Depiro Mtarfa 61
Siġġiewi Kent Boringer 63
(16-17, 12-21, 11-12, 22-13)

Depiro, the only side to have beaten Siġġiewi in the league this season, almost inflicted another upset on the title hopefuls but a last-gasp three-point attempt from captain Roderick Vella fell short, much to the relief of the Siġġiewi fans.

Until the final two minutes, Siġġiewi looked to be in total control but old failings came back to haunt them as they lost composure and concentration, allowing their opponents back into the game.

After a balanced start, two consecutive three-pointers put Siġġiewi 14-7 ahead only for Depiro to fight back and close the gap to one point, 17-16.

Depiro edged ahead, 20-19, in the initial stages of the second session but Siġġiewi, inspired by Peter Shoults, made a strong reaction to change ends 38-28 ahead.

With both teams committing several mistakes, Siġġiewi held on to their lead ahead of the final 10 minutes, 50-39.

Depiro failed to take advantage of Siġġiewi's careless passing. Forward Antoine Costa regained his three-point touch to increase Siġġiewi's advantage.

With Siġġiewi sitting on a 13-point cushion, 63-50, the final two minutes saw Depiro increase their efforts and three successive Vella three-pointers reopened the issue.

Both teams gave away possession in the dying moments but Depiro lost their chance to punish Siġġiewi when Vella missed his three-pointer.

Depiro: R. Vella 23, J.P. Schembri 3, D. Bugeja 1, M. Arsovski 19, A. Aquilina, J. Gatt 2, E. Lupo 4, M. Mallia 2, I. Tanti 2, D. Agius 5.

Siġġiewi: P. Shoults 11, J.P. Antoncich, L. Camilleri 10, J. Doughty, E. Xuereb, A. Tabone 8, K. Borg 3, L. Ross 12, A. Costa 15, J. Jetsen 4, E. Baldacchino.

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

Athleta Compleet IS 95
Loyola St James 69
(19-12, 16-20, 26-13, 34-24)

Athleta seized control of this match after the interval to leave Loyola still searching for their first league victory.

Loyola stayed in touch in the opening two quarters but faded out after the interval as Athleta gained the upperhand. They began to attack the gaps in Loyola's defence to dominate underneath the boards.

It was Athleta who took an early lead, 12-7, but thanks to the prompting of Kristin Baldacchino, who was facing his former team, Loyola improved to share the exchanges until the end of the quarter which finished 19-12 in Athleta's favour.

Michael Naudi's points kept Athleta's noses ahead until half-time, 35-32.

Any hopes Loyola had of staying in contention disappeared as the third quarter got underway.

A string of three-pointers by Omar Said coupled with the prowess of Addison Bonnici and Silvio Cassar underneath the board extended Athleta's lead to 16 points, 61-45 the score at the end of the third quarter.

Individual play did not aid Loyola's cause as Athleta easily administered their advantage.

Athleta: M. Naudi 34, C. Doughty 2, E. Bezzina, M. Giusti, O. Said 18, C. Calleja 12, A. Bonnici 13, J. Zammit, S. Cassar 16.

Loyola: S. Pace, B. Zammit 10, D. Camilleri 7, S. Borg, N. Sultana 16, S. Vella 3, A. Axiaq, K. Baldacchino 16, M. Cilia 4, G. Mihajlovic 13.

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

Standings: Siġġiewi 9 (4-1); Athleta 9 (4-1); Depiro 7 (2-3); Luxol 6 (2-2); Loyola 5 (0-5).

Top scorers: M. Naudi (Athleta) 97; R. Vella (Depiro) 93; P. Shoults (Siġġiewi) 84; D. Schembri (Luxol) 80; O. Said (Athleta) 76.

Next fixtures: National League - Saturday, Jan. 9, 16.15 Loyola vs BUPA Luxol; Sunday, Jan. 10, 16.15 Siġġiewi vs Athleta.