Gżira Athleta 81
Hibernians 77

(15-20, 34-23, 12-18, 20-16)

Things seemed pointing to a dull, low-scoring quarter-final first leg when the opening basket arrived 186 seconds after tip-off.

Yet, this tie then resulted in an entertaining affair, having different facets throughout the contest, with a minimal four-point margin separating the two sides, making qualification an open issue ahead of this week’s second leg.

Led once again under the boards by Alvaro Lizaur, Hibs started better but Athleta managed to overturn the partial result, thanks to a 10-0 run, followed by a 16-6 break, with David Camilleri nailing two long distance shots.

Joe Galea’s team maintained the lead until midway through the third quarter when Hibs hit a good patch and four Marco Matijevic hoops helped the Blacks level the game at 61 each.

Three quick treys at the start of the last quarter took Hibs by surprise and Athleta again took the upperhand.

They continued with their good patch and registered a 7-0 run for 79-68.

The game, however, was not over as Hibs pulled back with nine consecutive points only for Josiah Whitehead to score a buzzer-beater and help Athleta open a four-point lead going into Thursday’s second leg.

Athleta: M. Naudi 13, R. Vella 14, D. Camilleri 12, L. Stefanovic, P. Shoults 18, B. Zammit, J. Bos, S. Vincic, M. Gauci Montaldo, J. Whitehead 24.

Hibs: P. Attard, A. Micallef 12, L. Farrugia 7, S. Attard 3, I. Bonett, R. Carabott, M. Matijevic 23, S. Vella, F. Mariani 2, A. Lizaur 30.

Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, E. Ozpolat.

Floriana MCP Car Parks 74
BUPA Luxol 69

(27-18, 12-17, 15-15, 20-19)

This was a fast-moving match and although Floriana had a slight superiority under the boards, Luxol managed to find ways how to slice through the Greens’ defensive wall to maintain a constant threat.

The final five-point margin means that Thursday’s second leg will be open as all is yet to play for in this cup tie.

Halfway into the first quarter, Floriana had seven consecutive points, coming from Nikola Vasovic and Anton Axiaq, that gave them a small lead which theyconsolidated thanks also to Chad Patus’s contribution.

The second quarter score was the lowest of the game with Patus just marginally increasing the half-time lead to four points, 39-35, just before the half-time buzzer.

When play resumed, Luxol showed better ideas and a Pierce Cumpstone three-pointer helped his side regain the lead, 44-43. However, in the final moments of the third quarter, a Patus trey, followed quickly by a Vasovic mid-distance shot, put Floriana 54-50 in front.

Cordina’s speed helped Luxol to nose 67-66 ahead but a 6-0 run after a time-out saw Floriana overturning the score and winning the match with a tight margin.

Floriana: C. Patus 32, S. Pace 4, S. Borg, N. Vasovic 18, C. Calleja 10, A. Axiaq 10, N. Andrejevic.

Luxol: C.J. Cordina 11, D. Meli, J. Maistre Melillo, J.P. Schembri 13, K. Dimech, W. Ahlberg 11, P. Cumpstone 21, S. Cappello 13.

Referees: B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, E. Ozpolat.

Starlites Naxxar 50
Cynergy Depiro 119

(11-20, 10-37, 18-25, 11-37)

The outcome from this match was totally different from the two sides’ previous encounter when Starlites were only pipped to the post after a late Depiro three-point shot.

This time around, however, Depiro ran riot. They registered a mammoth win which has practically made the second leg merely a total formality.

Led by the high-scoring and domineering David Bugeja (ex-Starlites), Depiro immediately took control of the game and Paul Ferrante’s lads never looked back, changing ends with a comfortable 57-21 advantage.

Although Starlites improved slightly, mainly through young duo Jacob Formosa and Nikola Stankovic, Depiro still kept on notching more hoops.

The century arrived midway into the last quarter after a Bugeja mid-range basket.

Starlites: I. Mitrovic 4, I. Pace, L. Vella, A. Schembri 2, C. Schembri, M. Falzon, A. Felice Pace 5, Z. Stankovic, J. Formosa 21, N. Stankovic 14, T. Grech 4.

Depiro: N. Grech, D. Bugeja 41, R. Bonnici 18, D. Schembri 4, A. Aquilina 14, D.J. Mason 11,  T. Zammit 4, M. Mallia, A. Quiroz, K. Xuereb 6, M. Borg, D. Scafidi 21

Referees: G. Barbara, C. Farrugia, I. Marjanovic.

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