Athleta A-Z Electronics 91
BUPA Luxol 57
(22-11, 14-13, 24-15, 31-18)

Luxol sorely felt the absence of injured playmaker Lee Ross and were no match for champions and league leaders Athleta.

To make matters worse for Luxol, their foreign player, Jerome Bilen, was not in his best form either.

He collected three technical fouls and committed his fourth foul in the opening minutes of the second session.

With chief potter Michael Naudi again in top form, Athleta pulled away from the opening minutes and led 36-24 before ends were changed.

Any hopes Luxol had of a comeback were dashed when Omar Said and Stephen Schembri potted a series of shots from outside the arc for Athleta tostart the last ten minutes leading 60-39.

Then, with their youngsters on court in the last quarter, Luxol were totally outclassed.

Athleta: M. Naudi 23, I. Buldakov, M. Todorovic 16, M. Giusti, O. Said 16, D. Schembri 14, A. Bonnici 6, C. Baldacchino 2, S. Schembri 14.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 8, M. Mercieca 8, J. Bilen 27, A. Micallef Trigona 2, A. Costa, N. Vasovic 4, T. Paris 4, M. Attard Montalto, J.P. Bonnici 4, S. Capello.

Referees: G. Barbara, C. Terribile, L. Camilleri.

Siġġiewi 68
Loyola Tata Motors 62
(13-9, 18-15, 18-19, 19-19)

Though Siġġiewi had a limited bench for this match, due to the absence of injured duo Peter Shoults and Emman Xuereb and the suspension imposed on Nigel Sultana, they still held control for most of the time, leaving their opponents in search of their first victory.

Marco Matijevic and Clemente Kodomaris were rather quiet in attack for Siġġiewi but worked hard underneath their board to keep Ranschanti Harris in check.

Alan Borg and Chris Meier also played a blinder for Siġġiewi who stayed composed even when decisions went against them.

Playmaker Borg led his team to an early lead and Siġġiewi had the better start to the second session as well, extending their advan-tage to 22-11.

Loyola recovered some lost ground before half-time and then came within three points, 31-28, from Siġġiewi after the break.

However, Borg’s three-pointers and free-throws put his team back in the front seat.

Loyola hit their best patch midway through the fourth ses-sion when Harris’s points saw them a two points behind, 61-59.

However, Siġġiewi kept hold of their nerves and a successful average from the free-throw line helped them win the match.

Siġġiewi: R. Agius, L. Camilleri, K. Borg 12, L. Grima, A. Borg 24, C. Maeir 25, C. Kodomaris, M. Mati-jevic 7.

Loyola: S. Pace 11, B. Zammit 3, D. Camilleri 3, S. Borg 7, L. Azzopardi, S. Vella, A. Axiaq 10, J. Ransley 2, R. Harris 26.

Referees: G. Barbara, S. Gouder, E. Mangani.

Floriana Fran. Fenech 65
Depiro Mtarfa 37
(16-6, 17-11, 19-8, 13-12)

Floriana chalked up their second victory after beating a below-par Depiro who had Adrian Micallef unavailable.

With Evan Fjeld again showing his strength both in attack and defence, Floriana took control from the opening minutes and never looked back to maintain their high placing in the standings.

Depiro had their best moment as the second session got underway to close the gap to 16-13 but Floriana soon regained con-trol to change ends 33-17 to the good.

With Depiro unable to get going, Floriana continued to dictate matters for a comfortable victory and Fjeld helping himself to 35 points.

Floriana: J. Curmi, C. Sammut 22, I. Mercieca, S. Sammut, C. Calleja, A. Baldacchino, E. Fjeld 35, A. Sul-tana 6, M. Ciantar 2.

Depiro: R. Vella 8, J.P. Schembri, A. Aquilina, A. Portelli 6, E. Lupo 4, M. Mallia 2, I. Tanti 8, G. Hamlin 9.

Referees: G. Barbara, C. Terri-bile, S. Gouder.

Standings: Athleta A-Z 6 (3-0), Floriana 5 (2-1), BUPA Luxol 5 (2-1), Depiro 4 (1-2), Siġġiewi 4 (1-2), Loyola 3 (0-3).

Top scorers: J. Bilen (Luxol) 103, R. Harris (Depiro) 97, E. Fjeld (Floriana) 79, M. Naudi (Athleta ) 57, C. Meier (Siġġiewi) 53.

National league: Saturday, 15.30 Loyola vs Athleta. Sunday, 13.00 Siġġiewi vs Floriana, 14.45 Depiro vs Luxol.