Siġġiewi Kent Boringer 50
BUPA Luxol 44
(5-4, 19-10, 18-17, 8-13)
In a low-scoring game, Siġġiewi brushed aside the challenge of BUPA Luxol to record their second successive victory and go top of the standings.
Sunday's match was marred by poor shooting on both sides, especially in the opening session.
Luxol were at full strength but Siġġiewi had Adrian Micallef absent because of a shoulder injury. Marco Matijevic spent the whole match on the bench as he has just recovered from injury.
The statistics for the first quarter saw Siġġiewi pot once from 18 attempts against Luxol's two from 17 tries. Siġġiewi ended the session 5-4 ahead.
The match began to liven up after the fourth minute of the second session. Pivot Alex Tabone helped Siġġiewi to extend their lead to 10 points until half-time, 24-14.
The third session was the most entertaining as Luxol's efforts to get themselves back in contention were foiled by Siġġiewi who started the final quarter with an 11-point lead, 42-31.
Luxol refused to throw in the towel. They battled on and thanks to a series of intercepted passes, they mounted fast breaks to reduce the deficit to a single basket, 44-42, with four minutes left.
Suddenly, anxiety crept into the Siġġiewi supporters who urged their team to avoid a repeat of their last-quarter decline in their previous match against Depiro when they only obtained a basket.
A time-out did the trick for Siġġiewi who regained their composure while Luxol lost their touch. Two Peter Shoults free-throws and a basket by Louis Camilleri in the last 14 seconds sealed Siġġiewi's win.
Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 22, J.P. Antoncich, L. Camilleri 5, L. Ross 6, E. Xuereb 2, A. Tabone 11, K. Borg, E. Baldacchino, A. Costa, J. Jetsen 4, M. Matijevic.
Luxol: A. Spiteri, M. Mercieca 4, R. Azzopardi 11, A. Cremona, A. Borg 2, A. Portelli 1, N. Vasovic, T. Paris, D. Schembri 18, E. Caruana Montaldo, J.P. Bonnici 4, S. Schembri 4.
Referees: G. Barbara, E. Mangani, C. Terribile.
Depiro Mtarfa 72
Athleta Compleet IS 78
(15-22, 16-23, 14-14, 27-19)
Athleta bounced back from their defeat to Siġġiewi but they endured a tense finale as Depiro Mtarfa produced a bold fightback in the final quarter.
Both sides had important players missing as Athleta were without Michael Naudi while Marko Arsovski was sidelined for Depiro.
Depiro could not have enjoyed a better start as they profited from Athleta's errors underneath the board to score the first eight points of the match.
Joe Galea was forced to call a time-out. Athleta settled down and five three-pointers from Omar Said helped them to overturn the early deficit and close the first quarter 22-15 ahead. Pivot Addison Bonnici's dominance underneath the board also boosted Athleta's performance.
Athleta stayed on top at the start of the second session and increased their lead to 32-21.
After a time-out and substitutions, Depiro shared the exchanges until half-time, 45-31.
After a balanced third quarter, Athleta looked to be cruising to victory but in the last three minutes, Depiro made the most of the fact that Athleta had several substitutes on court. They hit three consecutive three-pointers to narrow the leeway to just four points, 76-72.
Galea promptly called a time-out and fielded his best players to preserve Athleta's victory.
Depiro: R. Vella 25, J.P. Schembri 2, D. Debono 6, A. Aquilina 1, J. Dalli 6, E. Lupo 8, A. Mallia , I. Tanti 18, D. Agius 6.
Athleta: C. Doughty, E. Bezzina 2, M. Giusti, C. Galea, O. Said 16, C. Calleja 7, A. Bonnici 35, J. Zammit 5, S. Cassar 13.
Referees: E. Mangani, S. Micallef, A. Carbonaro.
Standings: Siġġiewi 5 (2-1); Athleta 5 (2-1); Luxol 3 (1-1); Depiro 3 (1-1); Loyola 2 (0-2).
Top scorers: A. Bonnici (Athleta) 52; D. Schembri (Luxol) 46; M. Naudi (Athleta) 45; R. Vella (Depiro) 40; P. Shoults (Siġġiewi) 40.
Next fixtures: Louis Borg Cup (preliminary round) - Thursday 19.45 Athleta vs Siġġiewi. National League - Saturday 16.15 Loyola vs Siġġiewi; Sunday, 16.15 Luxol vs Depiro.