Remax Siġġiewi Citadel 58
Athleta A-Z Electronics 63

(14-6, 16-18, 10-17, 18-22)

Leaders Athleta found Siġġiewi a hard nut to crack on Sunday.

Siġġiewi had Rashanti Harris making his debut and the team showed improvement. However, strength in depth remains a main source of worry for Siġġiewi.

Their lively start surprised Athleta who had Chad Patus back but Steve Schembri missing. But, after a time-out Joe Galea’s men looked better even though they failed to break down their opponents’ resistance. In fact, at half-time Siġġiewi held a six-point lead – 30-24.

It was towards the middle of the third quarter that Athleta finally obtained the break they needed to forge ahead for the first time, 39-34.

Siġġiewi surpassed a difficult moment to regain the lead only for a Patus basket to allow the champions to start the last ten minutes a point ahead – 41-40.

Athleta dug deep into their energy reserves in the last quarter and relied on all their experienced players to keep Siġġiewi’s enthusiasm under check.

Late on, two points from the free-throw line by Roderick Vella put an end to Siġġiewi’s hopes of an upset.

Siġġiewi: B. Zammit 9, J.P. Antoncich, S. Sammut 12, M. Cassar, M. Matijevic 8, R. Carabott 8, A. Micallef 7, B. Bartoli, R. Harris 14, M. Mallia, L. Grech.

Athleta: M. Naudi 13, R. Vella 2, C. Patus 19, A. Aquilina 3, M. Gauci Montanaro, O. Said 18, M. Gouder, I. Tanti 8.

Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, Z. Doborosaljevic.

Virtus Cynergi 80
Floriana Café Del Mar 73

(15-16, 28-15, 19-18, 18-24)

This was a clash between two teams that lost their first league outing the previous week.

In the end, victory went to Virtus who showed better teamwork and organised play.

Floriana had the towering Nigel Sultana back after recovering from injury as shooter David Camilleri was recalled to cover up for Marco Mercieca’s absence.

Both teams had new foreigners. After a shaky start, Virtus’s Mike Breuvitz made his presence felt in the zone and Floriana’s Mark Herriger started on a high note but had to play cautious after receiving his third foul.

A last-gasp Lee Ross three-pointer saw the Greens leading 16-15 at the end of the first quarter.

However, Breuvitz soon started winning the rebounds and potting the points, helping Virtus to gain the upper hand and change ends 43-31 ahead.

Floriana changed tactics after the interval but their efforts were still not enough to unsettle Virtus who extended their lead to 51-34. Floriana lost Camilleri with five fouls but they still managed a recovery to close the gap to 62-49.

Floriana lost their shooting touch as the last quarter got underway but Virtus were also committing mistakes and losing possession.

Though having to do without David Bugeja and Peter Shoults with a couple of minutes left, Virtus still finished the better team to chalk up their first win in the championship.

Virtus: S. Pace 5, D. Bugeja 11, R. Bonnici 7, O. Grech, A. Schembri, M. Breuvitz 32, A. Felice Pace, A. Axiaq 12, I. Baldakov, G. Coleiro, P. Shoults 13, F. Bartolo.

Floriana: M. Herriger 34, D. Camilleri 3, N. Sultana 4, L. Ross 10, N. Vasovic 9, C. Calleja 11, S. Determann, O. Shamala, D. Agius 2.

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

PAVI Depiro 75
BUPA Luxol 101

(18-34, 16-18, 21-26, 20-23)

After their surprise, but merited, victory over Virtus, Luxol paraded new foreigner Thomas Staton and the team produced another polished display to outclass Depiro.

Depiro were in the match for the first few minutes only as soon Luxol pulled away to change ends 52-34 ahead.

With Depiro’s reaction failing to materialise, Luxol never lost control to start the last ten minutes leading 78-55 and close to potting the first century score of the league season.

The last quarter was played at a fast pace with baskets flowing at regular intervals. In the end, Luxol achieved their objective with Staton contributing with 44 points.

Depiro: J. Attard 2, D. Farrugia 4, D. Schembri, R. Rizzo 2, T. Zammit 12, M. Todorovic 37, R. Zammit, K. Xuereb 5, N. Borg 5, S. Saakian 8.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 31, A. Portelli 2, J. Willoughby 4, J.P. Schembri 10, N. Andrejevic, S. Visser, A. Micallef Trigona 6, J.P. Bonnici, S. Capello 4, T. Staton 44.

Referees: E. Mangani, C. Terribile, C. Baena.

Standings: Athleta 4 (2-0), Luxol 4 (2-0), Siġġiewi 3 (1-1), Virtus 3 (1-1), Floriana 2 (0-2), Depiro 2 (0-2).

National League: (Saturday) 16.30 Virtus vs Siġġiewi. (Sunday) 13.00 Depiro vs Floriana 14.45 Athleta vs Luxol.