Starlites FIJO opened a 2-0 lead in the 2023 best-of-five championship series when they added another victory to their 104-90 win in the first game three days prior on Sunday to now put all the pressure on Mellieha Libertas. The latter know well enough that they cannot succumb to another defeat if they want to keep their title hopes alive and extend the series to more than three games.

The game had a very balanced first half, with various lead changes but Starlites managed to open a double-digit lead in the third quarter which was then maintained in the final rubber although Mellieha remained a continuous threat.

The match had a sad incident early in the game when Starlites’ Matthew Scerri suffered a knee injury on a fast break play after less than two minutes of play, with his side already opening a 6-2 lead after a brace of quick hoops from Zekiah Owens (double-double with 26 points at 53%, 12 rebounds, four assists) and a Darius George mid-ranger whilst Nenad Bukva (eight rebounds, four assists) netted Mellieha’s first bucket in the game.

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