BUPA Luxol 78
Siggiewi Smina 71
(22-20, 20-14, 14-20, 22-17)

By virtue of their victory over Siggiewi Smina and Depiro's defeat against Compleet IS SW, BUPA Luxol are the sole leaders of the Gatorade League. Mellie?a SVS Reflections obtained their first ever victory in the top flight at the expense of Floriana.

BUPA Luxol 78
Siggiewi Smina 71
(22-20, 20-14, 14-20, 22-17)

Luxol maintained their perfect start to the Gatorade League when they turned a six-point deficit into a five-point lead in the space of three minutes.

Siggiewi paid the price for their failure to take advantage of Luxol's foul situation. Moreover, Siggiewi must start to move the ball around quicker in attack and be more patient in their approach if they want to mount a serious challenge for the honours.

After an even start, the fine form of playerof- the month Marko Matijevic helped Luxol to open a 16-9 lead as their opponents missed some easy lay-ups.

Substitutions strengthened Siggiewi who cut the deficit to a single basket, 22-20, by the end of the session.

Siggiewi went on to level matters at 23-23 but sloppy passing and hurried shots played into Luxol's hands as the latter held a 42-34 half-time lead.

Siggiewi intensified their efforts after the interval but every time they closed the gap, misplaced passes allowed Luxol to restore their lead. The game continued to be well-fought and with Marco Mercieca being the first player to be fouled out, Siggiewi reduced the gap to a single basket, 56-54, for the last quarter.

Taking temporary advantage of Luxol's disciplinary situation, after playmaker Alan Borg also had to leave the court with five fouls, Siggiewi moved 64-58 ahead. Inexplicably, Siggiewi left gaps in their defence and Luxol exploited this weakness as well as their opponents' tendency to resort to individual play. With two minutes left, Luxol led 71-66 on the way to their third consecutive win.

Luxol: M. Mercieca 2, R. Azzopardi 13, M. Micallef, A. Borg 4, A. Bianchi 2, M. Bonnici, T. Paris, D. Schembri 17, E. Caruana Montaldo, M. Matijevic 24, S. Schembri 16.

Siggiewi: B. Zammit, L. Camilleri 12, D. Camilleri 7, J. Doughty 4, A. Portelli 7, I. Mercieca 2, P. Shoults 12, J.P. Bonnici 9, A. Bonnici 18, J.P. Antoncich, I. Stefanovic, L. Camilleri.

Refs: G. Barbara , J.P. Sammut, A. Micallef.

Depiro 38
Complete IS SW 74
(2-24, 10-24, 16-9, 10-17)

Reigning champions Pembroke (Compleet IS SW) imposed their superiority from the jumpball and never gave Depiro the chance to crawl their way back in contention.

Pembroke made the most of the gaps in Depiro's defence with some good shooting, besides giving little space to the opposing shooters.

Roderick Vella, Depiro's top-scorer in the league, played below his usual standards.

By the end of the first quarter, Pembroke had already moved into a 24-2 lead. With Depiro unable to rectify their deficiencies, Pembroke stayed on top to extend their advantage to 37-6.

Depiro gradually improved as Pembroke brought on their substitues but the latter led 48-12 at the interval.

After the break, Pembroke returned with their best formation but they could not repeat their first-quarter performance. They lost their shooting touch, in the process allowing Depiro to share the exchanges till the final whistle but Pembroke had long assured themselves of victory.

Depiro: R. Vella 7, D. Debono, M. Sammut 2, G. Muscat, A. Aquilina 2, A. Tabone 4, M. Mallia, C. Cassar 2, E. Lupo 6, A. Costa 6, I. Tanti 2, D. Agius 7.

Pembroke: M. Naudi 29, J. Zammit 5, C. Calleja, J. Galea 1, T. Riolo, O. Said 9, A. Micallef 6, D. Cuschieri 3, K. Baldacchino 3, S. Cassar 15, R. Mifsud 3.

Refs: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, A. Carbonaro.

Floriana 62
Mellieha SVS Reflections 77
(9-20, 21-14, 12-26, 20-17)

Mellieha notched their first ever victory in the top flight when they beat Floriana who were too inconsistent in their play.

Floriana had Nikki Lubrano missing but Joseph Tanti made his season debut.

Floriana were once again let down by their static defence as Mellie?a's playmakers ran rings around them to score an impressive 37 points.

After a balanced start, Mellie?a hit a positive patch, nailing a series of three-pointers to pull away of their confused opponents,20-9.

Mellieha were 30-14 ahead towards the fifth minute of the second session when coach Hilary Fenech effected several substitutions.

Floriana got themselves back into the match to narrow the deficit to four points, 34-30, by half-time.

With Julian Naudi back on court, Mellie?a regained control to extend their lead to 47-38.

Floriana's inability to raise their game and poor shooting allowed Mellie?a to take a comfortable 18-point lead into the final quarter.

Floriana tried desperately to stage a comeback but their efforts were ably controlled by Mellie?a.

Floriana: K. Mifsud, P. Ferrante, B. Riolo 6, J. Tanti 7, N. Falzon, G. Gilson 5, A. Sultana 17, S. Saakian 12, K. Borg 15.

Mellieha: S. Sammut 5, J. Naudi 9, C. Sammut 37, S. Aquilina, E. Xuereb 8, J. Muscat, B. Aquilina, J. Aquilina, M.Pisani 4, T. Degiorgio 4, J. Jetsen 10, R. Loporto. Refs: S. Micallef, E. Mangani, J.P. Sammut. Standings: Luxol (3-0) 6; Compleet IS SW, Depiro (2-1) 5; Siggiewi, Mellie?a (1-2) 4; Floriana (0-3) 3.

Top scorers: M. Matijevic (Luxol) 74; C. Sammut (Mellie?a) 59; R. Vella (Depiro), M. Naudi (Compleet IS) 57; S. Cassar (Compleet IS) 51.

Next fixtures: (Gatorade League):Friday, December 14 - 7.45 p.m. Mellie?a vs Depiro. Saturday, December 15 - 2.30 p.m. Siggiewi vs Floriana. Sunday, December 16 - 4.15 p.m. Compleet IS vs BUPA Luxol.