BUPA Luxol 72
Gżira Athleta 80

(20-16, 15-24, 19-18, 18-22)

Gżira Athleta returned to victory last weekend after their defeat to Virtus.

They overcame Luxol who gave a good account of themselves but their hopes were shattered by an injury to Colt Fason in the dying minutes and hurried shooting.

The match began with both teams trading baskets until the last minutes of the quarter when Luxol seized the initiative to open a four-point advantage, 20-16.

Gżira hit back at the start of the second quarter to go six points ahead, 30-24.

After a time-out, Luxol settled and kept in touch with their opponents until half-time, 40-35.

The start of the third period belonged to Luxol who drew level at 42-42 thanks to a long-distance shot.

With five minutes left for the end of the quarter, Gżira enjoyed a positive spell to open a 10-point lead, 56-46, but back came Luxol to close the gap to four, 58-54.

The last quarter continued on the same lines with neither team managing to build a commanding lead.

With less than five minutes remaining, Luxol suffered a blow after Fason went off injured.

Nevertheless, Luxol initially coped well as Chris Julian Cordina’s three-pointer dragged them back on level terms, 72-72.

But, their efforts proved futile as, capitalising on Cordina’s erratic conclusions, Athleta were able to secure victory by an eight-point margin.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 19, C. Fason 23, J. Willoughby, S. Vasser, K. Dimech, J.P. Schembri 5, J. Maistre Melillo, M. Mercieca 16, J.P. Bonnici 9.

Gżira: M. Naudi 28, R. Vella 10, F. Mifsud Bonnici, L. Stefanovic, I. Buldakov, A. Micallef 1, N. Lubrano 2, S. Vincic, M. Gauci Montaldo 7, L. Fisher 32.

Referees: E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro, Z. Dobrosavljevic.

Falken Cynergi Virtus 109
Pavi Depiro 69

(33-14, 27-14, 27-27, 22-14)

Reigning champions Virtus warmed up for their top-of-the-table encounter with Floriana with a routine victory over Depiro.

Pressing hard from the opening minutes, Virtus never allowed Depiro to settle. An 11-point run helped Virtus to increase their lead as they ended the first quarter 33-14 ahead.

Although Depiro showed signs of improvement in the second quarter, it was not enough to stop Virtus changing ends 60-28 ahead.

Depiro’s best moment came after the interval when they potted the first 12 points, 60-40, but Virtus gradually regained control to start the last 10 minutes 87-55 to the good.

Virtus now pushed for a century and this was achieved thanks to Shaun Pace’s points.

Virtus: S. Pace 19, D. Bugeja 12, R. Bonnici 11, D. Camilleri, S. Bonnici 1, J. Formosa 16, A. Felice Pace 5, C. Santo 32, L. Sobers 2, F. Bartolo, P. Shoults 9, T. Grech 2.

Depiro: J. Attard 2, M. Agius, J. Schembri 4, A. Aquilina 6, N. Grech 2, T. Zammit 2, M. Mallia 6, K. Xuereb 17, M. Borg 4, M. Nwelue 26.

Referees: G. Barbara, Z. Dobrosavljevic, C. Farrugia.

Hibernians 75
Floriana Cafè Del Mar 86

(17-14, 26-23, 21-23, 11-26)

Once again Floriana, who had playmaker Lee Ross missing through injury, showed their best in the last two quarters to overturn the deficit as they beat Hibernians 86-75.

The Paolites again paid a high price for their inexperience while the absence of Franco Mariani further complicated matters.

After Floriana chalked up the opening six points, Hibs found their touch.

Marko Matijevic’s baskets and long-distance efforts not only helped Hibs to cancel out the deficit but they ended the first quarter 17-14 ahead.

Floriana looked nervous as Hibs exploited their opponents’ defensive weaknesses to extend their advantage to 30-18 with five minutes left before the interval.

Substitutions and a time-out revived Floriana who managed to cut the gap to six points by half-time, 43-37.

Hibs came out more determined after the interval to pull 15 points clear, 64-49. At this juncture, Floriana called another time-out and switched to full-court press.

This tactical change had the desired effect as Hibs lost their momentum with Luxol moving to within four points of their opponents by the end of the quarter, 64-60.

With Hibs’ reaction failing to materialise, Chad Patus’s free-throws put Floriana ahead, 66-65. Floriana went on to increase their lead, 72-65, before Hibs staged a brief reaction to get back into contention, 72-70.

The Greens regained the initiative and were never troubled by Hibs until the final buzzer.

Hibs: P. Attard 3, M. Hampton, L. Farrugia 1, S. Attard 22, I. Bonett 2, K. Caruana 12, R. Carabott 10, K. Sultana, A. Gerdes, M. Matijevic 25.

Floriana: C. Patus 39, N. Sultana 9, S. Borg 1, A. Portelli 4, N. Vasovic 18, C. Calleja 2, A. Axiaq 8, A. Micallef Trigona 3, N. Andrejevic 2.

Referees: B. Vasallo, G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro.

Standings
Virtus 18 (9-0); Floriana 17 (8-1); Gżira 14 (5-4); Luxol 12 (3-6); Depiro 9 (8-1); Hibs 9 (8-1).

Top scorers
C. Fason (Luxol) 287; C. Patus (Floriana) 264; M. Nwelue (Depiro) 213; C. Santo (Virtus) 207; M. Naudi (Gżira) 203.

Next fixtures
BOV League: Saturday 16.30 Luxol vs Depiro. Sunday 13.00 Gżira vs Hibernians; 16.30 Virtus vs Floriana.