Late flurry hands Starlites top spot in group

Starlites Naxxar 83 Bupa Luxol 74 (14-12, 17-28, 26-18, 26-16)

Starlites needed to win to top the group, but they had to dig deep against a stubborn Luxol outfit, who wanted to erase their defeat by Hibs a week before. they nearly succeeded, but, after sharing the play and leading the proceedings for a good part of the encounter, it was Starlites, with a late spurt, who took the victory.

It was a blow for the Violets, who put in a solid performance, and who wouldn't have stolen anything with a favourable result. They had just the one American to their opponents' two, and their utility Serbian, Slavko Opojevlic, was abroad.

This time Starlites' Americans were on a par, pointswise, as Jamiah Haynes was more prominent in his second match, but the one who caught the eye was Matthew Scerri, fresh from his debut with the national team, in their bronze winning prowess, in the Small Nations Games, of two months ago.

Luxol had their American, Canaan Coffey, well marked, but he managed to end up as the game's top scorer, for the second time, although he was blowing hot and cold. Veteran, Marco Matijevic, put in more than his share, and loanee, Naz Buhagiar, was on fire before the interval.

Luxol were first off the blocks, taking a 9-4 advantage, with Matijevic's opening flash. Starlites put in their treys, from Bob Bonnici and Ian Felice Pace, to overturn the score, but Luxol's skipper, JP Schembri nailed his first triple, to tie the score, Starlites ended the opening session, on a brace of free throws advantage.

The next period had the Violets again to the fore. Treys by Coffey and Schembri, with Felice Pace netting his second Starlites triple, saw Luxol edge ahead. Midway through the session Starlites narrowly led twice, but it was the Violets with a strong finish to the interval.

Buhagiar sank a couple of treys in a short time, as his side completed an 113 run, with Scerri's triple for Starlites.

Luxol increased their lead slightly, to a 40-31 score, halfway through the game.

After the break Starlites were more in busuness, , with an 8-2 start.

Luxol fell behind, but regained their lead, with starlites snapping at their heels, , ans also levelling on three occasions.

It was Starlites' other American, Jacob Bates, who was leading their charge, but young Alessio Trapani made his debut on court for Luxol, and managed to sink a triple, as his side had their noses in front, at 58-57, with a last period to go.

Schembri netted his third trey for the violets, with Starlites upping their game, to overturn the score again.

Luxol pushed themselves back in front once more, as Stefan Cappello made a triple. but Starlites were adamant, and produced a solid 12-0 run, with Alec Felice Pace and Haynes crowding the paint.

Felice Pace also netted a trey, and Luxol were suddenly in double digit arrears.

Coffey sank his thrid triples, but Luxol couldn't go near enough, with the time fast against them, as Starlites topped the group, and await their second placed opponents from the other group, who will be known after Sunday's match.

Starlites: A. Felice Pace 11, I. Azzopardi , A. Azzopardi R. Bonnici 8, I. Felice Pace 6, M. Fabri, L. Riolo, M. Scerri 19, J. Bates18 , L. Farrugia 4, J. Haynes 17

Luxol: J. Cefai, K. Gauci, N. Buhagiar 13, P. Attard, JP Schembri 11, A. Trapani 3, L. Trapani , C. Coffey 20, M. Matijevic 17, S. Cappello 10

Referees: D. Torok, F. Ciurariu, I. Ciurariu

Depiro 82

Gzira Athleta 95

(16-27, 13-22, 33-20, 16-26)

The two sides were already assured of a semi final berth, but would know their adversaries after this encounter.

Depiro could rely on their American, TJ Attwood, to deliver, and his compatriot Alex Oriakhi, was an improvement on his first match, but still didn't match the expectations that he came over with.

The other American, Corey Henderson, was sparsely used, and didn't leave any impact.

On the other hand Athleta had a match winner in their American, Shawn Montague, and although his mate, Zachery Hudson, was not so prolific in point grabbing, he played under some stress, with a torn fingernail. Luca Stefanovic had a solid performance , to help his side in their back to back victory.

Depiro did recover from a heavy interval deficit, but fell away again in the latter stages of the match, allowing Athleta to0 ease their minds before the final buzzer arrived.

Stefanovic began early, with his opening trey, as Athleta grabbed the first lead, and they didn't allow their opponents to come nearer till the end of the period. Miguel Mallia netted an early Depiro triple, but at the other end Stefanovic again, and Montague, did the same, as Athleta went into a double digit advantage. In the next session Athleta applied more pressure, and their lead began to increase.

More triples, from Nathan Xuereb and Montague, left Depiro behind , and although they did recover to post a 7-0 run, the rest of the session was in Athleta's hands.

A late 8-2 run, took Athleta way ahead, and Depiro faced a daunting 29-49 reverse at the interval.

After the break Depiro began their long way back, and it was duo Attwood and

Andy Attard, to lead the charge. Attard also netted a trey, which was quickly followed by another from Athleta's Stefanovic.

Attwood nailed a second triple, and Attard sank his second soon after, and Athleta's advantage was being gnawed away.

At the end of the period Depiro had come within sight of their adversaries, trailing at 62-69. Stefanovic was on hand again, with another triple, but Depiro inched closer, to just three points down., but their comeback really stopped there.

Athleta found their touch once more, and more treys, by Billy Zammit, Stefanovic and Montague, in a short time, again put distance between the two sides, even if Mallia netted his second trey for Depiro.

Hudson and Montague contrived to keep their opponents at bay, and Depiro's last efforts proved fruitless, as Athleta held their winning margin, to clinch the top spot in their group.

Depiro: D. Pisani, A. Attard, N. Grech, S. Vella, TJ Attwood, M. Brincat, M. Mallia , A. Oriakhi , M. Debattista, L. Vella, C. Henderson

Athleta: Z. Hudson, S. Montague, F. Mifsud Bonnici, L. Stefanovic, J. Ellul Dowling, N. Xuereb, I. Xuereb , S. Vincic, R. Abela, B. Zammit