San Giljan MAA Daikin retained the BOV Knockout Cup after defeating Neptunes BGM 13-10 in Sunday evening’s final.
The holders took control of a closely contested match with a dominant second-quarter performance before resisting a late Neptunes response to secure another domestic trophy.
There was little to separate the two sides during the opening eight minutes, with the score level at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
San Giljan then made their decisive move before half-time. They outscored Neptunes 4-1 during the second period, establishing a 7-4 advantage and putting themselves in a strong position to defend the trophy.
The champions continued to control proceedings after the interval. Four further goals in the third quarter extended their lead to 11-6 heading into the final eight minutes.
Neptunes refused to surrender and produced their strongest attacking period of the match in the fourth quarter. They scored four times to reduce the deficit, but San Giljan added two goals of their own and maintained enough control to complete a 13-10 victory.
Jake Muscat Melito and Jerko Marinic-Kragic led the scoring for San Giljan with three goals each, while Jeremy Abela found the net twice.
Matthew Zammit, Jake Bonavia, Ben Plumpton, Nikolai Zammit and Alec Fenech also contributed one goal each to the victory.
Marko Zuvela was the match’s leading scorer, finishing with four goals for Neptunes. Ivan Nagaev added three, while Julian Valletta, Stevie Camilleri and Mark Castillo scored once each.
The match was officiated by Andrej Franulovic and Marco Piano. Luke Galea and Debbie Tully served as judges, with Peter Balzan acting as delegate.
Result
San Giljan MAA Daikin 13-10 Neptunes BGM
Quarter scores: 3-3, 4-1, 4-2, 2-4
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