Depiro solidify top spot in final regular season clash as Hibs finish on high

MAPFRE MSV Life Women’s League table-toppers Depiro confirmed they were the team to beat in this year’s playoffs with another victory against current Malta champions Starlites JSD on Saturday at the Ta’ Qali Pavilion.

With Caffe Moak Luxol out of action for the last round of regular season games, Hibernians and Fusion Quest shared the court one last time before the next campaign, with the Paolites coming out on top.

DEPIRO 65

STARLITES JSD 59

(24-9, 20-22, 15-14, 6-14)

The final regular season fixture between two sides who will only have the possibility to face each other next were they to meet in the playoff finals became a battle between Depiro’s Kristy Galea and Starlites’ Steffi De Martino. Galea led her team’s scoring with 25 points after scoring 58.8% from the field. She added 12 rebounds for a double-double. At the other end, De Martino led the game’s points with 26.

April’s BOV Women’s Player of the Month Jose Ann Johnson fired in the first basket of the day with a mid-range effort before Julia Xerri dropped a three-pointer to give Depiro a five-point lead early on. Michela Zammit Cordina was Starlites’ first point-getter with one of two freethrows.

De Martino hit twice to bring it back to a two-point game, but Galea reopened a five-point gap with a pinpoint triple.

Adrian Baldacchino’s clan has been in impeccable form this season and they continued to show this against the title holders, restricting Fatih Dedelioglu’s side to just four more points in the first quarter, while on offence, Depiro piled on the points continuously for a 15-point advantage at the first buzzer.

De Martino hit from deep to start the second quarter. Sophie Abela replied with a close-range score off a Johnson assist but it was a much more balanced session of play before halftime as the two teams counter each other. While Depiro’s Gale fired in non-stop, De Martino was at her best to lead the Starlites charge for an eventual 44-31 scoreline at the break.

After the change of ends, defence was prioritised at both of the court and it took Depiro two minutes of play to score the first basket of the second half with Galea once again on the end of the shot. Just like the opening of the first half, Xerri followed with the next score. Despite this, it was a low-scoring opening to the third quarter for the league leaders.

An unusual sight during Starlites fixtures as well, the Naxxar side struggled to find a shot, let alone finish with a basket, only putting up three points in the first three minutes of the restart, a three-ball from Zammit Cordina.

Both sides gradually shifted their focus to offence midway through the rubber, with Depiro leading by 14 ahead of the final quarter.

Zammit Cordina opened the fourth quarter with a strong drive inside the paint before a De Martino layup and a pair of Paige Cannon freethrows made it a 10-point game.

Starlites took over to make it a single-digit deficit but when Depiro fought back, the margin became too much to overcome and the latter took the win to end the regular season on a high before a break as Starlites face Luxol in the semifinals.

DEPIRO S. Abela 12, N. Agius, J. Xerri 12, L. Sciberras 2, C. Ciantar 6, J. Borg 4, J. Johnson 4, K. Galea 25.

STARLITES JSD M. Zammit Cordina 7, M. Riolo 5, A. Saliba 9, M. Fenech, M. Bonett 2, S. De Martino 26, P. Cannon 8, C. Curmi 2.

Referees B. Vassallo, G. Barbara, N. Azzopardi.

FUSION QUEST 43

HIBERNIANS 62

(9-14, 10-14, 12-20, 12-14)

Neither side had much to play for after finishing outside of the playoff spots but that did not stop Hibernians from pushing for one last win. Marie Buhagiar led the game with a 16-point-11-rebound double-double as Julija Dabic followed with a double-double herself after scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Iona Agius rounded off the double-digit scorers with 11.

As for Fusion, it was Nicole Caruana who was most accurate with 10 points on a 45.5% field goal percentage. Camila Londono finished with an identical points tally, amassing a double-double with 11 rebounds as well.

Iona Agius opened proceedings with four straight points, but scoring came at a premium for the rest of the quarter. Nicole Vella hit one for two at the line for Fusion’s first point but did well to supply the ball to Nicole Caruana with the ball still in play after the second freethrow.

Agius made it a nine-point game with 3.11 to go in the first quarter, but two free throws and a Caruana layup left Fusion down by five at the first buzzer.

Fanni Fabok put the first points up on the board as the game restarted for the second quarter. Marie Buhagiar was on target next as Hibernians took over once again. Sarah Kankaras hit for Fusion to keep it a single-digit game but Agius cancelled this with a triple. From then onwards, it became a particularly balanced encounter with Hibs leading by nine at the halftime break.

The third quarter began with second-chance points from Fusion’s Nicole Montalvo. Julija Dabic responded for the Paolites and the latter began their best quarter of the game, pushing their lead back up to double digits, eventually leading by 17 at the end of the quarter.

Play returned to its balance during the fourth rubber with both sides cancelling each other out throughout the final 10 minutes of play as Hibs took their final win of the season as both teams head back to the drawing board as they await next season.

FUSION QUEST C. Londono 10, N. Caruana 10, M. Stefanovic 2, A. Parnis, C. Terranova, N. Vella 7, S. Kankaras 6, N. Montalvo 8.

HIBERNIANS M. Buhagiar 16, E. Farrugia 2, F. Fabok 8, I. Agius 11, J. Abela, B. Agius 8, J. Gauci, A. Mallia 2, J. Dabic 15, M. Mendez.

Referees F. Ciurariu, M. De Flavia.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Depiro29; Starlites JSD 28; Caffe Moak Luxol 27; Hibernians 20; Fusion Quest 14.

*Caffe Moak Luxol did not feature in last weekend’s games.