New guard to play as local
Malta title holders Starlites JSD have signed Maltese-Australian guard Jacob Bourke-Doggett, the Times of Malta can confirm.
The signing, made before the transfer deadline of January 10, brings to Malta a former youth league most valuable player (MVP) in the Australian Big V league with the Sherbrooke Suns.
Once referred to as Sherbrooke’s youth team star player, Bourke-Doggett averaged 15.5 points a game last season on the youth Division 1 squad of a Sherbrooke team that also featured former Hibernians forward Christian Soderholm on its Division Two roster.
The new Starlites player joins as a replacement for the injured Kurt Xuereb and Matthew Scerri, the former out after a mid-game injury this season and the latter injured before the start of the season.
Coach Paul Ferrante has already had success in such a move as sharpshooter Matt Attard, who was eventually re-signed for his second season over the summer, was brought over from Australia in 2022 to play as a local. This season, Attard, who was on the Malta national team’s initial squad list ahead of the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE 2023), has averaged 14.2 points a game and shot 66% from three-point range.
Bourke-Doggett will be able to make his debut on Sunday as Starlites host SiGMA Depiro at the Ta’ Qali Pavilion (tip-off: 12.30).
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