Recap

Hibernians made amends for their previous defeat to Mellieha in the John Tabone Shield with a strong win against Athleta.

Matthew Gouder scored the game’s first basket with Mason Hix hitting first for Hibs. Gouder had all of Athleta’s points with six before Malik Riddle rose to make it eight. Calvin Whipple and Hix gave Hibs their first lead but with seconds to go in the first quarter, but Riddle put Athleta back up by three with two layups in between a Dajuan Moorer freethrow.

In the second quarter, the contest turned defensive as both sides managed to keep their opponent away from the hoop. With two minutes to go till halftime, both teams were level at 30-30 with two acrobatic dunks from Riddle the offensive highlight of the rubber, one of which being the difference maker as Athleta led by two by the change of ends.

After the break, Hibs found an easy way back as they took the lead and opened a five-point gap halfway through the third quarter as Athleta began to struggle on defence. A Hix three-ball gave the Paolites a six-point lead by the buzzer as momentum shifted towards them ahead of the final 10 minutes of play.

The teams were 10 points apart at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Hibs looking to have completed the turnaround after a powerful start to the game by Athleta. The latter looked down and out when Whipple and Hix combined to hit three triples with Hibs up by 22. The American duo as well as Ivan Demcesen kept piling up the points as Hibernians progressed.