Starlites Naxxar 84
Hibernians 93
(after overtime; 20-19, 20-23, 22-18, 13-15, 9-18)
The St James Hospital Shield had to be decided after overtime following an intense final between Starlites Naxxar and Hibernians where both finalists practically battled it out in a tit-for-tat manner all throughout most of the game.
The lead alternated continuously with Starlites having, momentarily, a maximum seven-point lead early in the second quarter only for Hibs to immediately come back at par.
With the regular time buzzer finding the two sides locked at 75-75, five minutes of overtime were added on the game clock and here Hibs managed to close the game with a final 7-0 run.
Winners of this honour in the initial four editions between 1987 and 1990, under the name of Paola Stars, and then again four years ago, Hibs thus made it six successes in the history of this competition which has so far been played on 31 occasions.