The weekend BOV programme, with Balkan Fusion the only team not in play, resulted in wins for the top three sides.

Starlites and Hibernians notched their seventh league win although the former as presently atop of the standings having a game in hand whilst Gżira Athleta possibly substantially dented Depiro’s play-off hopes as BUPA Luxol and Floriana MCP Car Parks look now poised to fight off for the last available play-off spot.

Depiro 76
Hibernians 85

(16-20, 22-18, 17-23, 21-24)

Depiro, fresh from their KO semi-final success, were aware that a victory over Hibernians would boost their play-off hopes and they did set off on a very good note and shared play with the reigning champions and even enjoyed a 50-46 lead midway in the third quarter.

The game’s pivotal moment arrived in the next four minutes as Hibs overturned the score following a 15-3 stretch mostly from shots behind the three-point arc.

Although Depiro did try to recover following a time-out, Hibs continued with their good moment at the start of the final quarter with a 10-2 run which had them now enjoying a double-digit lead and they then managed to control all Depiro’s final efforts.

With Trent Steen, assisted by Keshaun Hamilton and Jack Nygaard, notching up points, Depiro took an early lead.

But Hibs, who had Luca Tardito with a good offensive start, then momentarily took the upper hand after treys from Alvaro Lizaur and Roderick Vella for 28-16.

Depiro’s best moment arrived here as Nygaard and Adam Chomo shared ten consecutive points and the two sides were again head to head with the half-time buzzer arriving with a 38-all scoreline.

After the interval Depiro looked like they were keeping the momentum going to a four-point lead, 50-46.

But here Hibs started their winning runs with three treys from Chad Patus and a series of hoops from Tardito and the tall centre Ivan Demcesen.

In the final minutes, Depiro did try to fight back and managed to marginally bring down the deficit but Hibs ascertained the victory with shots from the charity line.

Depiro: T. Steen 24, K. Hamilton 9, J. Attard, D. Farrugia 5, M. Mallia, N. Grech 3, O. Said 8, M. Mallia 4, M. Borg, J. Nygaard 14, A. Chomo 9, A. Attard.

Hibs: R. Vella 10, P. Attard, K. Sultana, L. Farrugia, M. Formosa , I. Bonett, L. Tardito 16, A. Axiaq 2, M. Matijevic, A. Lizaur 12, I. Demcesen 22, C. Cuschieri Patus 23.

Referees: T. Mantere, K. Dworniczak, M. Hraisha.

Gżira Athleta 84
Bupa Luxol 72

(15-22, 23-13, 28-20, 18-17)

The start of the second half was the decisive moment in this game as here Gżira Athleta distanced themselves from their opponents after a strong 20-8 run thereby putting pressure on BUPA Luxol.

The latter did show character when they fought hard and came back into contention as they brought down the deficit to just five points midway in the last quarter but then Gżira again took the upper hand with a definite game winning 11-0 stretch.

Luxol, who were aware that a victory would boost immensely their play-off hopes, were the most precise after the game’s tip-off  as Vukassin Jandric and William Ahlberg had early treys around hoops from Keith Dimech and Stefan Capello.

Although Athleta had their American trio, Vincent Pace, Connell Crossland and Julio Guity, with personal points, Luxol still had the upper edge and points from Jerrell Martin had the Violets enjoying a 27-19 advantage       

A very late first half flurry helped Gżira Athleta to overturn the score and go in for the half time pep-talk 38-35 in the lead.

When play resumed, it was Gżira Athleta who nosed well infront as they managed, with their game’s top scorer Matthew Gouder and Crossland amassing a number of hoops, to open a double digit 58-43 lead.

This margin was still evident in the first minute of the last quarter after two Gouder treys had Gżira 69-55 ahead.

Luxol regrouped their forces and managed to stage a small comeback with an 11-2 run which brought them five points away, 66-71 with five minutes on the game clock.

Here Gżira made sure of the victory when they again opened significant lead after an 11-point run thanks to further Pace, Gouder and Guity baskets and though Luxol had two late Jean Paul Schembri treys, Gżira Athleta were not to be restrained from notching the win.

Gżira Athleta: N. Vasovic 4, C. Crossland 14, P. Shoults, L. Stefanovic, A. Perunicic, N. Xuereb 4, M. Gouder 24, V. Pace 16, I. Mitrovic, J. Guity 22.

Luxol: CJ Cordina 2, V. Jandric 16, J. Martin 14, P. Engelbert, JP Schembri 9, K. Dimech 7, W. Ahlberg 16, Sekulic 4, S. Cappello 4.

Referees: Z. Dobrosavljevic, K. Dworniczak, D, Torok.

Floriana MCP 72
Starlites GIG 96

(26-14, 19-31, 10-32, 17-19)

Floriana MCP Car Parks looked like they were positively geared up to fight for their fifth league win as they set off on a very strong note early in the game as they quickly established a good lead with Starlites GIG unable to find their rhythm infront of the Greens’ defensive pressure.

However Starlites started finding their mark from the 15th minute of play and by the next 12 playing minutes, they registered an important 42-9 run, which completely overturned the game in their favour.

In fact, a very early Ian Theisen trey, with the latter just fresh from collecting the BOV February Player of the Month award prior to the game, followed by a respective brace of David Bugeja and Gael Hulsen hoops. Further long distance shots from Thesen and Kevin Liivamagi had Floriana cruising to  double-digit lead which rose to a maximum of 14 points, 32-18, after 12 minutes of play.

Starlites started their comeback late in the second quarter when they registered a 14-2 stretch with treys from Alec Felice Pace and Nick Formosa and a series of baskets from Cameron Ward.

The margin between the two teams was gradually reduced up to a par, 45-45, at the half time mark.

The Naxxar side kept their momentum even when play recommenced after the interval as they surprised their opponents with a heavy 14-point run with further treys from Felice Pace as well as Jordan Stotts and points in the key from Drew Sears.

Although Floriana did break their second half duck with a Theisen floater, Starlites maintained their superiority with a further 12-2 stretch to open up a considerable 71-49 lead with 12 minutes to go to the final buzzer.

The Greens did improve in their offensive ploys in the final quarter but Starlites were firmly in command by then.

Theisen continued to amass his personal points for Floriana to just pip over the 40-personal point mark whilst, at the opposite victors’ end, Ward had three further treys as Starlites also gave some final minutes playing time to their bench players.

Floriana: S. Pace 6, D. Bugeja 5, D. Camilleri, S. Borg, K. Caruana 3, K. Liivamagi 11, I. Arias, I. Thiesen 41, K. Xuereb, G. Hulsen 6, D. Agius

Starlites: A. Felice Pace 15, N. Formosa 9, R. Bonnici 5, I. Felice Pace 2, C. Ward 23, M. Falzon, M. Scerri, R. Carabott 4, W. Darley 3, A. Sears 20, J. Stotts 15.   

Referees: B. Vassallo, T. Mantere, C. Xuereb.

Standings: Starlites (7-2) 16; Hibernians (7-1) 15; Gżira Athleta ((6-3) 15; BUPA Luxol (4-5) 13; Floriana (4-4) 12; Depiro (2-7) 11; Balkan Fusion (0-8) 8.