The play-off spots were determined after the last day of the regular season was played over the weekend. Nothing really changed in the standings from the previous week as Cynergi Depiro claimed the top spot on the basis of superiority in direct encounters.

Depiro face fourth-placed Floriana MCP Car Parks in the best-of-five semi-final series as Gżira Athleta take on BUPA Luxol in the other semi- final.

Gżira Athleta 98
Starlites Naxxar 87

(27-21, 26-19, 27-20, 18-27)

Athleta were the first team from the leading pack to play in the weekend and they prevailed comfortably over Starlites who were making their last official showing for the season.

Starlites were led by Jacob Formosa and Ivan Mitrovic and they shared 52 points between them. Formosa will be eager to return to Australia next week after signing a contract to play for Sunbury Jets in the State of Victoria Division One.

Athleta were always in command and early three-point shots from Josiah Whitehead and then David Camilleri and Roderick Vella gave them an early lead.

Skipper Michael Naudi came more into the picture in the second quarter on his way to a team-high 28 points as latest addition, centre Morakinyo Williams, used his height advantage to help his side win the rebounds game 53-20.

The last minutes of the game saw a few bench players having the opportunity to get some playing time.

Athleta: M. Naudi 28, R. Vella 8, D. Camilleri 8, M. Williams 15, P. Shoults 11, F. Mifsud Bonnici, B. Zammit 6, L. Stefanovic, S. Vincic, M. Gauci Montaldo, J. Whitehead 22.

Starlites: I. Mitrovic 22, R. Carabott 15, A. Schembri, M. Falzon 4, A. Felice Pace 3, N. Stankovic 10, J. Formosa 30, I. Felice Pace 3, I. Pace.

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

Hibernians 58
BUPA Luxol 118

(18-35, 9-27, 15-32, 16-24)

Luxol cruised past Hibernians who were also making their last showing for the season.

Samuel Deguara’s towering presence was again a determining factor as Luxol did not waste much time to surge ahead, helped also by the return of Swede William Ahlberg.

Hibs did have an encouraging start but Deguara soon started making his presence felt after guard Jean Paul Schembri had potted nine consecutive points.

Luxol extended their lead in the second quarter with Pierce Cumpstone netting a series of baskets and there was a hefty 35-point margin between the sides at the interval, 62-27.

The third quarter was again dominated by Luxol before most of the fringe players were utilised by both sides in the last quarter.

This was Hibs’ first season in the top flight after many years. They finished with a significant honour, having won the BOV KO earlier in the season.

Hibernians: P. Attard, M. Hampton, L. Farrugia 10, S. Attard, I. Bonett 2, A. Micallef 15, M. Matijevic 13, S. Vella, F. Mariani 9, A. Lizaur 9.

Luxol: M. Mercieca 4, D. Meli, J. Maistre Melillo 2, JP Schembri 11, K. Dimech, W. Ahlberg 27, P. Cumpstone 23, S. Deguara 43, S. Cappello 8.

Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, I. Simic.

Floriana MCP Car Parks 61
Cynergi Depiro 73

(17-24, 10-23, 12-14, 22-12)

This win for Depiro meant that the standings remained unchanged and that the same two sides will be clashing against each other in the last-four stage of the championship.

Both sides opted to rest an import player but Depiro still had an extra foreigner to rely on and he did make a significant difference in the game.

Floriana played without Chad Patus as Depiro had DJ Mason missing but with fellow American Dominic Scafidi producing his best match this season and netting 38 points.

The first minutes were balanced but gradually Depiro clicked into gear and a 16-2 run, early in the second quarter, put them in the driving seat.

Buoyed by that cushion lead, Depiro controlled the tempo for most of the second half although Floriana did manage to cut the deficit for a more respectable final scoreline.

Floriana: C. Patus, S. Pace 10, S. Borg 2, N. Vasovic 25, C. Calleja 2, A. Axiaq 13, N. Andrejevic 9.

Depiro: D. Bugeja 9, R. Bonnici 4, D. Schembri, A. Aquilina 5, DJ Mason, T. Zammit, M. Mallia 4, A. Quiros 8, K. Xuereb 5, M. Borg, D. Scafidi 38.

Referees: E. Mangani, S. Micallef, C. Farrugia.

Standings (regular season)
Depiro (7-3) 17; Gżira Athleta (7-3) 17; BUPA Luxol (7-3) 17; Floriana (5-5) 15; Starlites (2-8) 12; Hibernians (2-8) 12.

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