After confirming David Bugeja and Luca Stefanovic as two major local signings this summer, and extending the contract of US guard Cameron Cornelius, Depiro continued to make inroads into their summer acquisitions with the confirmation of forwards Chase Barrs and Dom Tomasi.
Announcing the pair this past week, the Mtarfa side showed its excitement to have them play under new coach Sasha Dimitrijevic this coming season.
“Depiro is excited to announce the signing of 23-year old Chase Barrs from Florida, USA to our Senior Men’s Team,” a club statement read.
“We’re all looking forward to seeing Chase with the rest of our team in Ta Qali. Welcome to Depiro, Chase!”
This statement was echoed in the case of Tomasi, who follows the footsteps of older brother Joshua who played for the club during the John Tabone Shield last season before moving to Spain and eventually back to Australia’s NBL One.
Florida-native Barrs joins the team after his final season in the NCAA Division One with the Florida A&M Rattlers who play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). He comes to Malta looking to get higher individual numbers after averaging 1.8 points per game on 45.2% field goal and 62.5% freethrow shooting last season. The 6’10 forward played 21 games throughout the campaign and grabbed 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 blocks a game on defence.
Meanwhile, Tomasi heads to Malta after his time in Australia in the Big V. The 20-year-old will play for Depiro as a local as did his brother last season in a similar move made by Starlites in the case of Matt Attard and eventually Jacob Bourke-Doggett.
The duo will most likely wrap up Depiro’s summer business as they aim to push ahead after last season’s run in the men’s campaign that led to a Knockout final appearance and eventually a place in the playoffs under coach Ruben Baldacchino who stepped down at the end of the season.