MBA Basketball Christmas Bonanza a success

Three words can be used to describe the first edition of the MBA Christmas Bonanza - Solidarity, Success and spectacular. In front of packed pavilion, the MBA collected the wonderful sum of €3015 in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund during the basketball afternoon which started at 16.30 with the mini-basket and ended with the All Star Game with the Maltese National Team beating the all star foreigners who play in the Maltese leagues.

Six clubs took part in the mini-basket games - Starlites, Hibs, Athleta, Siġġiewi, Depiro and Loyola. Under 8 and under 10 games were played for the fun of the kids taking part. The second event for the night was the Women's game between the Maltese National team coached by Sandro Farrugia and a selection from the national league coached by Charles Bonnici. The selection included the foreign players Lena Gipson and Alexandra Ratomska. The Maltese team had a lead of 9 points at halftime 30-21 and at the end won the game 52-49.

A much awaited game was between the coaches and the referees. Joe Coleiro was the coach of the officials and Val Drury coached the coaches. The referees were Siġġiewi's President David Agius and Athleta's Secretary Edmund Farrugia. The game played with two sessions of ten minutes running time was finally won by the coaches 15-13 however the nicest thing in the game was the harmony between both sides.

The fourth event in the night was the veterans' game with the participation of Kevin Decesare, Ivan Attard, Ivan Micallef Ivan Grech, Paul Sultana, John Tabone, Joe Galea, Raphael Aloisio and many more.

The final part was the All Star Game between the Maltese National Team and the foreign players. The National Team under the guidance of coach Paolo Di Fonzo won the game 61-55 after a good come-back. Malta were leading by 14 points in the beginning of the third session 45-31 and although the foreign players levelled the score 45-45, Di Fonzo's team won the final session 16-10 to win the game 61-55.

Loyola's American player Rashanti Harris won the slam dunk competition after a series of powerful and spectacular dunks. Waterfall Dancers performed during the half time of each game entertaining the crowd. At the end, MBA President Paul Sultana, General Secretary Joseph Muscat together with the members of the Presidents Council announced that the sum collected in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund is €3015 for the joy of the crowd.