Caffe Moak Luxol 50
Hibernians 49
(12-12, 17-9, 6-18, 15-10)
A last-gasp basket from Sarah Pace gave Caffe Moak Luxol a slender 50-49 win over Hibernians in an exciting Super Cup final.
Luxol have now won this honour for the sixth year running.
Incidentally, a solitary point, 57-56, had also separated these two sides the last time they faced each other in the Super Cup final, back in October 2012.
Sunday’s game had many facets.
Luxol were quick out of the blocks as they went 10-0 ahead with Hibs grabbing their first point in the sixth minute.
However, there was a reversal of affairs by the end of the first quarter as Hibs, with debutant Trudy Amrstead finding her touch, managed to cancel out the deficit, 12-12.
The second quarter was dominated by Luxol with Canadian Lindsey Lessard prominent for a 29-21 half-time lead.
Five consecutive points from Emma Micallef helped Hibs embark on a 14-0 run in the third quarter as Luxol suffered a dearth of points for seven minutes.
Hibs retained the lead, with a momentary maximum of six points, 44-38, till the last minute of the game when Micallef only managed one free throw from two to put them 49-47 ahead.
On the next possession, Luxol won a foul, which brought about protests from the Hibs clan, with Pace scoring only the first free-throw. But Luxol regained possession with seven seconds remaining and the same Pace dashed to her left into the paint to grab the game’s winner off the board.
Luxol president Edgar Caruana Montaldo and coach Francesco Mannella were both thrilled with their team’s dramatic victory.
Caruana Montaldo said: “We were down by six points with six minutes to go but I still believed that it was possible to win the game.
“The girls did it in the last seconds and the fantastic feeling of such a win remains with you for a very long time, especially it being a final.”
Luxol: S. Pace 7, C. Sollami, M. Mercieca 1, I. Medina, M. Darmanin 6, S. Demartino 9, K. Portelli, A. Calleja, P. Ellul 4, N. Vella, L. Lessard 23, C. Curmi.
Hibs: E. Micallef 8, E. Cassar 2, N. Vella, I. Agius, K. Caruana 2, R. Vella, K. Portanier Mifsud, N. Farrugia 9, T. Amrstead 22, J. Scerri 6.
Refs: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, B. Vassallo.
Super Cup winners
Hibernians 9; Luxol 8; Depiro 6; Athleta 2; Naxxar 1.