STARLITES GIG 66
GŻIRA ATHLETA 73
(17-23, 17-8, 20-21, 12-21)
The 2019 St James Hospital Shield final will feature Hibernians and Gżira Athleta after the latter overcame Starlites’ stiff resistance in the weekend’s semi-final.
It will be a repeat fixture in this competition as this Sunday’s two finalists have already met late in October with Hibs then emerging 75-68 victorious.
The semi-final was a very balanced affair with the lead changing ends a number of times, and both sets of players trying hard to outsmart each other.
Starlites set off on a high offensive note, running 8-0 ahead with a brace of initial baskets from the game’s top point-getter Konor Kulas as well as hoops from Alec Felice Pace and Ryan Carabott.
With his side very wasteful in their plays, Gżira Athleta’s play caller Sasa Dimitrijevic had to call a very early third minute time-out and this helped the side to recover and even then take the lead as they registered a 21-4 run in the latter four minutes of the first quarter with Matthew Gouder banging in most of the buckets assisted by ex-Texas Christian University Connell Crossland.
Gzira’s lead after ten minutes stood at six points but further accurate Kunas shots helped Starlites to tie the score midway in the second rubber.
Although missing five of their final nine free throws in the first half, the Naxxar side managed to close ahead at the interval with a slender 34-31 advantage.
When play restarted, Starlites managed to extend their lead as 3-pointers from Kulas and Robert Bonnici as well as an Ivan Kumric jumper had them 46-37 ahead.
Gżira Athleta got some of their rhythm back as Gouder landed two long-distance shots and Luca Stefanovic had a hoop in between.
Balance was somewhat again restored as Crossland added more buckets but an Alec Felice Pace acrobatic lay-up helped Starlites to a marginal two-point lead with ten minutes to go.
The first three minutes of the last rubber had Athleta nailing a 7-0 run but Starlites replied almost immediately to even regain the lead, albeit for the last time in the game, at 62-61 with four minutes to the final buzzer as Gżira lost centre Ian Theisen on fouls.
A Milos Novakovic trey from the side upped Gzira’s morale as they moved to a 67-62 lead even if also losing Gouder on five fouls.
Starlites tried hard to recover yet their six missed free throws from six in the final quarter surely were detrimental.
Kumric and Felice Pace brought Starlites to three points away in the final minute but Gżira Athleta ascertained their spot in the final as Crossland and then Novakovic netted the final hoops.
Starlites: A. Felice Pace 12, M. Azzopardi, R. Bonnici 8, I. Felice Pace, M. Fabri, M. Falzon, M. Scerri, R. Carabott 4, I. Kumric 7, K. Kulac 32, J. Marseille 3.
Gżira Athleta: C. Crossland 21, S. Pace 2, B. Zammit, L. Stefanovic 8, S. Galea, N. Xuereb 7, M. Gouder 24, M. Novakovic 7, I. Thiesen 4, E. Abela, R. Abela.
Referees: Z. Dobrosavljevic, K. Dworniczak, I. Simic.