This season’s BOV men’s Knockout tipped off in style as Luxol Sherries Estates and Hibernians both won big to secure their safe passage to the semi-finals.
The two sides now face The Plaza Depiro and Starlites Revive in the next round of the second cup competition in the Maltese basketball calendar.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 119
VALLETTA DREAM 81
(34-19, 31-16, 22-19, 32-27)
Luxol secured a big win over Valletta by 38 points with another all-round dominating performance despite a strong second half by the Citizens.
The numbers reflect a Violets’ side built on shared responsibility rather than isolation scoring. Darron Howard, coming off a 40-point league outing the previous weekend, extended his rich vein of form but, this time, did so within a more measured framework, sharing the offensive load with Xavier Brewer, as both finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
Brewer’s efficiency in transition and Howard’s shot-making from multiple areas anchored Luxol’s attack.
Contributions from Jayden Johnson and Adam Azzopardi ensured constant pressure, while Valletta leaned heavily once again on Myles Roper, whose 35 points were aided by Kieron Caruana’s 20 and Francesco Mifsud Bonnici’s 14.
Luxol set the tone from the opening exchanges, racing into an early double-digit advantage as Brewer attacked the rim in transition and Howard struck twice from beyond the arc. Valletta responded through Mifsud Bonnici, Roper and Caruana, but turnovers turned into points quickly as further scores from Howard, Brewer, and a triple from Nick Vasovic punished the Capital club and put them ahead 34-19.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern.
Brewer dominated early with consecutive finishes in the paint, and Azzopardi’s back-to-back scores stretched the defence further as the young Violets player downed eight points in around a minute and a half.
Valletta found moments of relief through Roper’s driving finishes and Caruana’s shooting.
Yet Luxol coach Duncan Fenech’s tempo play stunned Valletta’s players and pushed the team lead to a commanding 30 points at the halftime break.
Any hope of a Valletta response after the change of ends was quickly extinguished despite an improved effort from coach Harry Savaya’s clan.
Brewer opened the half with a fast-break three-ball while Howard and Azzopardi reasserted themeselves inside, mixing drives with touch finishes to ensure that the pressure never dipped.
The Citizens continued to fight through Roper and Albert Varcallo, but Luxol closed the third quarter comfortably ahead 87-54.
The final quarter became an exercise in game management. Johnson and Mark Iloube added points off the bench while Valletta’s resistance came primarily through Roper, who continued to score despite the margin.
But Luxol’s control was never threatened as they closed out a well-deserved victory in preparation for a tough semi-final against Starlites Revive.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES D. Howard 30, A. Azzopardi 15, I. Azzopardi 5, N. Vasovic 6, J. Johnson 17, M. Brincat 3, M. Iloube 8, X. Brewer 30, S. Cappello 5, S. Marra.
VALLETTA DREAM F. Mifsud Bonnici 14, K. Caruana 20, S. Vincic 5, M. Roper 35, J. Lisondra, N. Watson 2, A. Varcallo 5.
Referees N. Rincon, F. Ciurariu, M. De Flavia.
ATHLETA ATOZ 73
HIBERNIANS 129
(13-30, 19-39, 25-28, 16-32)
Hibernians produced a dominant all-round display to overpower Athleta in their opening Knock Out outing, taking over control early – as has been customary of the Paola side this season – and never allowing the contest to swing back.
Athleta’s performance looked driven almost entirely by Orlando Little, who carried the scoring load to finish the game with 25 points.
Captain Robert Vitale complemented that with efficient finishing, hitting 17 points on a 63.6% field goal percentage.
For Hibernians, the balance was far more clear. Deonte Jackson ended the game as points-leader with 28 points, followed by Ayomide Ajiboye’s 23, while Ivan Demcesen bagged a double-double after grabbing 10 boards amid his 22 points.
Matthew Gouder was again ever-present, pushing his scoring tally to 18 with over 50% from all areas on the day.
Hibs set the tone early, racing into a commanding opening run as Gouder and Demcesen repeatedly capitalised on second-chance opportunities.
Ajiboye’s aggressive drives, coupled with three-pointers from Stefan Simic and Jackson stretched the gap as Vitale attempted to keep the floodgates from opening. Nonetheless, Hibs closed the opening quarter firmly in control, ahead by 17 at 30-13.
The Paolites’ assault intensified in the second rubber as Christian Narciso’s clan punished turnovers and hit home from second-chance efforts off the rebound. Little and Luca Borg continuously pushed to contain the chaos.
But Hibs shot their way into a 30-point lead midway through the quarter and two Borg triples did nothing to halt the Paolites from edging close to 40 by the end of the first half, extending their advantage to 69-32 by the buzzer.
Athleta came out of the break with heart and showed improved play after the restart. Little repeatedly attacked the rim, stringing together consecutive finishes, while Vitale knocked down a triple.
However, Hibs overcame these obstacles to make it a mountain for Athleta with Luke Farrugia hitting twice from deep and eventually Ajiboye making it a 47-point lead with a minute and a half to go in the third.
Despite Athleta’s most productive stretch, Hibernians still led comfortably 97–57, heading into the final quarter.
The Gżira side looked destroyed in the final rubber and there was nothing Sandro Farrugia’s clan could do as Hibs continued to put pressure, reaching their game-high 62-point lead with around two minutes to go.
Athleta bagged two straight three-balls from Saba Ebelashvili and Krusmir Fabri, yet the outcome was never in doubt as Hibs had their place in the semifinals against The Plaza Depiro securely booked.
ATHLETA ATOZ K. Fabri 3, M. Duffy 5, S. Ebelashvili 3, R. Vitale 17, I. Bonett 6, M. Spiteri, L. Borg 10, O. Little 25, J. Cefai 4.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 5, E. Simmons 12, A. Ajiboye 23, L. Attard, L. Farrugia 8, P. Stelmach 3, M. Gouder 18, D. Jackson 28, M. Attard, T. Gjurovski, I. Demcesen 22, S. Simic 10.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, A. Attard, W. Lim.
SEMI-FINAL DRAW
The Plaza Depiro v Hibernians
Starlites Revive v Luxol Sherries Estates
