Compleet IS SW 71
BUPA Luxol 63
(18-23, 24-12,12-19,17-9)

Compleet IS SW ended their first round commitments with a victory over Luxol in a nailbiting match that was decided in the final minutes.

Both teams were at full strength but Luxol were unfortunate to lose strong rebounder Marko Matijevic to injury three minutes from half-time.

Luxol were sloppy in the initial stages with several of their players very erratic in their passing. Compleet duly capitalised as they obtained the opening 10 points of the match with Michael Naudi leading the charge.

John Tabone, the Luxol coach, was forced to call an early time-out to address his team's early difficulties.

This helped Luxol to halt Compleet's scoring run and two consecutive three-pointers from Steve Schembri provided a boost for Tabone's men.

With Compleet unable to maintain their early dominance, Luxol not only recovered but finished the first quarter 23-18 in front.

Joe Galea, coach of Compleet, responded to Luxol's rally by effecting a substitution which had the desired effect as Compleet regained their touch and the lead, 32-29.

Luxol were then forced to substitute the injured Matijevic and took some time to recover from this setback as Compleet opened an eight-point lead, 38-30.

Luxol surpassed this difficult moment but then gave away possession and loose marking allowed Kristen Baldacchino to pot an easy basket as Compleet changed ends 42-35 in front.

The start of the third session belonged to Luxol who closed the gap to 46-43 by the fifth minute. This passage of play was littered with mistakes and turnovers from both sides but neither took advantage.

Luxol suffered another blow when their top scorer Steve Schembri picked up an injury after falling heavily.

A long-distance shot by Dirk Schembri tied the scores at 54-54 in the last seconds of the third quarter.

After taking a slight lead, 57-55, Luxol were forced to replace Dirk Schembri after the latter committed his fourth foul.

With rebounder Addison Bonnici getting the measure of Steve Schembri underneath the boards, Compleet took advantage to move back in front, 62-59, with five minutes left.

Luxol kept battling but their slow attacking build-up and their end-line drives were easily dealt with by Compleet. A three-pointer by Omar Said secured victory for Compleet.

Compleet: M. Naudi 19, J. Naudi, D. Camilleri 2, E. Bezzina, C. Sammut 5, J. Valdisera 12, O. Said 6, C. Calleja, A. Bonnici 17, K. Baldacchino 4, S. Cassar 6.

Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 5, R. Azzopardi 3, M. Micallef, A. Borg 5, A. Portelli 2, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, D. Schembri 17, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 11, S. Schembri 20.

Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, S. Micallef.

Qormi 77
Siġġiewi Smina 82

(19-20, 17-20, 15-22, 26-20)

Despite being shorn of several players, Siġġiewi managed to withstand Qormi's last efforts in a tense final to record their first victory.

Siġġiewi were without captain John Doughty, injured, Peter Vulovic, who was sick, and Billy Zammit who has joined second division club St James Hospital. Clayton Agius, formerly of SN Suns, made his debut for Siġġiewi.

Qormi were without forward Keith Scicluna but had Antoine Costa making a return after recovering from a finger injury. Costa had a brilliant game as his seven three-pointers helped Qormi to keep in touch with Siġġiewi throughout the match.

This game turned out to be a confrontation between Qormi's scoring ability from the three-point zone - they hit 15 in all - and Siġġiewi's fast breaks and drives.

The defending of both teams left much to be desired and this perhaps made the game more intense and entertaining.

After Qormi opened the scoring, Siġġiewi took a 9-5 lead by the fifth minute. Qormi fought back but this was not enough to stop Siġġiewi holding a one-point lead, 20-19, by the end of the first quarter.

Qormi potted the first basket of the second quarter. After a balanced patch, Siġġiewi notched eight consecutive points to lead 35-25, only for Qormi to make another reaction and reduce the deficit to four points by the end of the second quarter.

Siġġiewi made the better start to the third quarter to go 48-39 ahead and saw off Qormi's pressure to start the last 10 minutes 62-51 to the good.

Siġġiewi seemed capable of administering their lead but Qormi's final efforts helped them to reduce the gap in the last minutes.

However, the loss of rebounder Alex Tabone and playmaker Simon Cauchi, both with five fouls, shattered Qormi's hopes of catching Siġġiewi.

Qormi: J. Sant, A. Baldacchino 3, R. Formosa 9, A. Tabone 10, K. Borg 11, A. Axiaq 3, J. Dalli 2, A. Costa 24, S. Cauchi 13, C. Bugeja, J. Anastasi 2.

Siġġiewi: A. Antoncich, M. Pajec, L. Camilleri 11, P. Shoults 22, E. Xuereb 4, I. Mercieca 5, C. Agius, J.P. Bonnici 2, A. Micallef 24, J.Sant, J. Jetsen 14.

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

Standings: Compleet IS SW 8 (4-0); Luxol 7 (3-1); Siġġiewi 6 (2-2); Depiro 5 (1-3); Qormi 4 (0-4).

Top scorers: S. Schembri (Luxol) 93; D. Schembri ( Luxol) 89; M. Matijevic ( Luxol ) 74; A. Micallef (Siġġiewi) 63; P. Shoults (Siġġiewi) 62.

Next fixtures:

Louis Borg Cup (men), preliminary round - Thursday 6.15 p.m. Qormi vs Luxol; 8.45 p.m. St James vs Depiro. Sunday - semi-finals.

Louis Borg Cup (women): Semi-finals - Sunday, 11 a.m. Depiro vs Hibs; 12.45 p.m. Luxol vs Athleta.