Starlites’ debut in the FIBA Europe Cup came to an end in the qualifying stages as they fell to an 87-75 defeat against Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta on Friday for an aggregate score of 168-149 after two legs.
It was a very different story in Larnaca after an impressive first leg as Starlites struggled to get into rhythm and the hosts made the most out of this by putting up a commanding performance to progress into the group stages.
Anorthosis kept the same lineup after Tuesday’s first leg, while Starlites coach Paul Ferrante made just one change to his starting five, giving Carson Newsome the nod instead of Ian Felice Pace with a seven-point differential at tip-off. This move paid dividends as the American finished the game as the top scorer with 26 points.
Anorthosis’ Andrew Gordon muscled his way to the game’s first basket with Gregory Williams firing in from deep between a Joe Davis jumpshot. This early momentum pushed the Cypriots’ lead up to double digits after four minutes of play as Starlites looked in danger throughout these opening stages of the game.
This got worse as the quarter wore on as tight Anorthosis defence saw the two sides separated by 17 points at the end of the first quarter despite a late rally from Newsome.
Gordon restarted the scoring in the second quarter with Max Curran responding with a mid-range jumper.
Starlites managed to momentarily bring the game to single digits, however, it was Anorthosis who looked most dominant, creating space for three-point shots on the wings.
In spite of this, it was still a breath of fresh air for the Starlites clan after a weak opening quarter as they put up their best quarter of the game and finished the half 51-36.
Anorthosis’ Williams opened the second half with a three-pointer while Starlites’ Davis hit back with a layup as the visitors faced an uphill battle to put the game back into the balance.
While the opening 20 minutes of play had been devoid of fouls compared to the first leg, the third quarter saw the Cypriots back in ‘physical mode’ with Starlites in the bonus for the last three minutes of the rubber. Nevertheless, Starlites remained a pale shadow of themselves as they lagged behind by 13 points ahead of the final quarter.
Stamina had looked an issue for Anorthosis during their game in Malta with Starlites taking charge in the fourth.
However, this looked far from the case at home with Famagusta showing no signs of stopping as the final rubber ensued. Quick points pushed them up close to the 20-point mark with long-shots from Newsome and Mortensen keeping it an open game with five minutes to go.
Play became clumsy in the final stages with time running out and Anorthosis held on for a 12-point victory on the day, 19 points ahead on aggregate.
ANORTHOSIS: A. Kyriakou, A. Gordon 15, M. Antoniou, R. Eleftheriou 7, S. Iliadis 1, J. Garrett 14, K. Smith 13, S. Ionnidis, G. Williams 25, K. Maragkos 8, A. Himonas 4, V. Ieronymidis.
STARLITES: M. Curran 9, A. Aquilina, I. Felice Pace 1, J. Davis 15, M. Scerri 6, K. Xuereb, C. Newsome 26, T. Reddish Rhone 10, K. Mortensen 8.
