The Naxxar side remained unbeaten throughout the entire league campaign, with Sunday’s win over Hibernians securing a three-point lead over the Paolites.
Meanwhile, The Plaza Depiro secured the third seed ahead of Luxol Sherries Estates irrespective of defeat to the latter who secured the final spot of the postseason. The Violets’ victory gave them late security as Athleta AtoZ overcame Valletta Dream to finish two points away as their season ends here.
HIBERNIANS 91
STARLITES REVIVE 96
(24-25, 24-26, 21-28, 22-17)
Starlites edged Hibernians in a game shaped by sharp scoring bursts that kept the Ta’ Qali crowd excited as the encounter was decided late in the fourth quarter.
Starlites’ advantage came from shared distribution and no less than five players in double digits. Jackson Threadgill led the Naxxar side’s scoring with 23 as Travis Fee followed with 15. Jayden Iturmendi and Musa Jallow both added 14 while Alec Felice Pace finished with 12.
At the other end, Ayomide Ajiboye was the game’s top scorer with an impressive 25 points on 84.6% shooting, while Deonte Jackson and Ivan Demcesen added 23 and 14 respectively.
Ajiboye hit first with a close-range jumpshot but the tone was set early by Iturmendi, whose quick-fire sequence of free throws and back-to-back three-pointers sparked an immediate Starlites surge. Hibs responded through Ajiboye and Piotr Stelmach.
The pair, together with Demcesen led the Paolites to a four-point lead in the quarter’s last two minutes. However, a late flurry from Threadgill and Matthew Scerri, who combined for seven points, shifted the lead towards the Naxxar side as they led by a point at the first quarter.
The second quarter developed into a tight exchange, with Hibs facing a six-point gap early on after scores from Threadgill and Miguel Fabri.Ajiboye and Elijah Simmons hit back with triples while Matthew Attard levelled proceedings from close range.
It consistently looked like a championship final as the two sides made each other suffer. Jallow separated the two sides in emphatic fashion when his dunk gave Starlites a 51-48 lead at the end of the first half.
After the change of ends, Hibernians rushed to reverse the damage, with Ajiboye leading the charge as the Paolites surged to six points to the good in between a dunk by Threadgill and a triple by Felice Pace.
But the momentum shifted again when Starlites produced a decisive stretch, with Fee, Felice Pace and Threadgill hitting from areas, turning a deficit into a 10-point advantage by the end of the rubber.
Threadgill extended that run at the start of the fourth quarter, pushing the margin up to 17 and placing Hibernians under pressure.
Despite a late Hibs push and several freethrows that brought the gap down into single digits, Starlites remained composed in the closing stages to confirm an impressive unbeaten regular season campaign.
HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 2, E. Simmons 9, A. Ajiboye 25, L. Farrugia, P. Stelmach 9, M. Gouder 5, D. Jackson 23, M. Attard 2, I. Demcesen 14, S. Simic 2.
STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 12, K. Fabri, T. Fee 15, A. Aquilina, I. Felice Pace 9, M. Fabri 6, Z. Said Hollier, M. Scerri 3, J. Iturmendi 14, J. Threadgill 23, K. Xuereb, M. Jallow 14.
Referees F. Ciurariu, N. Rincon, L. Silvero.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES 95
THE PLAZA DEPIRO 86
(24-16, 30-29, 19-26, 22-15)
Luxol overcame Depiro in a contest that decided their fate in this year’s playoffs picture.
It was a clinic from Luxol’s Darron Howard on offence as the American led the game’s scoring with 38 points. Nathan Xuereb followed with 17 points and Jayden Johnson added 14.
Cameron Cornelius led Depiro’s attack with 31 points while Trevon Reddish-Rhone contributed 29 points and 13 rebounds as the game’s only double-double finisher.
Howard set the tone early with a pair of three-pointers, helping Luxol establish a steady lead. Xuereb and Brincat added to the momentum with further scores to cancel Luca Stefanovic and Reddish-Rhone’s opening efforts.
Depiro’s JP Schembri hit from deep against his former side, but this was matched by Xavier Brewer’s three-ball. Xuereb’s shot from range made it a 10-point game before Reddish brought back to a single-digit margin just in time for the first buzzer.
Luxol’s Howard was again on target at the start of the second quarter. But it was Depiro’s turn to push back, eventually taking the lead with a Cornelius triple.
Despite this, perimeter defence came into the fore, and Depiro struggled as Luxol’s Brincat hit twice from deep, as did Johnson, to regain a double-digit advantage. Once again however, Reddish trimmed it back to nine as Luxol led 54-45 at the halftime break.
It was as if by design as Howard was again the first scorer, with yet another triple, as the second half started. Once more, Depiro took over, this time bringing the game to within reach, two points away ahead of the final stretch.
Luxol seized control in the fourth quarter and it felt like Depiro had tired out, struggling to continue their pursuit when Johnson’s freethrows made it a 10-point lead again, the latter hitting a late layup which Felix Udiale’s triple could do nothing about as Luxol took the win.
LUXOL SHERRIES ESTATES D. Howard 38, I. Azzopardi, N. Xuereb 17, J. Johnson 14, M. Brincat 9, M. Iloube 4, X. Brewer 10, S. Cappello 3.
THE PLAZA DEPIRO S. Galea 7, T. Reddish-Rhone 29, J. Micallef, L. Stefanovic 2, JP Schembri 9, A. Trapani, S. Kenely, C. Cornelius 31, F. Udiale 7, M. Debattista, N. Bozovic.
Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, M. De Flavia, W. Lim.
ATHLETA ATOZ 109
VALLETTA DREAM 63
(26-18, 33-16, 23-12, 27-17)
Athleta overwhelmed Valletta with a dominant display which showed their desire to attempt a late snatch of the final playoff spot, only missing out as a result of the Luxol score later on in the weekend.
Athleta’s win came after another superb showing from Orlando Little who led the game with 29 points and 16 rebounds. Little was one of five players to reach double digits for Athleta on the day as the scoring load was shared.
At the other end, Kieron Caruana and Stefan Vincic both finished with 20 points as Matteo Rieger grabbed 11 boards for the Citizens.
Athleta hit the ground running from the tip off with Marcus Duffy hitting first before two straight efforts from Isaac Bonett to make it a quick six-point lead. Vincic hit Valletta’s first, with Rieger keeping it close. However, late efforts from Robert Vitale and Little made sure of an eight-point advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter proved decisive. Vincic hit first and Caruana hit from three-point range, but Athleta opened fire, going on a 15-0 run before Caruana hit back three times from inside the paint. Nevertheless, Little hit two triples to make it 23 points in Athleta’s favour, a lead that grew to 26. Francesco Mifsud Bonnici hit a long-ranger late in the half but Juan Cefai hit a layup in the last 25 seconds to send the two teams back to the dressing rooms at 59-34.
Any hopes of a Valletta recovery faded after the interval as Athleta continued to dictate the tempo. Luca Borg, Duffy, and Vitale connected from distance, while Little remained a constant threat inside, pushing the margin to 36 points by the end of the third quarter.
Athleta maintained their intensity in the final quarter, with the gap growing past the 40-point mark and despite the Valletta attempts to salvage the game, Athleta kept pushing to cap a dominant performance and a comprehensive victory.
ATHLETA ATOZ K. Fabri 9, M. Duffy 5, S. Ebelashvili 17, R. Vitale 16, I. Bonett 12, L. Borg 14, O. Little 29, J. Cefai 7, M. Farrugia.
VALLETTA DREAM F. Mifsud Bonnici 10, L. Vella, K. Caruana 20, S. Vincic 20, J. Lisondra 5, M. Rieger 8.
Referees B. Vassallo, W. Lim, A. Attard.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Starlites Revive 30; Hibernians 27; The Plaza Depiro 22; Luxol Sherries Estates 21; Athleta AtoZ 19; Valletta Dream 15.
PLAYOFFS
Starlites Revive vs Luxol Sherries Estates
Hibernians vs The Plaza Depiro
