No changes at the top as frontrunners secure victories
The BOV Division One standings remained unchanged last week after The Plaza Depiro brushed aside Athleta AtoZ as Hibernians edged past Luxol Sherries Estates.
Drama erupted in the game between Starlites Revive and Valletta Dream that led the contest to a premature ending.
VALLETTA DREAM 61
STARLITES REVIVE 143
(17-54, 22-31, 22-51, 0-7)
The late Sunday game brought the weekend to an anticlimactic finish as Valletta and Starlites had to contend with an unfinished game when proceedings were halted just under two minutes into the fourth quarter due to the Capital club ending up with only two players after incessant fouling.
After a one-sided first quarter, where Matthew Scerri scored all of the first 12 points of the game and where 53-point finisher Jackson Threadgill stunned the Citizens with non-stop scoring after that, the game began to look in danger of becoming a no-contest.
While the second quarter gave the game a bit of hope for competitive action, following an incident that saw Valletta coach Harry Savaya given his marching orders in the third quarter, the team turned to halting play with fouls and unsportsmanlike actions, leading to no less than six players conceding their fifth personal foul.
With only one eligible player remaining early in the fourth, game officials decided it was game over.
VALLETTA DREAM S. Vincic 14, M. Vasic 13, S. Osagie 13, J. Lisondra 12, P. Marotta 4, M. Rieger 5, D. Massa.
STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 4, K. Fabri 9, T. Fee 8, A. Aquilina 2, I. Felice Pace 12, M. Fabri 14, Z. Said Hollier 3, M. Scerri 16, J. Iturmendi 13, J. Threadgill 53, K. Xuereb 6, G. Camilleri 3.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, W. Lim, A. Attard.
ATHLETA ATOZ 66
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 88
(16-22, 20-14, 11-25, 19-27)
Depiro pulled away in the second half to beat Athleta on Sunday.
Tyler Reddish-Reddish was the driving force behind Depiro’s victory. His ability to convert turnovers into fastbreak baskets repeatedly halted Athleta’s momentum and proved decisive during the third-quarter surge that broke the game open. The import player finished the game with a 35-point, 19-rebound double-double.
Nikola Bozovic offered strong support with another double-double after 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Cornelius Cornelius followed with 14 points.
At the other end, Orlando Little was again the Athleta offensive leader with 21 points, while Rober Vitale followed with 18 and Saba Ebelashvili added 10 to round up the double-digit scorers.
Vitale gave Athleta a bright start with a three-pointer before Isaac Bonett added a jumpshot to make it 5-0.
Depiro soon settled, however, as Reddish began to find space inside, while Alessio Trapani knocked down a triple to level matters.
Bozovic added free throws and a fastbreak score before a JP Schembri three-ball as Depiro began to open a gap in advantage.
Luca Borg scored from deep, and Little completed a three-point play, but Trapani secured a six-point lead for the Mtarfa side late in the quarter.
Athleta responded well as the second rubber ensued. Cameron Cornelius opened the scoring but the Gzira side brought the margin to just two points, before eventually taking the lead through a Duffy three-pointer. Reddish fought back to keep Depiro ahead, but his late three-pointer could only level terms ahead of halftime after five straight points from Vitale.
Despite the first-half rally, Depiro took control after the break. Cornelius opened the half with back-to-back baskets before Reddish ignited a decisive run.
Bozovic added second-chance points inside as Depiro began to stretch the lead. Depiro’s pressure forced several turnovers, and the gap widened to double digits, with Norbert Borg’s side leading 61-47 with one quarter to go.
The final rubber followed a similar pattern. Trapani opened with a three-pointer before Cornelius and Reddish continued to punish Athleta with close-range efforts. Little and Ebelashvili scored from deep as they tried to force a late turnaround but Schembri also struck a triple, and a series of late scores assured Depiro of the win.
ATHLETA ATOZ M. Duffy 9, S. Ebelashvili 10, R. Vitale 18, I. Bonett 5, L. Borg 3, O. Litle 21.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO T. Reddish-Rhone 35, N. Zivkovic, L. Stefanovic 3, JP Schembri 6, A. Trapani 8, C. Cornelius 14, M. Debattista, N. Bozovic 22.
Referees F. Ciurariu, M. De Flavia, L. Silvero.
HIBERNIANS 91
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 89
(26-29, 23-14, 22-21, 20-25)
Hibernians edged Luxol in a dramatic encounter settled by a late gasp finish on Saturday.
Deonte Jackson was at his usual best for Hibs to led the game’s scoring with 27 points, followed by Ayomide Ajiboye with scored 20 points, and Ivan Demcesen, who put up 19.
Meanwhile, Xavier Brewer and Darron Howard were once more Luxol’s powerhouses with 24 and 23 points respectively. Nathan Xuereb and Miguel Brincat followed with 19 and 12.
Ajiboye kickstarted Hibs’ attack with a mid-range jumpshot to open proceedings, but Brewer replied instantly with a three-pointer. 19 seconds later, Piotr Stelmach replicated that long-ranger as it began to show how intense the next quarters were to be.
It was mostly a tit-for-tat inside the paint for a while before Brewer hit two triples each late in the rubber to give the Violets an edge at the end of the first, as Luxol led by three.
Luxol extended that advantage early in the second quarter through Howard and Isaac Azzopardi, but Hibs regained control midway through the period. Demcesen, Ajiboye and Jackson all converted layups to gain a 10-point advantage, reduced to six by Stefan Cappelo’s jumper at the end of the first half.
The third quarter remained tight. Elijah Simmons opened with a freethrow before a Matthew Attard triple brought the Paolites’ lead back to 10. Xuereb and Brincat came to the fore for Luxol, levelling the score with less than five minutes to go in the rubber. The Maltese duo continued to hit for their side but Demcesen and Stelmach cancelled these efforts to hand Hibs a 71-64 lead at the third buzzer.
Luxol produced their strongest push in the final quarter. Xuereb, Brincat and Cappello all struck from beyond the arc, while Brewer scored twice from deep but Ajiboye’s dunk in the final 10 seconds broke the Violets’ heart to give Hibs the closest of victories.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 4, E. Simmons 4, A. Ajiboye 20, L. Farrugia, P. Stelmach 8, D. Jackson 27, M. Attard 3, I. Demcesen 19, S. Simic 6.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES D. Howard 23, A. Azzopardi 2, I. Azzopardi 2, N. Xuereb 19, J. Johnson 2, M. Brincat 12, X. Brewer 24, S. Cappello 5.
Referees B. Vassallo, L. Silvero, J. Siefert.
STANDINGS: Starlites Revive 26; Hibernians 24; The Plaza Depiro 20; Luxol Sherries Estates 17; Athleta AtoZ 16; Valletta Dream 13.
