I. Tanti 6.
Virtus: S. Pace 2, D. Bugeja 12, R. Bonnici 10, C. Doublet, A. Schembri, E. Bruinsma 31, T. Grech, A. Felice Pace, I. Buldakov, G. Coleiro, P. Shoults 19, R. Bartolo.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.
BOV KO semi-finals
(Sunday) 13.00 Depiro vs Virtus, 16.30 Floriana vs Athleta.