HIBERNIANS 83
STARLITES REVIVE 93
(25-35, 18-16, 21-20, 19-22)
In a final charged with expectation and framed as a meeting of the league’s two frontrunners, Starlites Revive delivered a statement performance to overcome Hibernians and retain the BOV Men’s Knockout trophy.
The contest had been billed as a preview of a potential title decider later in the season, and it showed the edge that such stakes demand, momentum swinging sharply after a dominant Starlites opening quarter, the Naxxar side imposing their authority in the closing stages.
Coach Paul Ferrante’s Starlites thrived on pace and defensive pressure, especially to hold back Paolites difference-maker Deonte Jackson to just six points on the day.
Offensively, Musa Jallow led all scorers with 28 points. Alec Felice Pace followed with 17, as Travis Fee and Jackson Threadgill contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Coach Christian Narciso’s Hibernians held a clear rebounding edge, however, as Ivan Demcesen led the game with13 boards, eventually adding 23 points to also lead his team’s scoring.
Matthew Gouder followed with 16 points, and Ayomide Ajiboye rounded up the double-digit scoring with an 11-point, 11-rebounds double-double.
Gouder set the early tone, opening with a three-pointer before Fee shot twice from range to give the Naxxar side their first lead.
However, Demcesen and Luke Farrugia made sureto open a gap before a flurry of triples from Fee, Matthew Scerri, and Jallow. Felice Pace sprung into action late in the quarter with seven straight points after shots from the line, the paint, and beyond the arc.
Scerri pushed Starlites ahead by double digits with around a minute to go as Miguel Fabri added another triple before Matthew Attard replied from equal distance to keep it at an even 10 points at the first buzzer.
Fabri’s step-back score and floating three-ball to open the second period extended the margin to 15. Jallow then seized control, scoring from the line, knocking down another three-pointer and adding a composed fadeaway jumper to push the lead beyond 15.
Demcesen battled hard inside, finishing through contact and converting at the line, while Farrugia and Gouder both hit from range after second chance opportunities.
That response trimmed the deficit, but Starlites retained command and went into the halftime interval ahead 51-43.
Hibernians returned with the same intensity, eager to come back into the game, and they did early on as Ayomide Ajiboye attacked the paint for successive close finishes, while Demcesen and Gouder’s layups brought it to within two.
Each time the deficit threatened to vanish, however, Starlites found an answer. Felice Pace converted in transition and struck from three-point range, Threadgill drove aggressively to the rim and later connected from deep, and Fee steadied matters at the line.
Though Elijah Simmons and Neil Cassar landed timely triples to keep hope alive, Starlites carried a seven-point advantage into the final quarter.
Demcesen’s three-point play early in the fourth reignited belief, but Threadgill responded immediately with a three-ball and a dunk that restored breathing space.
Another Felice Pace triple stretched the cushion to 12.
Hibernians refused to fade, Ajiboye finishing a strong dunk and Gouder converting two late three-point attempts to cut the gap to six. Yet Jallow’s presence proved decisive.
He hammered home two dunks from turnovers and then calmly converted a sequence of free throws to extinguish any lingering doubt. Demcesen’s late tip-in provided a final consolation, but Starlites had already sealed a deserved triumph and lifted the trophy after the final buzzer.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 3, E. Simmons 9, A. Ajiboye 11, L. Farrugia 7, P. Stelmach, M. Gouder 16, D. Jackson 6, M. Attard 5, I. Demcesen 23, S. Simic 3.
STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 17, T. Fee 15, A. Aquilina, I. Felice Pace, M. Fabri 8, M. Scerri 9, J. Iturmendi, J. Threadgill 16, M. Jallow 28.
Referees B. Vassallo, M. De Flavia, Z. Dobrosvailjevic.
