ARMS Depiro 56
Starlites GIG 72

(8-16, 10-13, 11-17, 27-26)

Starlites GiG and Hibernians made sure of a place in the Shield final when they registered their second wins after as many games in the competition.

Coincidentally these two sides will face each other this Saturday in the last day of the group phase although the result will bear no effect apart from possibly giving a psychological edge ahead of the actual final.

The game set off at a balanced pace with ARMS Depiro’s Hannah Johnson giving her side an early lead but late in the first quarter Starlites GiG’s flurry of eight straight points, including hoops from Mikela Riolo and Maria Bonett, had the Naxxar side enjoying a 16-8 lead after ten minutes.

Once again, Depiro had a positive start also in the second quarter with three consecutive buckets - a brace from Claire Ciantar and a basket in between by Nicole Agius for a momentary marginal two-point gap between the teams.

However, from this point onwards, Starlites re-extended their lead and never looked back and two Michela Zammit Cordina late baskets had them enjoying a half time double-digit lead, 29-18.

This margin increased steadily albeit slowly in the third quarter to a maximum 63-38 lead midway in the last rubber after three consecutive Anthea Micallef hoops following free throws by Patricia Arguello and Adriana Lupo.

“The team had a slow start but we then picked up well, there was good team rotation but we still kept our advantage throughout the game,” Starlites power forward Christina Curmi said.

Depiro, who were led by Alfred Mifsud on the bench, managed to register a better scoreline after a late 11-2 run with young Julia Borg assisting Johnson in potting the points. 

“We gave our hearts in this game and I am happy with the young players as they are showing progress every single game and getting more confident,” Ciantar said.

“We need to work more on keeping concentration as we tend to start well but then falter as time passes.”

Depiro: No. Agius, T. Mifsud, N. Agius, Ni. Agius 9, D. Agius, J. Borg 7, D. Said Hollier, M. Scicluna 4, C. Ciantar 7, N. Hili 1, H. Johnson 28, E. Cassar.

Starlites: M. Zammit Cordina 17, M. Riolo 7, A. Micallef 16, S. Farrugia 3, M. Bonett 4, F. Fabok, C. Curmi 5, C. Cilia, P. Arguello 9, M. Cutajar, S. Davies 5, A. Lupo 6.

Referees: G. Barbara, I, Simic, L. Camilleri.

 

LUXOL 61
HIBERNIANS 70

(14-14, 15-18, 13-24, 19-14)

The clutch moment of this game arrived early in the third quarter when Hibs netted three straight treys off Jasmine Abela, Naomi Farrugia and Samantha Brincat and then added an Ashleigh van Vliet and-one play followed by another Abela long-distance shot.

All this led Hibs to a double-digit lead and put pressure on a Luxol side who had earlier managed to keep the pace with their opponents.

In fact, Luxol raced to an early lead off a Sharon Vella hoop and an Ina Baena trey and later enjoyed a 14-9 lead after nine minutes following a Kayleigh Portelli three-pointer.

Van Vliet and Marie Buhagiar had late first quarter buckets and got the game tied at the end of the first rubber.

Luxol again had the upper edge when play restarted until mid-quarter treys from Brincat and Leanne Duncan put the Paolites marginally ahead.

Early second half free throws from Sarah Pace and Antoinette Borg brought Luxol just a point away at 31-32 but here, Hibs started to distance themselves.

Despite Luxol’s efforts from Pace and Mandy Mercieca, Hibs kept on adding the points to take full control of the game when they were 61-42 ahead with six minutes to go. 

Van Vliet stated that it was a fast and physical game.

“Down the stretch we had some strong defensive plays and hit some important shots. It was surely a nice team effort,” Van Vliet said.

The Violets managed to reduce the margin down to a single digit after an 8-0 run and two final treys from Borg although Hibs were never in danger.

Luxol’s guard Pace took some positives from this game despite admitting that the result was not the one they aimed for.

“We had good energy, a couple of good steals and good ball rotation,” Pace said.
“However, in the end our turnovers did not help as then we lost concentration.”

Luxol: S. Pace 19, B. Zammit 3, N. Vella, I. Baena 9, No. Vella, S. Vella 12, K. Portelli 3, A. Borg 10,  L. Caruana Montaldo, M. Caruana 4, M. Pollacco, M. Mercieca 11

Hibs: I. Agius 4, J. Xerri, A. Van Vliet 16, S. Brincat 15, L. Duncan 5, J. Abela 10, K. Calleja, Y. Bonett 4, N. Farrugia 9, C. Camilleri, K. Caruana 2, M. Buhagiar 5

Referees: T. Mantere, Z. Dobrosavljevic, L. Camilleri.

Standings

Hibs, Starlites 4; Depiro, Luxol 2.
 

OTHER RESULTS

Amateur League Men
Mellieħa vs Hibs 76-55
Depiro vs Fusion 76-67
 
Under 23 Women
Hibs vs Depiro 58-42
Starlites vs Luxol 64-60
 
Under 16 Men
Hibernians vs Starlites 52-79
Siggiewi vs Luxol 42-44
Depiro vs Gżira Athleta 61-49
 
Under 16 Women
Depiro vs Shamrock Stars 151-24
Siggiewi vs Starlites 41-63
Hibernians vs Luxol 47-59