Malta champions Starlites ended their run in the FIBA Europe Cup on Friday after a second defeat to Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta in Larnaca. Two days later, the Naxxar side will be back on the Ta’ Qali court to open the new season with the MBA Super Cup.
Speaking to Malta Basketball, Starlites coach Paul Ferrante said it was a learning experience for himself and the team and an eye-opener to the reality of European basketball.
“I believe the thing that made the most difference and what was most mentioned by our players and the president watching from the stands was their physicality and contact. We are not used to playing with so much contact off the ball and with point guards who take on all the pressure,” Ferrante said.
“They had many physiologically capable players. However, having said that, when one sees that we were at times eight points or less away in a game in which we had a terrible start, I believe that with maybe two more weeks of practice together, we would have done better. That first quarter was like stage fright for us as when you watch it again, you’d see we found a lot of the options we had to find and we did many things well, but we just didn’t finish them off.
“When you consider that there was the lucky loser rule and we missed qualification by eight points, we felt it even more. But it would have been a growing experience as the teams we would have come against are tougher.”
It is no secret that with the local league allowing only two import players on the court at any given time, having five import players on the team’s payroll would have been redundant and while all five players will be available for Sunday’s game, the next week will determine the future of the five imports brought over during summer. Ferrante said that while it is not 100% just yet, the initial decision was for Trevon Reddish Rhone, Max Curran, and Joe Davis to stay on for the 24/25 Division One season, while Carson Newsome and Kolten Mortensen depart after the Europe Cup.
“There are a number of factors which go into this which are not necessarily related to the individual player, but more about team chemistry,” he said.
Asked about the debut performance of new local signing Andrew Aquilina, Ferrante said he was very happy with how the former Depiro captain performed.
“I’m very happy with Andrew (Aquilina). He didn’t play the first game solely because as a 35-year-old, we wanted to save him for the second game as he can provide hassle for their point guard and defend the ball handlers. At the same time, we could distribute minutes to local players as well.
“But now that we have the Super Cup final so close, we are keeping them all and deal with that next week. Considering the fact that we have such a game after two days, at least we can use this unpredictability to our advantage in terms of the game-day roster.
“[Aquilina] was a crucial signing and the fact we have another Maltese player for tomorrow who has had running time in Europe as well is helpful. I know he is a team player, who gives his all on the court and is very disciplined, so I’m very happy with him.”
Starlites now face a largely changed Depiro side on Sunday and Ferrante said it would be impossible to say what they can expect from their opponents.
“I would be lying if I said I’m expecting anything in particular as Depiro are practically a new team – new coach, a team that used to revolve around (Kameron) Rooks and now Rooks is not there anymore – they’re a different team so it will be a game of adjustments,” he explained.
“Having said that, every team coached by Sasa Dimitrijevic has always been well organised and when he was here before we had many great games so I was very happy to see him return as his ideas will continue to help the level increase.”
With less than 48 hours from the team’s arrival back in Malta, it goes without saying that match-fitness will be a concern but the Starlites coach believes the rotation they played in Larnaca was considerate of Sunday’s game.
“I’ve just put our players in Revive’s ice baths to help their recovery,” he joked.
“The fact we had more imports helped us to avoid overplaying our locals, who got the right experience and playing time nonetheless. So, hopefully, a one-day recovery should be enough to get us back. Getting back right after a game could be positive as well – everyone is still locked in.”
While Starlites will have that import factor as a weapon on Sunday, Ferrante did give one away as the side will likely be without Max Curran who is out sick.
