It was 20s all around the Ta’ Qali Pavilion on Sunday as the BOV Men’s Division One saw a 20-point victory in both fixtures played.
Starlites Revive overcame Athleta AtoZ while Hibernians beat The Plaza Depiro with identical margins.
With three games scheduled for the weekend, Luxol Sherries Estates bagged an automatic victory against Valletta Dream as the Citizens gave a walkover leading to a 20-0 result.
STARLITES REVIVE 99
ATHLETA ATOZ 79
(21-23, 26-16, 21-26, 31-14)
Starlites surged clear in the final quarter of an otherwise balanced encounter to claim a strong victory over Athleta in the day’s first game.
Jackson Threadgill led the game’s offence with 27 points on the day, going 50% from the field. Following was Musa Jallow with 25 points, the pair finishing second in rebounds for Starlites with eight, one less than Ian Felice Pace’s nine. Travis Fee rounded up the double-digit scoring for the Naxxar side with 14 points on three of six three-pointers made.
At the other end, Orlando Little was once again his side’s powerhouse on offence with 24 points, also leading the side’s defence with 10 rebounds for a double-double and distribution with seven assists on the day. Marcus Duffy and Robert Vitale followed with 15 points apiece as Luca Borg added 10.
Starlites made the sharper start as they cancelled out Isaac Bonett’s early freethrow with five straight points as Jallow tipped in a layup before Miguel Fabri hit the game’s three-ball.
Athleta responded half a minute late with triples from Duffy and Vitale with Little hitting a clse-range jumpshot. This became the script for the first quarter as both sides traded baskets until the first buzzer saw Starlites lead by two points after a late Fabri three-ball.
Starlites found a more dominant rhythm in the second quarter, going on a quick 6-0 run in the beginning of play. Vitale halted this with a shot from deep but Matthew Scerri cancelled that out with an identical score at the other end.
Little shifted the lead temporarily midway through the quarter with close range efforts but threes from Fee, Fabri and Threadgill gave Starlites back the advantage before halftime as the Naxxar side lead 47-39 at the break.
That momentum carried into the third quarter as Threadgill and Scerri extended the lead with back-to-back triples but Athleta responded through Duffy and Little, Vitale and Borg adding long-rangers to trim the deficit with a sharp scoring run, but Starlites held firm to lead by three heading into the final rubber.
The game took a wild turn in the fourth quarter as Starlites brought out their weekly final quarter boosters to open fire on Athleta.
While Borg managed to have the game on Athleta’s side for a brief moment with a three-pointer, Starlites began to shoot at will from all angles to secure the lead in the final moments and avoid any upsets.
This strategy proved fruitful as Paul Ferrante’s clan capitalised on turnovers and second chances, pulling away with authority to seal a 20-point victory by the final buzzer.
STARLITES REVIVE K. Fabri 5, T. Fee 14, A. Aquilina, I. Felice Pace 4, M. Fabri 6, Z. Said Hollier, M. Scerri 8, J. Iturmendi 8, J. Threadgill 27, K. Xuereb 2, G. Camilleri, M. Jallow 25.
ATOZ ATHLETA M. Duffy 15, S. Ebelashvili 6, R. Vitale 15, I. Bonett 9, L. Borg 10, O. Little 24, M. Farrugia.
Referees F. Ciurariu, N. Rincon, A. Attard.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 60
HIBERNIANS 80
(22-20, 21-21, 12-27, 5-12)
It was a game of two stories as Hibernians pulled away in the second half to secure a convincing win over Depiro. While it looked like a balanced encounter in the opening two quarters where Depiro challenged the supercharged Hibs side, the Paolites pushed the Mtarfa side behind them as they raced to the finish line.
Hot hand Deonte Jackson was Hibs’ offensive leader on the day with 20 points but the side balanced out its scoring options as Ivan Demcesen followed with 17 points, adding 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Elijah Simmons and Ayomide Ajiboye both finished with 10 points, the latter grabbing 10 boards for a double-double.
Trevon Reddish-Rhone was his side’s lead, carrying his side’s offence and defence through his athleticism with 25 points and 17 rebounds on a 53.3% field goal percentage. Nikola Bozovic followed with 13 points as Felix Udiale added 11.
Hibernians set the tone early as Demcesen, Neil Cassar and Piotr Stelmach powered an 8–0 start through second-chance points and interior finishes. Reddish responded with a three-pointer before Bozovic hit another to keep the margin at four points midway through the first quarter.
However, their best push came in the final four minutes as they managed to not only fight back but also shift the advantage into their favour, finishing the first rubber ahead by two points.
The second period unfolded as a tight contest. Demcesen was Hibs’ interior threat while Simmons and Gouder drove in to help push the lead back into Paolite hands.
Depiro hit back through Cameron Cornelius and Udiale and from then onwards, it became a tit-for-tat affair between the two sides as the score was brought to par with 39 seconds to go in the first half. Reddish gave Depiro some breathing space with a pair of freethrows as the Mtarfa side led 43-41 at the interval.
Coach Christian Narciso’s halftime speech seemed to have a significant impact on Hibs as the team stepped on the gas immediately and took over the game with a 15-0 run halted by an Udiale score midway through the rubber.
Depiro began to play from then onwards but Hibs had opened a troubling gap that saw them lead by 13 13 ahead of the final stretch.
Depiro struggled to recover in the fourth and in an unusually quiet 10 minutes, Hibs had the final say. Cornelius was the only Depiro scorer from open play as Gouder, Ajiboye and Cassar hit from close range to secure a comfortable victory.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO T. Reddish-Rhone 25, N. Zivkovic, L. Stefanovic 3, JP Schembri 3, S. Kenely, C. Cornelius 5, F. Udiale 11, M. Debattista, N. Bozovic 13.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 8, E. Simmons 10, A. Ajiboye 10, L. Farrugia, P. Stelmach 9, V. Kustudja, M. Gouder 6, D. Jackson 20, M. Attard, T. Gjurovski, I. Demcesen 17.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, J. Siefert, L. Silvero.
STANDINGS
Starlites Revive 28; Hibernians 26; The Plaza Depiro 21; Luxol Sherries Estates 19; Athleta AtoZ 17; Valletta Dream 14.
