The fight for league honours was kept as close as ever at the end of commitments for the calendar year, as both Starlites Revive and Hibernians secured big wins on Sunday, beating Luxol Sherries Estates and Athleta AtoZ respectively.
Meanwhile, Valletta Dream finally marked their first victory of the campaign by overcoming The Plaza Depiro.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 73
STARLITES REVIVE 105
(19-27, 10-25, 14-27, 30-26)
Starlites produced a dominant display to overpower Luxol, putting the contest beyond doubt well before the final quarter.
For Starlites, it was yet another story of good rotation.
Musa Jallow led the charge with a 27-point, 10-rebound performance, while Travis Fee put up 21 points in 24 minutes.
Luxol’s imports made sure to keep the Violets in contention, making good on their 40 minute-showing with Jayden Johnson bagging 25 points and Burke Smith scoring 20 and grabbing 21 boards.
It was Johnson who opened proceedings with a second-chance finish, but Starlites quickly made their opening statement six seconds later through Jallow’s athleticism to overcome that initial deficit.
Miguel Brincat regained Luxol’s lead with two three-pointers, countered by Ian Felice Pace, who hit from deep at the other end of the court.
Ian Azzopardi and Johnson both scored from close range, but Travis Fee hit three times in quick succession before Jallow made it a nine-point lead for the Naxxar side as they left at eight by the first buzzer.
The second quarter was the turning point of the game.
Smith hit first with a pair of shots from the line, but Starlites hit back immediately with threes from Miguel Fabri and Jallow, before another one from Fee.
Matthew Scerri hit twice more from deep in between a couple of inside scores to hand Starlites a 23-point lead at halftime.
After the change of ends, any hope of a Luxol response began to fade as Starlites continued to dominate second-chance situations.
Luxol showed flashes through Johnson’s energy and another Brincat triple, but Starlites comfortably led by the end of the third.
The final quarter was possibly the most entertaining period of the game, with Johnson and Smith piling up as much pressure as they could to try and bring the game back in the balance at the business end of proceedings.
The American duo put up a combined 16 points, with eight Stefan Cappello points and yet another Brincat three-pointer.
But just like the weather outside the Pavilion, it was raining threes from Starlites’ camp as Kai Fabri, Jallow, Miguel Fabri, Jayden Iturmendi, and Zac Said Hollier all found the net from deep to make sure of the win.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES A. Azzopardi 2, I. Azzopardi 2, N. Xuereb 2, J. Johnson 25, M. Brincat 14, B. Smith 20, S. Cappello 8, S. Marra, E. Fenech Pace.
STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 2, K. Fabri 3, T. Fee 21, A. Aquilina 2, G. Camilleri, I. F. Pace 5, M. Fabri 10, Z. S. Hollier 6, M. Scerri 13, J. Iturmendi 16, M. Jallow 27.
Referees: B. Vassallo, N. Rincon, L. Silvero.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 89
VALLETTA DREAM 93
(26-24, 18-28, 17-21, 28-20)
Valletta edged Depiro in a fast-paced contest to earn their first win of the campaign.
The game swung repeatedly, with Valletta’s composure in late-game situations ultimately proving decisive.
The Citizens’ edge came through efficiency as Eugene Campbell led all scorers with a powerful attacking display that earned him 35 points, while bagging a double-double with 13 rebounds.
The king of the boards on the day, however, was Tyler Murray who grabbed 18 rebounds together with his 24 points.
Kieron Caurana put up a 21-point showing with five of seven three-pointers made on the day. Meanwhile, Trevon Reddish-Rhone continued to prove himself a great investment for Depiro with a 24-point, 16-rebound finish to keep the Mtarfa side close.
JP Schembri shone on the day with 18 points and a 62.5% three-point percentage and 54.4% from the field. Nikola Bozovic and Sean Galea rounded up the double-digit scorers with 18 and 17 points respectively.
Valletta opened through Campbell at the line before Depiro settled behind Bozovic’s presence in the paint. An long-ranger from Schembri off a turnover sparked a Depiro run, briefly shifting momentum, but the capital club responded quickly in through Campbell and Murray.
Samuel Galea’s shooting gave Depiro a lift, yet Caruana’s late shot-making ensured the margin remained narrow, with Depiro holding a slim lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second rubber became a contest between Bozovic and Valletta trio Campbell, Caruana and Murray. Campbell opened the quarter, while Murray punished defensive lapses with second-chance finishes.
Bozovic briefly swung momentum with scoring at both ends, but Valletta closed the half strongly through Caruana’s triple to take control at the interval.
Valletta extended their advantage after the change of ends as Campbell dictated the tempo and Murray finished efficiently inside. Depiro responded through energetic plays from Galea and Reddish-Rhone, trimming the deficit, but the Citizens remained composed to lead by 12 after the third quarter.
Depiro’s late push gave the contest its dramatic edge. Cameron Cornelius and Schembri converted from deep, Reddish-Rhone attacked non-stop, and a Cornelius freethrow also levelled the game. However, Valletta responded with 22 seconds to go, as Campbell’s turnaround jumper and Murray’s free throws sealed the win.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO S. Galea 17, T. Reddish Rhone 24, L. Stefanovic, JP Schembri 18, A. Trapani 1, M. Sammut, C. Cornelius 11, N. Bozovic 18.
VALLETTA DREAM F. Mifsud Bonnici 9, K. Caruana 21, E. Campbell 35, S. Vincic 2, T. Murray 24, C. Penaloza 2, M. Rieger.
Referees B. Vassallo, J. Siefert, F. Ciurariu.
HIBERNIANS 102
ATHLETA ATOZ 67
(22-19, 28-10, 32-21, 20-17)
Hibernians kept up their fight for league superiority with a 35-point victory over Athleta, controlling the game through pace, second-chance scoring, and constant pressure on defence to effectively decide the contest by halftime.
While Athleta’s Duane Goodman led the game’s scoring with 24 points, Hibs’ Ivan Demcesen imposed himself with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Deonte Jackson followed with 20.
Athleta struck first through Saba Ebelashvili’s jumpshot but Jackson’s layup kick-started the Paolites’ first run to push the team ahead, and despite another Ebelashvili shot and four points from Goodman, Hibs powered up to take an 11-point lead with four minutes to go. Athleta put up a good fight late in the quarter but Hibs led by 3 at the first buzzer.
The second rubber saw the gap widen decisively as another Ebelashvili triple inspired the leaders. Ayomide Ajiboye turned freethrow specialist, while Jackson fired from all ranges to expand Hibs’ advantage to 21.
This time however, there was no coming back as the Paolites held firm to let in just seven points in the remainder of the quarter, making up for them to lead 50-29 at the haftime break.
Any hope of a response was extinguished after the restart as Hibs battled to get their best quarter of the game.
Demcesen opened the half with consecutive interior baskets, and Hibernians maintained pressure to force Athleta to shoot from deep. Meanwhile, Elijah Simmons and Jackson extended the margin further, while Ajiboye’s perimeter threat stretched Athleta’s defence.
Hibernians comfortably led at the end of the third as a Neil Cassar three-ball ended the quarter 32 points in favour of the Paolites.
The final rubber followed a similar pattern. Hibs rotated freely, with Piotr Stelmach and Teodor Gjurovski taking centre stage. Athleta battled to try and bring it to a more respectable margin but the outcome was long settled as Hibs closed out the victory.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 7, E. Simmons 11, A. Ajiboye 12, L. Attard 2, P. Stelmach 10, D. Jackson 20, M. Attard 4, T. Gjurovski 6, I. Demcesen 22, S. Simic 8.
ATHLETA ATOZ K. Fabri 4, M. Duffy 3, S. Ebelashvili 12, R. Vitale 4, I. Bonett 7, D. Goodman 24, M. Spiteri, I. Medved 5, L. Borg 6, J. Cefai 2.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, N. Da Silva, A. Attard.
STANDINGS
Starlites Revive 12; Hibernians 11; The Plaza Depiro 9; Luxol Sherries Estates, Athleta AtoZ, Valletta Dream 7.
