STARLITES NAXXAR 78
DEPIRO 57
(24-16, 16-18, 20-12, 18-11)
Starlites Naxxar returned to winning ways as they registered their league double over Depiro after their first-round 75-66 win.
The Naxxar side had the seasonal debut of their new signing Kurt Xuereb whilst Matthew Scerri returned on the court after missing their previous game.
The major juncture in this game arrived in the middle part of the third quarter when Starlites extended their lead to 56-39 after a 9-0 run. With 13 minutes to go till the final buzzer, the Naxxar side managed to control the game tempo and did not allow any comeback from their opponents.
Early Xuereb and Scerri three balls set the points going for the victors but Depiro were not to be taken aback and they managed to react positively to bring the game at par, 10-a-piece, after a TJ Atwood long-distance shot.
Conclusions off Jacob Bates and Alec Felice Pace gave some momentary headway again to Starlites but again Depiro were quick to react through Terence Reese and Alex Oriakhi.