Athleta win Cup for the first time, but only just!
Starlites Naxxar 71 Gzira Athleta 65 (10-15, 22-9, 13-20, 26-21)
What a nail biting ending to the match, as Starlites started the encounter with an eight-point deficit, from the first final. They wiped this off, and also were ahead on aggregate twice in the match.
Athleta still had their mainstays, as Christina Grima was here, there and everywhere, and Amelia Simmons grabbed points in the paint.
Starlites also had their stars, with Joey Grima and Patricia Arguello playing fit to bust, even though the Spaniard was closely marked, and was fouled out seconds from the end.
Then there was the young upstart, Kirsty Galea, who played her heart out, and nearly produced the goods, especially with her last session performance, but it was not to be.
Athleta held out, by the skin of their teeth, to win the honour for the first time ever, with both teams never having made it to this final before.
As in the first final, Athleta made a very bright start, again going 122 in front, and threatening to make the match a foregone conclusion.
Starlites settled down, and cut down on their deficit, with Arguello netting a late triple. In the next session Starlites were all over their opponents, with the Athleta players hardly getting a look in. Starlites went in front, lost their lead, and regained it quickly, as they made up the aggregate difference.
Grima sank an Athleta triple, but so did Galea, at the other end, for Starlites. They were still 32-24 ahead, at the interval.
After the break Athleta began to make their mark once more. A 7-2 run had them closer. Starlites' next points had a reaction from Athleta, but Arguello netted her trey for Starlites.
Starlites burst forward, and a solid 13-0 run had Galea staggering the Athleta defence with three quick triples. Starlites' brief advantage, on aggregate, was wiped out, as Athleta drew nearer again.
Samantha Farrugia put in her triple, for Starlites, and her side were just a hoop away from taking the Cup.
Antoinette Borg popped up for Athleta, making a brace of cool free shots. Starlites grabbed a point back, but the last seconds had the Athleta players frantically holding on, denying their opponents a shot at their basket, to win the Cup with a mere basket advantage, on aggregate, despite losing out on this second final.
After the match the MBA President Emeritus, Louis Borg, presented the winning medals to the Athleta players, including Sharon Vella, who missed this second encounter, and captain, Leanne Sciberras, received the Cup, their second honour of the season, after the MBA Shield.
Starlites: D. Agius 2, K. Galea 20, J. Doughty, S. Farrugia 7, K. Pirotta 3, J. Micallef 2, J. Grima 17, P. Arguello 15, E. Magrin, S. Davis 5, D. Revol
Athleta: M. Stefanovic, C. Grima 25, B. Zammit, S. Pisani, L. Sciberras 6, A. Simmons 24, D. Said Hollier 4, A. Borg 6, J. Schembri, C. Mifsud Referees: J. Mangani, Z. Dobrosavljevic, I. Marjanovic