Gżira Athleta 75
Falken Cynergi Virtus 81
(9-22, 17-24, 20-16, 29-19)
Virtus maintained their unbeaten league run as they paved the way for victory over Athleta with a superb showing in the opening quarter.
Athleta had forward Adrian Micallef back. However, his presence alone was not enough as Joe Galea’s men failed to recover from a very shaky start. Michael Naudi was the only one who potted points for Athleta at that juncture.
A 15-2 break helped Virtus open a 22-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. Athleta were struggling for pace and a string of three-pointers put Virtus 33-14 ahead.
Athleta only showed signs of im-provement after a time-out but at half-time they still trailed 26-46.
As the third quarter got underway Athleta took control underneath the boards. Virtus lost composure but they led 62-46 before the last ten minutes.
Athleta pressed full court and this time it was Virtus who lost several possessions as their opponents piled up the points with shots from outside the arch.
With two minutes left, Virtus’s lead was shrinked to four points.
All was set for an exciting finale but then Billy Zammit got disqualified and Virtus took advantage to re-open a cushion lead which they preserved till the end.
Athleta: M. Naudi 32, R. Vella 8, F. Mifsud Bonnici, L. Stefanovic, I. Buldakov, B. Zammit 3, A. Micallef 4, N. Lubrano 8, S. Vincic, M. Gauci Montaldo, L. Fisher 20.
Virtus: S. Pace 12, D. Bugeja 16, R. Bonnici 5, D. Camilleri 9, S. Bonnici, J. Formosa 11, A. Felice Pace, C. Santos 23, F. Bartolo, L. Sobers, P. Shoults 5, T. Grech.
Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro.
BUPA Luxol 94
Hibernians 75
(19-16, 27-20, 22-15, 26-24)
This was a must-win situation for both teams in their quest for a place in the play-offs.
Hibs’ confidence was low after their defeat to Depiro while Luxol were involved in high-scoring games though they still finished on the losing end.
Luxol’s shooting percentage, with Jean Paul Bonnici again in evidence, saw them through in the end and now they’re very close to making fourth place theirs.
Luxol had the better ending to the opening quarter and that seemed to have spurred them until half-time even if Kieron Caruana kept Hibs in the reckoning with his timely points.
At half-time Luxol led 46-36.
Bonnici showed his best after the break as his points helped Luxol extend their lead to 68-51.
Hibs were never able to wipe out that gap and apply the pressure on Luxol for whom Colt Fason and Marco Mercieca played an important role in the team’s success.
Luxol: C.J. Cordina 20, C. Fason 39, J. Willoughby 2, S. Vasser, K. Dimech, J.P. Schembri 2, J. Maistre Mellilo, M. Mercieca 13, J.P. Bonnici 18.
Hibs: P. Attard, M. Hampton, R. Cortis 2, L. Farrugia 7, S. Attard 4, I. Bonett, K. Caruana 27, R. Carabott 3, K. Sultana, S. Vella 2, F. Mariani 10, M. Matijevic 20.
Referees: B. Vassallo, A. Carbonaro, C. Farrugia.
PAVI Depiro 56
Floriana Café Del Mar 80
(3-21, 22-23, 17-14, 14-22)
Like Virtus, Floriana made sure of their victory after showing their best in the opening period of the match.
Depiro were surprised and there was no way back for them as they could only muster three points in the first ten minutes.
However, by half-time Floriana had lessened the pace and Depiro pulled back to 25-44.
The third quarter was a balanced affair and Depiro did well to slightly reduce the gap to 58-42.
But, any hopes they might have had of a comeback were quashed as the Greens hit their stride again to make sure of their seventh victory from eight outings.
Depiro: J. Attard, M. Agius, D. Schembri, A. Aquilina 4, N. Grech 4, T. Zammit 10, M. Mallia 4, V. Vlahos 8, K. Xuereb 4, M. Borg, M. Nwelue 22.
Floriana: C. Patus 29, L. Ross 8, N. Sultana 14, S. Borg 6, A. Portelli 5, N. Vasovic 2, C. Calleja 6, A. Axiaq 10, A.M. Trigona, N. Andrejevic.
Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro.
Standings: Virtus 16 (8-0), Floriana 15 (7-1), Athleta 12 (4-4), Luxol 11 (3-5), Depiro 9 (1-7), Hibs 9 (1-7).
BOV League: Saturday, 16.30 Luxol vs Athleta. Sunday, 13.00 Virtus vs Depiro, 16.30 Floriana vs Hibs.