Holders BUPA Luxol completed their commitments in the first phase of the MBA Shield with a victory over Siġġiewi Smina as round robin leaders Compleet IS SW outclassed Depiro. In the semi-finals, Compleet will again meet Depiro and Luxol will face Siġġiewi for a second time. These matches are scheduled to be played on December 21.
BUPA Luxol 83
Siġġiewi Smina 59
(17-11, 16-14, 20-10, 30-24)
Boosted by the return of their strong rebounder Marko Matijevic, BUPA Luxol took advantage of Siġġiewi's mistakes in the third quarter to open the way for their third group victory. On the other hand, Siġġiewi missed the services of playmaker Louis Camilleri, injured.
After a slow start, Luxol improved to end the first session 17-11 ahead.
Siġġiewi began the second quarter more aggressively, netting the first eight points to go a basket ahead, 19-17.
Siġġiewi's hopes of keeping their noses in front suffered a blow when Jide Jetsen picked up an injury and had to be substituted. Luxol capitalised on their opponents' misfortune and started to dominate underneath the boards.
Ten points without reply saw Luxol 27-19 ahead and hard as they tried, Siġġiewi were unable to bridge the gap before half-time, 33-25.
After the interval, Siġġiewi lifted their game to narrow the deficit to five points, 37-32, but a tendency to hurry their shots hindered their efforts. This played in the hands of Luxol who mounted a series of lethal fast breaks against the slow-recovering Siġġiewi players and moved into a comfortable 53-35 lead before the final session.
As the last quarter got underway, Siġġiewi made another attempt to get back in contention but after two consecutive Peter Shoults three-pointers reduced the gap to 13 points, 62-49, Luxol regained their composure to dictate matters until the final whistle.
Luxol: R. Dalli, M. Mercieca 4, R. Azzopardi 9, M. Micallef, A. Borg, A. Portelli 5, B. Micallef Trigona, T. Paris, D. Schembri 17, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 25, S. Schembri 23.
Siġġiewi: J.P. Antoncich, B. Zammit, J. Doughty 2, E. Xuereb, I. Mercieca 3, P. Shoults 17, J.P. Bonnici 18, A. Micallef 16, M. Pajec, J. Jetsen 3.
Referees: B. Vassallo, E. Mangani, A. Carbonaro.
Compleet IS SW 96
Depiro 38
(23-10, 29-10, 19-6, 25-12)
The inexperienced Depiro were no match for the in-form Compleet IS SW as the final scoreline clearly indicates.
Depiro, who had Gavin Muscat missing through injury, were outclassed and found it hard to breach the solid defensive lines of Joe Galea's team.
With Michael Naudi punishing Depiro's slow defence, Compleet took control to finish the first session 23-10 ahead.
As Depiro continued to toil to find a way through Compleet's defence, despite coach Galea substituting no fewer than four players, the Wanderers increased their lead to 52-20 by half-time.
The game continued on the same lines in the remaining two quarters with Compleet IS SW firmly in charge and Depiro struggling to finish their attacking moves.
Such was Compleet's supremacy that in the final minutes, Depiro elected to play for time to prevent their opponents from passing the 100-point mark.
The only positive note for Depiro coach Ray Muscat was the encouraging performance of youngster David Bugeja.
Compleet: M. Naudi 25, J. Naudi 6, D. Camilleri 6, C. Sammut 15, D. Said 9, C. Calleja 3, A. Bonnici 14, K. Baldacchino 3, S. Cassar 15.
Depiro: R. Vella 8, J.P. Schembri, D. Bugeja 8, N. Gatt, A. Aquilina, J. Gatt 7, E. Lupo, S. Saakian 7, I. Tanti 8.
Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.
Gatorade League: (Friday) 7.45 p.m. Luxol vs Qormi. (Sunday) 4.15 p.m. Depiro vs Compleet IS.