Depiro ease past Athleta as playoff picture begins to form
This season’s BOV Men’s Division One Playoff picture is beginning to take shape as teams once again showed their priorities last Sunday at the Ta’ Qali Pavilion.
Starlites Revive put up the biggest show of the afternoon as they thumped Valletta Dream with consistent 30+ quarter finishes.
Meanwhile, Hibernians dominated their fixture against Luxol Sherries Estates, and The Plaza Depiro cruised past Athleta.
STARLITES REVIVE 134
VALLETTA DREAM 89
(36-26, 32-18, 33-17, 33-28)
Starlites delivered an emphatic offensive performance to overpower Valletta, running away with the contest through unstoppable scoring that saw them hit a consistent 30+ tally in every quarter despite the Capital Club’s efforts.
The Naxxar side dominated from start to finish, led by a superb display from Musa Jallow, who poured in 33 points and grabbed 20 boards.
Travis Fee followed with 24 points while Matthew Scerri and Jayden Iturmendi put up 18 and 17 points respectively.
Albeit the Starlites prowess, new Valletta signing Myles Roper led the game’s scoring with 45 points on the day. Albert Varcallo hit 25 points as Francesco Mifsud Bonnici put up a 10-points, 11-assists double double as captain.
Valletta struck first through a Varcallo three-pointer, yet Starlites quickly found rhythm.
Fee, Ian Felice Pace, and Iturmendi hit early shots from deep, and Jallow sparked a run with a series of strong finishes.
Roper kept Valletta in touch with accurate shooting from beyond the arc, but Starlites closed the first quarter firmly on top, leading 36-26 after a late three from Scerri.
The second quarter saw Starlites take complete control. Scerri opened with back-to-back triples and Jallow punished turnovers, combining with Felice Pace to give Paul Ferrante’s side a 20+ lead Valletta continued to fight through Roper, but it was 68-44 for Starlites at half-time.
Any chance of a comeback disappeared in the third rubber. Felice Pace reopened the scoring before Jallow dominated close to the rim. Miguel Fabri and Fee added points on the break as Starlites overwhelmed Valletta to take complete command at 101-61 ahead of the final quarter.
The final round of play followed the same pattern as Starlites completed a resounding victory.
STARLITES REVIVE K. Fabri 8, T. Fee 24, I. Felice Pace 13, M. Fabri 12, Z. Said Hollier 6, M. Scerri 18, J. Iturmendi 17, G. Camilleri 3, M. Jallow 33.
VALLETTA DREAM F. Mifsud Bonnici 10, L. Vella 2, R. Miles 45, F. Lisondra 2, C. Debono 3, A. Varcallo 25, M. Rieger 2.
Referees N. Rincon, M. De Flavia, A. Attard.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 66
HIBERNIANS 107
(16-19, 21-32, 14-25, 15-31)
Hibernians delivered a powerful performance to overwhelm Luxol with a 41-point victory, taking control early and never looking back.
The Paolites dominated through accurate play, spread out across coach Christian Narciso’s roster. Deonte Jackson led the game’s scoring with 22 points, but Ivan Demcesen was at his usual best for a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Matthew Gouder showed his versatility on the day with 66.7% from inside and outside the paint for 17 points.
At the other end of the court, Xavier Brewer led the side’s scoring with 21 points, adding 12 rebounds for a double-double, and returning import guard Darron Howard followed with 18 points.
Hibernians stormed out of the blocks with a 9-0 run. Ayomide Ajiboye opened the scoring with a tip-in and Jackson quickly followed with a series of baskets and free throws.
Luxol responded through Brewer and Howard, trimming the gap with mostly shots from the line. Despite bringing the margin down to a point with the last two minutes to go, Gouder and Demcesen gave Hibs a 19-16 lead at the first buzzer.
The second quarter saw the Paolites seize firm control.
Gouder, Elijah Simmons, and Neil Cassar stretched the lead with quick scores, and back-to-back three-pointers from Luke Farrugia and Gouder pushed the margin into double figures.
Jackson remained a constant threat, while Demcesen added important inside baskets. Luxol found some late rhythm through Howard and Brincat, but Hibs entered half-time comfortably in front 51-37.
Any hopes of a Luxol comeback faded after the change of ends.
Demcesen and Jackson continued to dominate close to the rim as Gouder’s three-pointer extended the gap further, and by the end of the quarter, Hibs had surged to a commanding 76-51 lead.
The final quarter was a mountain to climb for the Violets, and the Paolites made sure to put them into more trouble from the outset.
Demcesen controlled the paint while Piotr Stelmach hit from behind the arc as the advantage passed 30 points.
With around two minutes left, Cassar gave Hibs their greatest lead when the gap became 46 points as they strolled to a comfortable win.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES D. Howard 18, A. Azzopardi 9, I. Azzopardi, J. Johnson 6, M. Brincat 5, M. Iloube 3, X. Brewer 21, S. Marra 1, E. Fenech Pace 3.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 11, E. Simmons 8, A. Ajiboye 12, L. Attard 2, L. Farrugia 3, P. Stelmach 8, M. Gouder 17, D. Jackson 22, M. Attard 3, T. Gjurovski, I. Demcesen 21, S. Simic.
Referees N. Rincon, M. De Flavia, J. Siefert.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 71
ATHLETA ATOZ 56
(18-7, 10-9, 24-20, 19-20)
Depiro produced an energetic display to defeat Athleta, built on a strong first half in which the Mtarfa side held their opponents to single digits in both the first and second quarter.
New boy Felix Uadiale led Depiro with a 22-point, 18-rebound double-double. Nikola Bozovic added 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Cameron Cornelius put up 14 points.
At the other end, Isaac Bonett had a solid outing, contributing 24 points on a 58.8% field goal percentage.
Saba Ebelashvili added a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, but the Gzira-based side struggled from deep, and these missed chances made for a troubled performance on the whole.
Athleta started brightly when Robert Vitale opened the scoring with a fast-break.
But Depiro quickly settled through Cornelius and Bozovic, and while Bonett and Ebelashvili offered offence threats, smooth distribution and three-pointers from Alessio Trapani and JP Schembri gave Depiro an 11-point lead at the first buzzer.
Depiro held control in a somewhat bland second quarter.
Bozovic kicked off the period with a triple, but from then onwards, points were a few and far between, this leading just 19 points between the two sides as they left for half-time at 28-16, with Depiro still in the lead.
The break must have brought an injection of energy as the third quarter effectively settled the contest.
Uadiale scored five quick points in between Bozovic layups. Athleta trimmed the gap with efforts from Vitale, Bonett, and Ebelashvili. However, the Udiale, Cornelius, Bozovic trio took over, and not even two triples from Bonett could stop them from heading into the final quarter leading by 16.
Depiro extended their advantage early in the final quarter with Udiale’s layup and another Cornelius three before a series of fast-break scores.
Athleta produced a late rally through Bonett and Marcus Duffy, but the damage was done as Depiro secured a well-earned victory.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO S. Galea 5, J. Micallef, N. Zivkovic 4, JP Schembri 6, A. Trapani 3, C. Cornelius 14, F. Uadiale 22, N. Bozovic 17.
ATHLETA ATOZ K. Fabri, M. Duffy 8, S. Ebelashvili 10, R. Vitale 9, I. Bonett 24, M. Spiteri, L. Borg 2, J. Cefai 3.
Referees B. Vassallo, W. Lim, J. Siefert.
STANDINGS
Starlites Revive 16; Hibernians 15; The Plaza Depiro 12; Athleta AtoZ 10; Luxol Sherries Estates, Valletta Dream 9.
