Depiro 66
Qormi 52
(18-11, 14-14, 16-15, 18-12)

Depiro emerged victorious from the battle between the bottom two teams in the standings leaving Qormi without a win so far this season. This was Depiro's second victory over Qormi to stay in the hunt for a berth in the Championship Pool.

It was Qormi who had the better start to open a 7-1 lead after three minutes. Depiro coach Ray Muscat was quick to call for a time-out to refresh his team's attacking moves and halt Qormi's stride.

The move left its effect as Depiro looked a transformed side when play resumed and with Sassoun Saakian in fine form, they notched up the next 15 points to forge 16-7 ahead. At half-time, Depiro were still in the driving seat - 32-25.

With Sassoun on the bench, due to fouls he had accumulated, Qormi were allowed more openings. Alex Tabone came to his side's forefront and Qormi reduced the deficit to four points, 39-35.

But Depiro again relied on captain Roderick Vella for inspiration and helped by promising talent Andrew Aquilina, they hit back to start the last ten minutes 48-40 ahead.

Qormi's hopes were dashed in the opening minutes of the last quarter when Depiro potted ten consecutive points.

After that, they administered their lead wisely to hold on to a useful win.

Depiro: R. Vella 30, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja, A. Aquilina 18, I. Tanti 3, J. Gatt, D. Debono, E. Lupo 2, S. Saakian 13, M. Mallia, D. Agius.

Qormi: G. Borg, J. Anastasi, D. Debattista, A. Tabone 20, K. Borg 7, A. Axiaq 7, A. Costa 9, S. Cauchi 5, C. Bugeja 4.

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

BUPA Luxol 97
Siġġiewi Smina 63
(27-11, 13-19, 26-22, 31-11)

BUPA Luxol maintained the pace with leaders Compleet thanks to a sound victory over Siġġiewi Smina.

With Marko Matjevic back in the side, Luxol regained confidence underneath the boards even though they had forward Marco Mercieca suspended after being disqualified in the Louis Borg Cup final.

Siġġiewi struggled to keep up with their opponents' play as Luxol raced to a 27-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Siġġiewi, however, looked better in the second session. So much so that before half-time they had reduced the deficit to 40-30.

But Luxol profited from Siġġiewi's erratic shooting as play resumed to increase their lead to 55-36.

Some substitutions helped Siġġiewi to halt the rot but they still trailed 66-52 at the end of the third session.

Siġġiewi lacked cohesion and teamwork when needed most and in the last quarter they were also let down by a couple of players who opted for individual play.

This demoralised the team as Luxol mounted a series of successful fast breaks to finish clear winners.

Luxol: R. Azzopardi 22, M. Micallef, A. Borg 6, A. Portelli 4, T. Paris 2, N. Vasovic, D. Schembri 22, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 20, S. Schembri 21.

Siġġiewi: J.P. Antoncich, M. Pajec, C. Agius 3, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb 2, I. Mercieca 4, P. Shoults 14, J.P. Bonnici 9, A. Micallef 12, P. Bulovic 6, J. Sant, J. Jetsen 13.

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

Standings: Compleet 12 (6-0), Luxol 11 (5-1), Depiro 8 (2-4), Siġġiewi 7 (2-3), Qormi 6 (0-6).

Top scorers: D.Schembri (Luxol) 142, S. Schembri (Luxol) 141, M. Matijevic (Luxol) 98.

Powerade League: Saturday, 2.30 p.m. Qormi vs Compleet. Sunday 4.15 p.m. Siġġiewi vs Depiro.