Floriana Café del Mar 69
Remax Siġġiewi Citadel 68
(24-14, 13-18, 21-21, 11-15)
Siġġiewi fought hard in the last quarter to turn the tide in their favour but then allowed Floriana to get back in and spoil their play-offs chances.
This was the most important match of the weekend and Floriana, led by Mike Henniger, had the best start to open a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Greens continued to add more points to their tally as the second quarter got underway but then Rashanti Harris potted his first basket for Siġġiewi who clicked into gear to reduce the deficit at half-time – 37-32.
Floriana then suffered a blow when Henniger committed his fourth foul.
With the American player on the bench, Siġġiewi failed to profit at first but Harris then came to the fore for his team. Depiro started the last ten minutes five points behind.
All was set for an exciting finale. Henniger was back on court but a Steve Sammut three-pointer put Siġġiewi in front for the first time – 64-62.
However, Sammut failed to pot his next three shots and that proved costly for his team.
In fact, Nikola Vasovic put Floriana back in front – 69-68 – and Siġġiewi’s last hope saw Harris missing from the zone area.
Floriana: M. Henniger 21, D. Camilleri 3, N. Sultana 12, S. Borg, L. Ross 25, N. Vasovic 4, C. Calleja 4, O. Shamala, D. Agius.
Siġġiewi: B. Zammit 4, B. Bartolo, S. Sammut 15, M. Matijevic 3, M. Cassar, A. Micallef 14, R. Harris 32, M. Mallia, L. Grima.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, Z. Dabrosaljevic.
BUPA Luxol 76
Virtus Cynergi 82
(15-14, 19-13, 16-23, 26-32)
This match lost much its significance following Siġġiewi’s upset to Floriana the previous day as both Luxol and Virtus were through to the semi-finals.
Both coaches profited from the situation to try out new tactics and rest some of their key players.
Eight points midway through the first quarter put Luxol in the driving seat but Virtus came back to level only for Luxol to change ends 34-27 in front after a period of sustained pressure.
Virtus looked more organised after the break but there was nothing to separate both teams at the end of the quarter – 50-all.
However, Luxol’s hopes were dashed as the last quarter got underway with Virtus taking the upperhand to open a comfortable lead and preserve their advantage notwithstanding Thomas Staton’s fine showing late on.
Luxol: C.J. Cordina 20, A. Portelli 1, J. Willoughby 2, J.P. Schembri 10, N. Andrejevic, T. Staton 30, A. Micallef Trigona 6, J.P. Bonnici 7.
Virtus: S. Pace 10, D. Bugeja 28, R. Bonnici 7, M. Falzon, M. Breusewitz 30, A. Axiaq 6, I. Buldakov, F. Bartolo 1.
Referees: E. Mangani, L. Abium, C. Baena.
PAVI Depiro 79
Athleta A-Z Electronics 103
(20-30, 9-20, 20-32, 30-21)
This was the match that brought to a close the regular season as Athleta warmed up for their SF series against Luxol by hitting the 100-point jackpot against Depiro for whom pivot Marco Todorovic had another good match and potted 39 points.
Athleta also had Chad Patus in good shooting form as they opened a 50-29 lead at the half-time break.
The champions continued to show the better qualities after the interval and gradually pulled further away, starting the last quarter 82-49 ahead.
Despite having a few substitutes on court, Athleta were still good enough to reach their objective and went beyond the 100-point mark with a basket from pivot Isaac Tanti, three minutes from time.
Depiro: J. Attard 2, D. Schembri, T. Zammit 10, N. Grech 4, M. Todorovic 39, R. Zammit, S. Zammit 16, K. Xuereb 7, M. Borg, S. Saakian 1.
Athleta: M. Naudi 22, R. Vella 11, F. Mifsud Bonnici, C. Patus 30, A. Aquilina 6, M. Gauci Montaldo, O. Said 14, M. Gouder, I. Tanti 20, S. Nincic.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, C. Baena.
League standings
Athleta 18 (8-2); Virtus 17 (7-3); Floriana 16 (6-4); Luxol 15 (5-5); Siġġiewi 14 (4-6); Depiro 11 (1-9).
Top scorers
M. Todorovic (Depiro) 292, M. Breusewitz (Virtus) 290, M. Henniger (Floriana) 279, T. Staton (Luxol) 272, C. Patus (Athleta) 244.
BOV League, SF play-offs
(March 19) 13.00 Athleta vs Luxol, 16.30 Virtus vs Floriana.