Hibernians continued their challenge to Starlites Revive’s league dominance on Sunday with a 18-point victory over Athleta AtoZ.
League leaders Starlites, however, did not budge and made sure to stay top with a strong second-half win against Luxol Sherries Estates. The Plaza Depiro maintained their third-place spot with a third-quarter onslaught against Valletta Dream.
ATHLETA ATOZ 73
HIBERNIANS 91
(16-30, 24-20, 22-21, 11-20)
Hibernians secured a commanding victory over Athleta on Sunday after weathering a third-quarter fightback.
Dependent on the offensive prowess of Orlando Little, Athleta threatened around the halfway mark as the import player put up 30 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double as Isaac Bonett and Luca Borg followed with 12 points and 10 points respectively.
At the other end, Hibs had three players in the 20+ points range as Ayomide Ajiboye finished the game with 24 points and 17 rebounds, while Elijah Simmons followed with 21, and Deonte Jackson added 20. Rounding up the double-digit scorers was in-form youngster Stefan Simic who put up 17 points.
Athleta’s Marcus Duffy opened the scoring with a fadeaway jumpshot, but Hibs quickly found their rhythm through Ajiboye who imposed himself on the glass, converting second-chance opportunities and finishing in transition as the Paolites pieced together a strong early run. Jackson added a layup, Simic struck from beyond the three-point line, and Simmons powered in for a dunk as Christian Narciso’s clan surged ahead. Neil Cassar pushed the advantage up to 19 points before Little and Borg coordinated for seven points in between a Simmons jumpshot for a 30-16 finish at the first buzzer.
The momentum carried into the second quarter. Matthew Attard hit from deep and Simmons stunned with an alley-oop before Saba Ebelashvili stopped Hibs’s run from close range. A balanced encounter ensued as Athleta pulled the game closer, bringing the deficit down to single digits with 2:20 to go in the first half. Yet Simic and Simmons both hit three-pointers to assure a 10-point lead at the break.
Athleta’s best spell arrived after the change of ends. Borg, Bonett, and Ebelashvili all scored from beyond the arc Little converted second-chance points to draw level. Hibernians fought back in closing minute and a half, nudging themselves 71-62 ahead by the end of the third quarter.
The fourth showed Hibs’ stamina as while Little reopened the scoring, Jackson put up five straight points and responded to Juan Cefai Garcia’s triple with two of his own. Ajiboye put the Paolites up by 22 with less than a minute to go and there was nothing Little could do with his final four points as Hibs celebrated the win.
ATHLETA ATOZ K. Fabri 2, M. Duffy 7, S. Ebelashvili 9, I. Bonett 12, L. Borg 10, O. Little 30, J. Cefai 3, M. Farrugia.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 6, E. Simmons 21, A. Ajiboye 24, L. Attard, L. Farrugia, P. Stelmach, D. Jackson 20, M. Attard 3, T. Gjurovski, S. Simic 17.
Referees G. Barbara, F. Ciurariu, N. Rincon.
STARLITES REVIVE 109
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 90
(24-26, 22-18, 28-21, 35-25)
Starlites powered to a commanding win over Luxol to maintain their top spot as the Violets face an uphill battle for a playoff spot after another defeat.
Musa Jallow led the game’s scoring on Sunday with 29 points and 13 rebounds, and was one of three double-double finishers on coach Paul Ferrante’s roster throughout the game. #
Travis Fee followed with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jackson Threadgill added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Alec Felice Pace and Matthew Scerri both bagged double-digits with 15 and 13, respectively.
For Luxol, Darron Howard showed up with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the side’s offensive and defensive threat. Xavier Brewer followed with 20 points and a rebound short of a double-double, while Nathan Xuereb and Miguel Brincat added 17 and 12, respectively, to round up the double-digit point getters.
Threadgill opened in style with a triple, but Luxol responded through Brewer and Xuereb to edge ahead. Scerri hit Starlites’ second effort with another three-ball as the game’s opening looked promising, with both sides attacking each other to eventually finish just two points apart at the first buzzer.
Starlites found rhythm in the second rubber. Jallow attacked the rim, Fee drilled another three-pointer, and Felice Pace finished a turnover to cap an 11-point burst.
Howard tried to stem the tide with three consecutive drives while Brewer and Brincat both hit from deep, yet Scerri’s late tip-in ensured Starlites led 46-44 at halftime.
After the break, Starlites enjoyed yet another strong start, but could never overcome that nine-point margin as Luxol kept the game close with triples from Brincat and Xuereb.
Despite this, the final rubber settled it as Starlites turned on their turbo. Scerri made sure to put his side up by 11 with the first effort, and despite two Xuereb triples, Jallow hit two from deep himself. Threadgill added another two from range as Jallo’s third three-ball of the quarter put Starlites up by 22. By then, it was done and dusted, even after Jayden Johnson’s five straight points at the end of the game.
STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 15, K. Fabri, T. Fee 20, A. Aquilina, I. Felice Pace 5, M. Fabri 2, Z. Said Hollier, M. Scerri 13, J. Threadgill 17, K. Xuereb 6, G. Camilleri 2, M. Jallow 29.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES D. Howard 24, A. Azzopardi 4, I. Azzopardi 2, N. Vasovic, N. Xuereb 17, J. Johnson 7, M. Brincat 12, M. Iloube, X. Brewer 20, S. Cappello 4.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, W. Lim, B. Vassallo.
VALLETTA DREAM 83
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 105
(19-22, 25-26, 15-34, 24-23)
A third quarter flurry gave Depiro a solid victory against Valletta as the gap in third place grew wider on Sunday.
It was a fiery performance from Depiro guard Trevon Reddish-Rhone, who put up a 28-points, 18-rebounds double-double, that became the highlight. JP Schembri and Felix Udiale both finished with 18 points on the day as Nikola Bozovic added another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. At the other end, Nehemiah Watson led with 26 points and 20 rebounds, as Stefan Vincic followed with 24 points in the absence of Albert Varcallo.
Depiro struck early through Luca Stefanovic, and Reddish-Rhone quickly found his rhythm with a sharp opening burst for five points. Valletta responded through Watson and Kieron Caruana but Sean Galea’s three-balls and Udiale’s dunk helped Depiro edge ahead 22-19 by the end of the first quarter.
The contest tightened in the second rubber as the Citizens fired from range while Reddish-Rhone attacked from close in. Late three-pointers from Vincic kept the Capital Club within reach, yet Reddish-Rhone’s fast-break dunk ensured Depiro led by four at halftime.
After the restart, Depiro broke clear with what looked like their best shooting quarter. Schembri and Niksa Zivkovic both hit from deep for nine points, while Udiale rose up to the rim multiple times. Bozovic and another Schembri three-ball gave Depiro a 23-point lead ahead of the final bout.
It was Schembri’s day from three-point range as the Depiro player hit his fifth of six three-balls to reopen the scoring in the fourth qurter. Cameron Cornelius looked inspired by this for a long-ranger of his own in between Valletta’s Francesco Mifsud Bonnici’s effort. With the gap floating around the 20-point mark, Depiro secured the fourth to take the victory at the final buzzer.
VALLETTA DREAM N. Watson 26, K. Caruana 11, S. Vincic 24, P. Marotta 2, J. Lisondra 8, F. Mifsud Bonnici 8, M. Rieger 4.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO S. Galea 9, T. Reddish Rhone 28, J. Micallef 3, N. Zivkovic 3, L. Stefanovic 2, JP Schembri 18, C. Cornelius 8, F. Uadiale 18, M. Debattista 2, N. Bozovic 14.
Referees M. De Flavia, J. Siefert, A. Attard.
STANDINGS
Starlites Revive 22; Hibernians 22; The Plaza Depiro 17; Athleta AtoZ 14; Luxol Sherries Estates 13; Valletta Dream 12.
