The 2025 BOV Division One Knockout got underway on Sunday with three fixtures which gave Luxol Sherries Estates, SiGMA Depiro and Starlites JSD their ticket to the semifinals of the competition.
Luxol showed their depth after overturning Valletta Lions’ strong start while Starlites and Depiro powered through against Athleta and Tigers respectively.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 94
VALLETTA LIONS 71
(18-19, 27-12, 24-25, 25-15)
Valletta started strongly as Nikola Vasovic hit a step-back jumper and free throws before Eric Terry added from the line. Serge Hamparsoumian capitalised on a turnover with a jumper for a 10-2 lead.
Caleb Jones-McCrary responded with a tip-in and layup, but Piotr Stelmach scored from the stripe to keep Valletta ahead. Stefan Cappello hit a layup, and Darron Howard sparked Luxol’s momentum with a layup and free throw. Nathan Xuereb added a fast-break layup before Vukasin Jandric hit a three-pointer, leaving the Citizens up 19-18.
Luxol surged ahead in the second quarter, starting with Howard’s three-pointer. Vasovic replied with a driving layup and free throws, but Cappello regained the lead with a triple.
Jandric scored on back-to-back possessions, including a fast-break layup and a three-pointer. Cappello remained hot with another three-pointer from a turnover before JP Schembri added from deep. Howard’s driving layup and Nikola Djakovic’s three-pointer closed the half with Luxol leading 45-31.
The Violets maintained their grip in the third quarter as Xuereb hit from beyond the arc and Jones-McCrary dunked off a turnover.
Vasovic answered with a jumper, but Howard and Xuereb hit layups from turnovers. Schembri drained another three-pointer before Howard added two fast-break layups. Despite efforts from Stelmach and Hamparsoumian, Luxol ended the quarter ahead 69-56.
The final period saw Nenad Bukva score consecutive layups before Djakovic added from the line. Vasovic managed a fast-break layup, but Howard responded with a driving layup and free throws, stretching Luxol’s lead to 80-63.
Francesco Mifsud Bonnici hit late three-pointers for Valletta, but Jandric answered from deep, and Djakovic scored inside. Howard sealed the contest with a three-pointer before Cappello’s jumper capped Luxol’s victory.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES: D. Howard 23, I. Azzopardi, V. Jandric 13, J. Schembri 6, N. Xuereb 13, N. Bukva 6, C. Jones-McCrary 10, S. Cappello 14, N. Djakovic 9.
VALLETTA LIONS: N. Grech 5, F. Mifsud Bonnici 10, M. Carter 6, P. Stelmach 5, S. Hamparsoumian 9, N. Vasovic 29, S. Vincic, E. Terry 7.
Referees: G. Barbara, z. Dobrosaviljevic, N. Rincon.
SIGMA DEPIRO 132
TIGERS BT 45
(23-11, 35-14, 38-10, 36-10)
Depiro asserted their dominance from the start, with Cameron Cornelius opening with a three-pointer, followed by Dominic Tomasi’s fast-break jumper.
Andre Attard replied with a three-pointer for Tigers, but Tomasi hit back with a jumper before Miguel Baldacchino levelled the score with a driving layup. Nikola Bozovic pushed Depiro ahead with free throws and a fast-break layup, and Alessio Trapani extended the lead with a three-pointer.
Cornelius added another triple from a turnover, and Bozovic scored on a fast break, ending the first quarter with Depiro ahead 23-11.
Depiro surged further in the second quarter, starting with Brandon Porter’s fast-break layup and Sean Galea’s breakaway score. Miguel Brincat struck from deep, while Porter dominated with second-chance points and a powerful dunk from a turnover. David Bugeja added a jumper from a turnover before Brincat hit consecutive layups. Porter capped the run with another dunk, sending Depiro into halftime with a 55-25 lead.
The third quarter saw Luca Stefanovic score on a fast break, with Tomasi adding two layups from turnovers. Trapani hit from beyond the arc before Tomasi scored again from a turnover.
Niksa Zivkovic hit a three-pointer, but Cornelius immediately replied from deep. Bozovic added two quick layups on the break before Tomasi’s tip-in completed his scoring run. Stefanovic ended the quarter with a three-pointer, putting Depiro up 96-35.
In the final period, Zivkovic hit consecutive baskets, including a three-pointer, before Porter responded with a layup from a turnover. Bugeja added another layup and a free throw, while Stefanovic and Galea punished more Tigers’ turnovers with fast-break scores.
Porter added a driving layup, and Bugeja followed with a tip-in. Galea, relentless on the break, hit three consecutive baskets, including a tip-in from a second chance. Trapani sealed Depiro’s emphatic victory with a layup from a turnover.
SIGMA DEPIRO: S. Galea 13, D. Bugeja 9, N. Bozovic 11, N. Zivkovic 11, L. Stefanovic 12, A. Trapani 15, D. Tomasi 17, B. Porter 17, M. Brincat 13, C. Cornelius 14.
TIGERS BT: D. Pisani 6, A. Attard 14, J. Lisondra 9, M. Baldacchino 9, S. Saakian 3, D. Militello 4
Referees: F. Ciurariu, N. Azzopardi, M. De Flavia.
STARLITES JSD 113
ATOZ ATHLETA 74
(33-21, 31-15, 35-16, 14-22)
Starlites made a statement from the start, with Max Curran hitting a three-pointer and a second-chance layup. Kurt James replied from deep for Athleta, but Curran’s inside dominance, adding two field goals and a free throw, pushed Starlites ahead 12-3.
James struck again from beyond the arc, but Ian Felice Pace responded with a driving layup. Kurt Xuereb hit a three-pointer before Chris Paul added two fast-break field goals, extending Starlites’ lead to 21-10. Curran’s powerful dunk reinforced their dominance.
Despite two three-pointers from Caleb Matthews, Paul’s tip-in and free throw kept Starlites ahead. A late three from Miguel Fabri ended the first quarter with Starlites leading 33-21.
The second quarter opened with an 11-0 Starlites run, featuring Matthew Scerri’s inside scoring and Curran’s fast-break free throws.
James hit a second-chance layup, but Curran answered with consecutive dunks. Scerri added points from turnovers and second chances before Gabriel Cassar broke through with a floater for Athleta.
Xuereb and Trevon Reddish-Rhone struck back with baskets off turnovers, while Scerri answered Matthews’ three-pointer with one of his own. Paul’s fast-break layup ended the half with Starlites commanding a 64-36 lead.
In the third quarter, Paul opened with a layup before Felice Pace scored twice on fast breaks. Xuereb added another layup before Curran’s pair of dunks continued the onslaught.
Matthews hit two three-pointers, but Reddish-Rhone replied from deep. James added points on fast breaks, but Curran’s floater and free throw off a steal closed the quarter with Starlites up 99-52.
The final quarter saw Curran score his 31st point on a fast-break floater, followed by Paul’s second-chance dunk. Matthews converted three free throws before Felice Pace hit back-to-back layups.
James added a three-pointer and a dunk off a turnover, but Starlites’ depth continued to shine. Fabri scored from the line, Neil Sultana drove for a layup, and Scerri capped his night with a layup and free throw. Despite late scores from Luca Borg and Michelangelo Spiteri, Starlites closed out a dominant victory.
STARLITES JSD: M. Curran 31, S. Aquilina, A. Aquilina, K. Fabri, I. Felice Pace 16, M. Fabri 4, M. Scerri 16, C. Paul 21, K. Xuereb 7, N. Sultana 2, T. Reddish-Rhone 16.
ATOZ ATHLETA: R. Vitale 3, A. Garzia, C. Matthews 19, E. Abela, K. James 27, M. Farrugia, M. Spiteri 5, A. Bozanic, L. Borg 6, J. Cefai 8, G. Cassar 6.
Referees: B. Vassallo, N. Azzopardi, W. Lim.
