Champions BUPA Luxol bounce back

BUPA Luxol 66
Depiro Mtarfa 57
(20-12, 16-16, 12-8, 18-21)

Luxol bounced back from their defeat to Siġġiewi with a hard-earned win over Depiro.

The champions had a difficult start but soon shifted into gear to gain the upperhand underneath the boards. Luxol hit 10 points without reply to end the first half 20-12 ahead.

They kept their noses in front but after widening their margin to 34-22, Luxol allowed their opponents to fight back. At half-time the score was 36-28 for Luxol.

After the change of ends, John Tabone's team might have pulled further away when Depiro's Jeffrey Gatt was hit with two technical fouls after impeding Dirk Schembri. After nailing the second free-throw, Dirk's brother Steve stepped up to take the other four free-throws. However, Dirk appeared to pass some remarks and was handed a technical foul for walking out of the free-throw line.

Trailing by 12 points, 48-36, Depiro upped their efforts as the last 10 minutes got under way. After reducing the gap to three points, 51-48, Depiro's hopes fizzled out as Luxol chalked up three consecutive three-pointers to secure victory.

Luxol: A. Cremona, M. Mercieca, R. Azzopardi 5, A. Spiteri, A. Borg 2, A. Portelli 15, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, D. Schembri 23, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 11, S. Schembri 10.

Depiro: R. Vella 11, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 7, M. Arsovski 9, A. Aquilina 5, J. Gatt, J. Dalli, E. Lupo 20, I. Tanti 5, D. Agius, M. Mallia.

Referees: G. Barbara, S. Micallef, A. Carbonaro.

Loyola St James 60
Siġġiewi Kent Boringer 90
(15-29, 14-29, 15-24, 16-8)

Loyola were no match for the in-form Siġġiewi who elected to rest pivot Marco Matijevic after the latter had made his return from injury in the Louis Borg Cup preliminary round.

This game was marked by several three-pointers from both teams with Peter Shoults racking up eight to help Siġġiewi gain an iron grip on the game. Veteran Kristen Baldacchino's efforts were not enough to keep Loyola in touch.

Their 2-3 zone defence led to the team's downfall as Siġġiewi ably exploited the gaps to lead 58-29 at half-time.

With Loyola's reaction only arriving in the last quarter after Siġġiewi had brought on a number of substitutes, the leaders had no difficulty to collect their third straight victory.

Loyola: S. Pace 3, B. Zammit 7, D. Camilleri 5, S. Borg, N. Sultana 2, S. Vella, A. Axiaq 1, G. Mihalovic 10, K. Baldacchino 29, J. Ransley 3, M. Cilia.

Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 33, J.P. Antoncich 4, L. Camilleri 15, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb 5, A. Tabone 4, K. Borg 11, E. Baldacchino, L. Ross 14, J. Jetsen 4.

Referees: J.P. Sammut, E. Mangani, A. Micallef.

Standings: Siġġiewi 7 (3-1); Athleta 5 (2-1); Luxol 5 (2-1); Depiro 4 (1-2); Loyola 3 (0-3).

Top scorers: P. Shoults (Siġġiewi) 73; D. Schembri (Luxol) 69; A. Bonnici (Athleta ) 52.

National League: Saturday, 16.15 Athleta vs Luxol. Sunday, 16.15 Loyola vs Depiro.