Bupa Luxol 80
Gżira Athleta 76

(16-25, 13-20, 18-19, 33-12)

This game was characterised by a strong Luxol showing in the last quarter as they overturned the score to jot down their fourth win from six matches.

A 10-0 run late in the second quarter of the match helped Athleta open up a maximum 21-point lead, 45-24. They looked in control right until the end of the third quarter when they were 17 points ahead, 64-47.

Luxol had other ideas though as they nailed four consecutive treys in the last quarter, through Pierce Cumpstone and William Ahlberg, but a Roderick Vella three-pointer followed by a Josiah Whitehead hoop seemed to put Athleta back on track.

Luxol had their ‘towers’ doing all the damage in this latter part of the game when, apart from their superiority under the defensive boards, Samuel Deguara and Stefan Capello combined together for a game winning 13-0 run.

Long distance shots from young Keith Dimech and Cumpstone had given Luxol a very early lead but Whitehead and Michael Naudi placed Athleta in the driving seat.

The tempo remained the same in the second quarter and after the change of ends Athleta still maintained their double-digit lead.

Then came the last quarter with Luxol’s precise three-point shooting and their game-winning 13-0 run.

Luxol: M. Mercieca, D. Meli, J.M. Melillo, J.P. Schembri 8, K. Dimech 5, W. Ahlberg 9, P. Cumpstone 22, S. Deguara 26, S. Capello 10.

Athleta: M. Naudi 11, R. Vella 13, D. Camilleri 12, P. Shoults 8, B. Zammit, S. Vincic, M. Gauci Montaldo 4, J. Whitehead 28.

Referees: Z. Dobrosavljevic, S. Micallef, I. Marjanovic.

Cynergi Depiro 80
Starlites Naxxar 65

(21-18, 13-17, 17-15, 29-15)

Cynergi Depiro clinched top spot in the standings after staving off a strong Starlites’ challenge.

It was only in the last quarter that Depiro could lever their way into a cushion lead as Starlites failed to last the pace.

With both sides alternating good patches with other erratic ones, there was nothing separating them for a good part of the first 30 minutes of play as the lead changed hands continuously.

Three back-to-back treys, including two from Andrew Aquilina, gave Depiro a momentary 19-12 advantage but Starlites hit back with Jacob Formosa’s hoops.

A 9-0 run, midway in the second period, again placed Starlites in front, 30-28, and, despite three short-range baskets from Dominic Scafidi at the other end, they held strong for a slender 35-34 lead at half-time.

The third quarter was another balanced affair with Formosa constantly being a threat for Depiro – 51-50.

But Depiro took the upperhand in the last quarter with Starlites also committing some turnovers which were quickly converted on the opposite side of the court.

A 10-point run, quickly followed by another 12-0 spurt, ascertained Depiro of their fifth league win.

Depiro: D. Bugeja 8, R. Bonnici, D. Schembri, A. Aquilina 12, D.J. Mason 31, T. Zammit 3, M. Mallia, A. Quiros 5, K. Xuereb 11, M. Borg, D. Scafidi 10.

Starlites: I. Mitrovic 11, R. Carabott 3, I. Felice Pace, A. Schembri 3, M. Falzon 4, A. Felice Pace 13, N. Stankovic 11, J. Formosa 20.

Referees: B. Vassallo, Z. Dobrosavljevic, I. Marjanovic.

Note: The game Floriana MCP vs Hibernians was postponed due to a lack of referees.

Standings
Depiro (5-1) 11; BUPA Luxol (4-2) 10; Floriana MCP (3-2) 8; Gżira Athleta (2-3) 7; Starlites Naxxar (2-3) 7; Hibernians (0-5) 5.

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