Gżira Athleta talisman Michael Naudi, Ivan Mitrovic, of Starlites, and Steffi De Martino, who plays for Caffe Moak Luxol, have won the BOV basketball player of the month awards for January in their respective categories.

Naudi seems to be defying the passage of time as his performances last month helped Athleta obtain their first victory over Virtus this season in the final of the BOV Knock-Out.

Naudi averaged 64 per cent from the field (28 from 44) and 75 per cent from the free-throw line (24 from 32).

His aggressive attacking style also put him on top of the classification for the highest number of fouls suffered in January with 27 fouls in three matches.

The veteran stalwart has now claimed this monthly award 15 times throughout his career with Athleta, the first one in December 1998.

Starlites’ Mitrovic is enjoying a dream season in Division Two.

January saw Starlites lift the BOV Division Two KO with Mitrovic voted Most Valuable Player in the final.

Mitrovic, who also won the best player accolade in December, produced some eye-catching statistics. He amassed the highest number of points, 98, in three matches, had the highest percentage from the free-throw line with 83 per cent (29 from 35) and also suffered the highest number of fouls (8.67 per game – 26 fouls in three games).

Mitrovic supplemented this with a 56 per cent success rate from the field (18 from 32) and 37 per cent from the distance (11 from 30).

De Martino (Caffe Moak Luxol) secured the women’s award.

With 75 per cent from the free-throw line (9 out of 12) and 49 per cent from the field (43 from 87), De Martino was the top scorer in the women’s division with a total of 110 points in five matches (average of 22 per game).

This was her fifth female player of the month award.

Peter Perotti, chief officer at Bank of Valletta, presented a commemorative plaque to the winners.