Malta champions Starlites will attempt to make history this summer as last season’s quadruple winners try their luck in the 2024 FIBA Europe Cup qualifiers in July.
After winning every trophy available within the local basketball sphere, the Naxxar-based club is now taking the next step in becoming Malta’s representative in Europe. This feat makes them the first Maltese team to expand their horizons since Luxol around 35 years ago.
29 different clubs from 19 different countries have shown interest in playing in FIBA’s second-tier club competition, below the Basketball Champions League, and 15 of these teams have already made it to the Regular Season. A further 18 teams will join after falling from the Champions League Qualification rounds, together with other qualifiers to complete a list of 40.
Starlites, who will start their adventure in the qualifying round from September 24 to 27, will be awaiting their opponent in a draw held on July 19 in Munich, Germany.
They will then face their respective opponent in a home and away setting, with naturally the home fixture to be played at Ta’ Qali. This is of course a welcomed change from previous years when qualifiers would be played in one city.
As an unseeded team in the round, they may be facing the likes of Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta, Bilbao Basket of Spain, French team JDA Bourgogne Dijon, Alba Fehervar from Hungary, BC Peja from Hungary, Portugal’s Sporting CP, and Ukrainian side BC Dnipro.
Were Starlites to progress, this would be a new chapter in Maltese basketball’s history books since the attempts made by Luxol, Hibernians and Athleta.
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