Starlites edge closer to title after taking Game Three against Hibernians

STARLITES REVIVE           100

HIBERNIANS                       84

(28-19, 31-27, 20-25, 21-13)

Starlites Revive moved one win away from reclaiming the Malta championship after defeating Hibernians on Sunday afternoon at the Ta’ Qali Pavilion to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five BOV Division One Playoff Finals.

After Hibs won Game 1 and Starlites replied in Game 2, the third matchup carried clear weight.

By the end, it was Starlites who had taken control of the tie, leaving the defending champions needing a response in Game 4 to keep alive their hopes of retaining the title they won last season.

Starlites’ win was built on a strong first half and balanced scoring in the second.
Captain Matthew Scerri led from the front with 22 points and four-of-six three-pointers on the day. Musa Jallow followed with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the team’s only double-double. Jackson Threadgill and Ian Felice Pace added 14 points and 13 points respectively to lead the Naxxar side’s offence.

At the other end of the court, Ayomide Ajoboye also led the Paolites with 22 points and a rebound shy of a double-double.

Deonte Jackson maintained his status as one of Hibs’ top scorers as he fired in 20 points on Sunday despite an unusually inconsistent shooting day for the import player. Ivan Demcesen rounded up the double-digits with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Right from the start, Starlites took over the game on Sunday.

Felice Pace and Demcesen traded the game’s first four points, but the Naxxar side began to click, opening an eight-point margin early on.

Ajiboye and Jackson brought the game to parity, the latter even changing the lead briefly, but Iturmendi and Miguel Fabri combined for seven points with no response to hand Starlites a nine-point first quarter lead.

The second quarter showed the depth of Starlites’ attack. Iturmendi restarted proceedings with a free throw before Felice Pace and Fabri struck from deep.

Fabri hit another soon after, and with Kurt Xuereb adding one too.

Hibs, on the other hand, relied on inside scoring, attempting to minimise the damage. However, a late four-point play by Scerri made sure Starlites led at the halftime break as the two sides went for their break at 59-46 after late freethrows.

Felice Pace was again the scorer of the opening basket as the third quarter ensued.

Scerri hit another triple, but Piotr Stelmach stepped up to answer with five points in two minutes and a mid-quarter 10-0 run brought the game to within four points.

Threadgill stopped this run with a three-ball but Hibs kept pushing from inside the paint to carry a reduced deficit of eight points into the final rubber.

The stakes were as high as ever in the final quarter and Starlites showed their stamina to not only maintain their lead but also fire themselves further ahead as Hibs faltered.

It was the Paolites who made the first move with two Matthew Gouder freethrows and an Ajiboye jumpshot but Jallow, Felice Pace and Scerri all found the net, the latter from another three-pointer.

Stefan Simic got one back from deep for Hibs, but Starlites pushed further as a late Scerri three-point play secured a 16-point victory at the final buzzer.

STARLITES REVIVE A. Felice Pace 8, K. Fabri, T. Fee 6, S. Pace, I. Felice Pace 13, M. Fabri 9, M. Scerri 22, J. Iturmendi 8, J. Threadgill 14, K. Xuereb 5, M. Jallow 15.

HIBERNIANS N. Cassar 4, E. Simmons 2, A. Ajiboye 22, L. Farrugia, P. Stelmach 5, V. Kustudja, M. Gouder 9, D. Jackson 20, M. Attard, I. Demcesen 19.

Referees Z. Dobrosaviljevic, F. Ciurariu, N. Rincon.