The weekend heralded the start of the BOV National League with champions A-Z Electronics Athleta opening their title defence with a fine victory over Virtus Cynergi.
A-Z Electronics Athleta 84
Virtus Cynergi 58
(19-16, 22-16, 21-11, 22-15)
Despite being without Chad Patus and Steve Schembri, Athleta still did well to chalk up their first win in the league at the expense of Virtus who parted ways with foreigner Evan Bruinsma but welcomed back pivot Anton Axiaq after a long lay-off.
Athleta showed they are still the team to beat. Their dominance in the zone, spearheaded by captain Michael Naudi and Isac Tanti, again proved to be the winning factor.
The match began on an even keel until a late three-pointer put Athleta 19-16 ahead at the end of the first quarter.
The champions showed better qualities as the second quarter got underway to extend their lead, going ahead 41-32 at half-time.
No team managed to impose any kind of supremacy as the third session started but late on Virtus’s shooting percentage dropped and Athleta profited to start the last 10 minutes with a healthy 62-43 lead.
The game was won and lost.
Paul Ferrante’s men failed to react and Athleta cruised to a deserved victory.
Athleta: M. Naudi 27, R. Vella 3, A. Aquilina 7, M. Gauci Montaldo 4, O. Said 24, M. Gouder, I. Tanti 19.
Virtus: S. Pace 8, D. Bugeja 17, R. Bonnici 10, A. Schembri, A. Felice Pace, A. Axiaq 12, I. Buldakov, G. Coleiro 4, P. Shoults 7, F. Bartolo.
Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, S. Rowles.
PAVI Depiro 69
Remax Siġġiewi Citadel 70
(10-22, 16-17, 15-9, 17-10 – 11-12)
This was another high-quality match with victory eventually going to Siġġiewi in extra-time.
Siġġiewi had Marco Cesar making his debut but new foreigner Rashanti Harris must wait another week for his transfer to be completed.
With chief scorer Marco Todorovic shadowed by the Siġġiewi defence, Depiro relied on outside shots to keep in touch with their opponents. But, after a time-out Billy Zammit and Steve Sammut were on the mark from outside the arc to lift Siġġiewi into a 39-26 lead.
The third quarter was a balanced affair until Siġġiewi were forced to substitute Marko Matijevic and Zammit on four fouls. The side lost pace but it was only in the last minutes that Depiro began taking advantage with Cesar unable to stop the powerful Todorovic in the zone.
With things not looking good, Matijevic and Zammit re-appeared on court but the robust Malcolm Mallia was kept on the bench.
Siġġiewi recovered and Cesar had two free-throws to increase their lead but missed one.
Ray Muscat’s team were made to pay for that miss as, just before the final whistle, Todorovic forced extra-time – 58-58.
Two consecutive three-pointers from Steve Sammut seemed to have set Siġġiewi on their way but Depiro had other ideas. With a few seconds left, David Farrugia put Depiro 69-68 ahead.
But then Zammit was adjudged to have been fouled when attempting a three-point shot. After missing the first free-throw, he nailed the other two to seal a dramatic victory for his team.
Depiro: J. Attard 2, D. Farrugia 6, R. Rizzo 4, T. Zammit 10, N. Grech, M. Todorovic 30, S. Zammit 10, K. Xuereb 7.
Siġġiewi: B. Zammit 21, J.P. Antoncich, S. Sammut 21, M. Cesar 7, M. Matijevic 9, R. Carabott 4, A. Micallef 6, B. Bartolo, L. Grima, M. Mallia 2.
Referees: B. Vassallo, C. Terribile, S. Rowles.
Floriana Café Del Mar 59
BUPA Luxol 67
(17-12, 15-26, 16-9, 11-20)
Both teams had no foreigners in their line-ups after Luxol released Orlando Rutledge while Nick Oud-endag has left Floriana.
The Greens were also hampered by the absence of injured duo Marco Mercieca and Nigel Sultana.
Floriana, despite having pivot Dirk Schembri in the team, were outplayed in the zone with young Steve Capello leaving a good impression for Luxol.
Floriana lacked consistency in the opening two quarters of the match and at half-time Luxol led 38-32.
But the Greens looked better after the interval and their efforts were rewarded when a 9-4 break helped them to start the last 10 minutes 48-47 ahead.
However, their hopes were dashed as Luxol upped their game significantly in the last 10-minute period. They opened a 65-50 lead and never looked back after that.
Floriana: M. Henniger, L. Ross 18, S. Borg 6, N. Vasovic 4, C. Calleja 6, D. Schembri 13, O. Shamala, D. Agius 12.
Luxol: C.J. Cordina 14, A. Portelli 4, J. Willoughby, E. Bonello, J.P. Sche-mbri, A. Micallef Trigona 8, J.P. Bonnici 10, S. Capello 31.
Referees: E. Mangani, C. Terribile, S. Rowles.
National League
(Saturday) 16.30 Luxol vs Depiro.
(Sunday) 13.00 Siġġiewi vs Athleta; 16.30 Virtus vs Floriana.