Compleet IS 55
Siġġiewi Kent Boringer 54
(18-16, 19-10, 10-16, 8-12)
In a hard-fought match, Siġġiewi were made to pay for their edginess in the second part of the first quarter when they were hit by a foul for unsporting behaviour and two technical infringements. They were duly punished by Athleta top scorer Omar Said who had a field day from the free-throw line. In the end, these free-throws decided the game.
Both sides were weakened by injuries as Athleta were without playmaker Julian Naudi and Siġġiewi had Marco Matijevic and Louis Camilleri on the sidelines.
Keen to make amends for their debacle against Depiro, Siġġiewi enjoyed the better start to open a 14-5 lead by the fifth minute.
After suffering a foul for unsportsmanlike behaviour, Siġġiewi grew increasingly irritated with the decisions of the match officials who were accused of being inconsistent. Athleta were awarded their first foul after 20 minutes.
Helped by the free-throws, Athleta forged 16-14 ahead and seemed in control despite losing Michael Naudi to injury towards the end of the first quarter.
Athleta extended their lead to 32-22 after five minutes of the second session. At this stage, Siġġiewi forward Adrian Micallef had to leave the court after suffering an injury in a clash with Addison Bonnici that went unnoticed.
When play resumed, Siġġiewi hit back to share the exchanges until half-time, 37-26.
Athleta looked to enjoy the upperhand but suddenly Siġġiewi woke up and a good run put them 51-50 ahead with four minutes left.
A time-out and the return of Michael Naudi revived Athleta. With less than a minute left, Bonnici profited from Jide Jetsen's loose marking to hit with proved to be the winning basket.
In the dying seconds, Peter Shoults was fouled. He potted his first free-throw but missed the second. Siġġiewi were first to the rebound but were denied space to try a shot, much to the joy of Athleta fans.
Athleta have joined BUPA Luxol, Loyola St James Hospital and Depiro Mtarfa in the semi-finals of the KO which are scheduled for March 13-14.
Athleta: M. Naudi 1, E. Bezzina 3, M. Giusti, C. Galea, O. Said 25, C. Calleja 5, A. Bonnici 13, J. Zammit, S. Cassar 8.
Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 13, J.P. Antoncich, E. Xuereb, A. Tabone 8, K. Borg 11, A. Micallef 12, A. Costa, J. Jetsen 10, E. Baldacchino.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani.
Next fixtures: National League, Saturday 16.15 Luxol vs Loyola. Sunday 16.15 Athleta vs Siġġiewi.