Depiro 53 –Loyola Xuereb Installations 43 (12-8, 22-20, 39-32)

Depiro ghamluhom tliet rebhiet minn daqstant partiti fil-kampjonat wara li taw l-ewwel telfa lil Loyola u pattew kemmxejn ghat-telfa li kieu sofrew kontra l-istess avversarji (46-49) fis-Shield aktar kmieni dan l-istagun.
L-ewwel taqsima kienet bilancjata fejn depiro inizzjalment kellhom vantagg ta’ sitt punti 16-10 izda b’Loyola jirnexxielhom inaqqsu dan l-izvantagg ghal zewg punti biss fil-mistrieh, 20-22.
F'dawn l-ewwel zewg perjodi Depiro kellhom lill-koppja zaghzugha Rachel Camilleri u Greta Zarb li qasmu 14-il punt waqt li l-posts ta’ Loyola, Kathleen Gouder u Adalia Bonanno kellhom disa’ punti bejniethom.
Id-distakk ta’ zewg punti baqa stabbli sa tard fit-tielet perjodu, 34-32, wara basket ta’ Loyola mill-ex Dorianne Galea. Madankollu fl-ahhar battuti tal-perjodu, Depiro kisbu hames punti ferm importanti (basket ta’ Camilleri u 3-pointer minn Zarb) li ppermettulhom li jinqatghu kemmxejn mill-avversarji.
Zewg baskets minn Sandra Schembri Wismayer ghollew ftit il-moral ta’ Loyola ghal skor ta’ 43-38 favur Depiro, sitt minuti mit-tmiem izda hawn Depiro kisbu il-break li tahom ir-rebha, sitt punti konsekuttivi permezz ta’ Sarah Pace u Camilleri ghal 49-38. Ftit kien fadal hin u Depiro gharfu jamministraw dan il-vantagg.

Depiro avenged their early season defeat in the Shield, at the hands of Loyola, to jump to the top of the table, with their third straight win.
Depiro's pressing on the ball players brought the desired results, and Loyola were found wanting in the crucial moments of the match, as their players were never given space by an energetic Depiro outfit.
Loyola had Elena Falzon instead of the missing Denelza Bayliss, and she played for a good part of the match. Depiro's Rhian Spiteri was out injured and she will miss a good number of matches.
Although there was some hard running at the start, both sides made poor finishes. It was Loyola who recovered first, to take a 6-2 lead. depiro settled down and their orderly play put them in front.
Rachel Camilleri then used her speed to conclude in two fast breaks, as Depiro were still in front. In the second quarter Depiro inproved on their advantage, through Greta Zarb, but Kathleen Gouder came off the bench for Loyola, and her points brought her side to just a point behind, at 15-16.
Play was winging from end to end, as Depiro twice went in front, only to be pulled back. A Sarah Pace hoop gave Depiro a 22-20 halftime lead.
After the break Depiro managed to keep their noses in front, and every time Loyola threatened to tie the score Depiro found means to intercept passes and operate on fast breaks.
Loyola's indecisions at both ends of the court kept Depiro ahead and, right at the end of the session another lost ball permitted Greta Zarb to sink in a trey. Depiro's lead went up to a 39-32 score after three sessions.
In the final quarterDepiro always found ways and means to nullify Loyola's attempts to draw near. Their pressing resulted in turnovers in their favour, and as time passed, and Loyola began to concentrate on attack, they were hit again by Depiro's lethal breaks. An 8-2 run put paid to any Loyola faint hopes of a recovery, and Depiro sailed on to their third league victory, as Sammy Jo Barbara put in her side's only trey, in their defeat.
Depiro: R. Camenzuli, C. Riolo, G. Zarb 17, J. Cardona 4, Y. Agius, R. Camilleri 16, S. Pace 10, C. Hawkins, A. Sciberras 6, E. Vella, A. Muscat.
Loyola: M. Abela, D. Galea 11, A. Azzopardi, E. Falzon 2, D. Hollier 4, F. Micallef, A. Bonanno 5, F. Schembri 2, A. Camilleri, S. Schembri Wismayer 10, S. Barbara 5, K. Gouder 4.
Refs: Jean Paul Sammut, Jennifer Mangani

Luxol 81 – Sliema W. 22 (18-4, 41-12, 54-18)

Luxol ma tantx sabu diffikulta biex jirregistraw it-tieni rebha taghhom minn tliet aprtita meta ghelbu lit-team zaghzugh ta’ Sliema.
Bi breaks ta’ 11 u 7 punti rispettivamnet fl-ewwel perjodu, Luxol mill-ewwel hadu kontroll assolut tal-loghob u fil-kumplament tal-loghba komplew jkabbru l-vantagg taghhom bi Sliema jippruvaw li jistghu fejn kellhom lill-koppja Leanne Sciberras u Dana McKeon jaqsmu 15-il punt bejniethom.
Amanda Sciortino spikkat fl-ewwel taqsiama ghar-rebbieha b’Lara Chetcuti tikseb erba’ baskets fit-tieni perjodu u zaghzugha ohra, Emma Moore, izzid l-esperjenza fuq il-court.
Fit-tieni taqsima, Nicola said, zaghzugha ohra promettenti kisbet ghaxar punti.

Luxol made it two wins out of three matches in the league, after beating Sliema for the second time this season, after their Shield win, on their way to a semi final spot.Sliema are still searching for their first seasonal win.
Luxol dominated the game, although there were two lapses in their play, at the start of the second and fourth quarters. Luxol took half a session to adjust their shooting, after they created enough openings, and at mid-session they were still trailing to a Francesca Farrugia hoop.
The Violets then got going, with Mandy Sciortino sinking a trey, as they compiled an 11-0 run, snapped by a Leanne Sciberras close-range hoop. Luxol got stuck in again, and another 7-0 run improved their advantage. In the second session Sciortino and Lara Chetcuti obtained Luxol's points, in an 8-2 run, and Dana Mckean was Sliema's spearhead, as she interrupted Luxol's sequences. Late in the session Kirsten Micallef had personal points for Luxol, and they finished up with a Psaila Savona trey, and a 41-12 interval lead.
After the break there was once more an absence of points, and four minutes passed before young Nicola Said opened Luxol's account. This time it was Leanne Sciberras who made Sliema's points in return, as the Violets found their way to the basket. Luxol's advantage kept increasing, and after three sessions there was a 54-18 score. In the final quarter Luxol fully exploited Sliema's inexperience, and their steals and fast breaks accounted for a good number of points. A 9-0 run at the start paved the way, and Nicola Said made the most of her time on court, to enhance her personal tally. The Violets scored at will, as Sliema faded away with Luxol's pressure.

Luxol: E. Moore 3, A. Sciortino 27, F. Psaila Savona 13, L. Chetcuti 10, R. Spiteri, K. Micallef 18, D. Littlejohn, N. Said 10.
Sliema: A. Grixti, L. Calleja, L. Sciberras 8, M. Azzopardi 2, M. Loporto 2, D. McKeon 7, C. Galea, F. Farrugia 2, J. Lentini 1, S. Tabone.

Refs: Alfred Carbonaro, Jennifer Mangani

Kerygma 63 – SN Suns JC Elect Cont 26 (12-5, 27-15, 45-20)

Dawn iz-zewg nahat kienu gejjin minn zewg telfiet fil-kampjonat u kienu qed ifittxu l-ewwel rebha taghhom. Wara partita li ma tantx kien fiha spettaklu, kienu Kerygma li meritatament hargu rebbieha bis-Suns qatt ma juru konsistenza fit-tul waqt l-partita.
Il-loghba fethet b’zewg 3-pointers wara xulxin minn Agnetha Agius u Josette Calleja ghar-rebbieha segwiti minn basket minn Amanda Farrugia.
Kienet Diane Falzon li ppottjat l-ewwel basket ta’ Suns ghal skor momentarju ta’ 8-2. Minn hawn sa tmiem l-ewwel perjodu, l-andament baqa bilamcjat ghal puntegg ta’ 12-5. Zewg 3-pointers minn Moira Caruana taw aktar spinta lil kerygma fil-ftuh tat-tieni perjodu biex il-vantagg taghhom beda jikber u sa tmiem l-ewwel taqsima ir-rebbieha kellhom distakk favorevoli ta’ 12-il punt, 27-15.
Ir-rebha saret cara hekk kif Kerygma kisbu break ta’ 10-0 f’nofs it-tielet perjodu, liema break beda b’zewg xuttijiet mid-distanza l-kbira ta’ Lara Cauchi u mbaghad kien hemm erba’ punti minn Elaine Cutajar. Immexxija minn Lilian Cremona, Suns ippruvaw jnaqqsu d-distakk imma Kerygma irnexxielhom ukoll jaghlqu l-loghba, b’Josette Calleja precia fl-ahhar hinijiet, bi tlettax-il punt minghajr risposta.

Kerygma recorded their first league win in three matches, leaving Suns still seeking their first seasonal success. Suns had mentor, Robert Camilleri, missing, and his place was taken by Hubert Agius. Kerygma had prolific scorer, Renette Debono, also missing in this match.
Kerygma were successful in their outside shooting, putting in eleven treys in all. Kerygma had an auspicious start, with treys by Agnetha Agius and Josette Calleja, in an 8-0 run.
Suns had difficulty in the opening stages, but they managed to share the points till the end of the quarter, ina low-score period, as both sides had weak shooters.
In the second session Kerygma once again obtained their treys, two in a row by Moirs Caruana, and later on Josette Calleja sank in her second. Immediately after it was Diane Falzon for Suns, with her first trey, as Suns were playing better.
Kerygma still managed to increase their advantage, and at the interval they were 27-15 in front. After the break Kerygma started to take the match firmly in hand.
After a brief, dry spell, Kerygma's treys started sprouting again. Calleja's third was followed by a couple from Lara Cauchi, and in between Diane Falzon sank her second trey for Suns, Kerygma were steadily pulling away, and Elaine Cutajar's points, as she entered on court after the interval, enabled Kerygma to end the third session 45-20 ahead.
In the final quarter both sides had a quiet start, after an amount of scrappy play. Suns were more adventurous, and their hoops started going in. They were hit again by another Calleja trey, but they still managed to share the exchanges. Kerygma always had their comfortable lead to rely on, and in the last stages of the match they piled up a 13-0 run, including two other Calleja treys, to close the game.

Kerygma: C. Spiteri 6, A. Farrugia 3, A. Agius 5, J. Calleja 21, L. Cauchi 9, C. Spiteri, E. Cutajar 8, M. Caruana 8, M. Borg, C. Scicluna, A. Busuttil 3.
Suns: L. Pace, A. Camilleri, N. Buhagiar, C. Caruana 2, P. Zammit, M. Agius 1, M. Busuttil 2, L. Cremona 7, J. Mizzi 2, E. Granata 2, D. Falzon 8, R. Farrugia 2.
Refs: Bernard Vassallo, Jennifer Mangani