GROUP A
Hibernians 74
Starlites Naxxar 79
(17-15, 22-23, 17-22, 18-19)
The men’s MBA Shield competition set off with a balanced and tight game where the score regularly changed hands and only was determined in the final
moments when Paola-based Hibernians squared off against Starlites Naxxar.
The latter emerged winners mainly thanks to a late seven-point rally which opened a nine-point margin, 77-68, with one minute to go.
Both sides paraded their new foreign imports with only Hibs’ guard Mason Vires being a familiar face on the island before this encounter. Vires was partnered with Illinois-born Christian Soderholm and this duo ended up becoming the side’s two leading scorers with 28 points between them.