Tag: paul ferrante

Lesson learnt says Ferrante after ‘stage-fright’ quarter in Larnaca ahead of return to local game

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.

Ferrante focusing on tangibles after short preseason

As Starlites prepare for their debut in the FIBA Europe Cup qualifiers, coach Paul Ferrante believes it will be a case of doing their job as best as they can on Tuesday after a short preseason.

Asked by Malta Basketball during a press conference on Tuesday about what the focus will be for his side now that the team is set up and ready for action, the Starlites coach said there are many factors which are new but if they ‘focus on the tangibles’, a good result is possible.

“Our focus will be always on the tangibles – putting these things together, the result may come. The reason I say this is because it is a first for us, even in the sense that we’ve never had five imports and in the local scene, we have to see how this will impact our team,” Ferrante said. 

“We’ve had a taste of this in the Elite basketball preseason tournament when we played USA Select, but we have another week to improve. Our job will be to do the best we can on the day.”

Speaking about the team’s overall level of preparation, Ferrante believes many of his players are match-fit, while others will be better off the bench.

“Next week we’ll be one week more match fit than we were in the last,” he explained. 

“Comparing budgets with the Anorthosis Famagusta, they’ve probably started training before us. We had a shorter preseason. The majority are match fit and we’ve got others who will give an important input but with less minutes.”

Team Dynamics

The Starlites coach made reference to team dynamics, lauding the way the players have come together so quickly.

This was echoed by new import signing Joe Davis, who said it was an honour to be playing with such a team.

“It’s an incredible experience and opportunity for myself,” the Canadian told Malta Basketball, “being here the last couple of days and really just getting to know the basketball community and the staff and the volunteers and everyone that’s involved with Starlites Basketball. 

“You learn really quickly that it’s not about you at all and there’s much more going on here. These guys have put a lot of work in for a very long time and it just makes you realise that this experience is so much greater than yourself as an individual.

“I’m very lucky to be here. It’s a great honour to come here and play for these guys. It makes you want to work that much harder and do that much better as a team just to represent the Starlights in Malta.”

Speaking to Malta Basketball, co-captain Kurt Xuereb, who re-signed with the club earlier in September, said “Everyone stepped up to the challenge” as the team went through big changes over the summer.

“The dynamic is very different within the team due to us having five imports, so everyone is trying to settle in and get on the same page so that we can handle plays and other new things,” Xuereb said.

“However, the work we’ve done as a team shows that everyone stepped up to the challenge.

“We’re training early in the morning when obviously a lot of the players have work or school so it’s not easy but I believe we are in a good state. Training and the game are all of a high level which gives us a good basis to compete.”

Starlites will be playing a friendly game against Hibernians this weekend, facing what Ferrante said were the “the best other local team”

“They have a 7’2 guy plus two Americans so it will be of a high enough level for us to test our fitness in general,” Ferrante said.

Ferrante lauds Starlites system after winning quadruple

Finals MVP Craven credits team’s leadership for success

Before the 2023-24 season began, Malta Division One champions Starlites JSD were undoubtedly the team with a target on its back after winning two consecutive championship titles. The Malta Basketball Association (MBA) had just introduced its new regulation which allowed foreigners to play as locals after three years of residing in Malta, bringing with it fresh possibilities for clubs to battle for supremacy.

At the end of the season, however, it was the only club without these local foreigners which triumphed as Starlites lifted all four domestic trophies and serial-winner coach Paul Ferrante said it was finally time for a break.

“The first thing that comes to mind right now is that I’m finally going to take a break,” Ferrante said.

“These past two or three weeks, we’ve been at it every day – I think yesterday was our first off-day – from game-film and other things. Game-film has to be prepared as well so, usually, one day is never enough. But it’s a great thing.”

“Every year, we’ve changed our foreign players, but we’ve always managed to bring in new import players who possess a good level and can play well with the rest of the team”

Starlites coach Paul Ferrante

Winning the title three times in a row is already an achievement for any coach, but winning every competition that Maltese Basketball had to offer across eight months is a target not many deem realistic. For the Starlites mentor, such an accolade was previously his career’s end goal but he now believes he’s changed his mind.

“I’ve always said that if I win all four trophies in one season, I would retire,” Ferrante joked, “but I don’t think that will be the case as this is the third-straight league title win against Mellieha – all with a 3-0 scoreline – and 2-0 in the semifinals, so I believe we’re doing something right.”

Asked about the crop of players he had at his disposal during this streak of title-winning seasons, the Starlites coach said that even though the team’s import players changed every year, the club’s system and high-level foreigners continuously provided tools for a successful nucleus.

“Every year, we’ve changed our foreign players, but we’ve always managed to bring in new import players who possess a good level and can play well with the rest of the team,” he explained.

“We’ve got a group of players who have risen from the nursery and stayed together. In fact, our Under-23s have won the league three times in a row as well. We always get a player or two who makes it to the senior team but generally, all of them manage to play with our system.

“I wish I could keep a few of the foreign players from one season to another, but to keep them for a second year, unfortunately, their agents always ask for more money. Our foundation has always been building around players from our nursery, and giving them the skills to compete.”

While the rest of the Division One clubs have all utilised the local-foreigner regulation, the closest to that in Starlites’ case was Maltese-Australian guard Matt Attard, a sharpshooting three-point scorer who joined the club the previous season.

Ferrante believes the new regulation has made the league much more difficult but lauded his team’s squad depth.

“The regulation about local foreigners has made the league much tougher – this season was not easy at all,” he remarked.

“Mellieha had Vule (Jandric) and (Corrado) Mercurio playing as locals plus they had David Bugeja who is the Malta captain, so they were not a soft team at all and they showed it especially in Game 1 and 3 when they gave us a good run for our money. I think we had more leeway for our rotation with more fresh legs which helped our case.”

Craven wins Finals MVP award

Last summer’s transfer period can be considered shaky for the three-time league winners with Canadian forward Stephane Ingo leaving the team before the start of the season and his replacement – Malik Lorquet- doing the same right after the John Tabone Shield. Kurt James was eventually brought in as the team’s third import player of the season.

The team’s first summer signing however, Davonte Craven, proved to be just what they needed as together with fellow US forwards Christian Hinckson and James, the trio finished as Starlites’ top scorers of the season. Craven was eventually voted Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the press across the three games against Mellieha.

Craven said he wasn’t expecting it but showed enthusiasm after his hard work throughout the season.

“I was surprised! I just wanted to win the game, you could have given this to any one of my teammates and I would have been just as happy but I’m happy for myself, I worked really hard for it,” he said.

Asked for his thoughts about winning the championship, Craven said it was an expectation Ferrante had set for the players and that they had all delivered.

“I’m just happy! We worked so hard for this all year,” the former Rust College Bearcats forward said.

“Before I got here, Coach told me what he expected. He had won the championship twice in a row and he expected nothing different, so we went out and did that. So many people worked so hard every day, and our great friends came to every game, it’s exciting and so good to see.

“(We had to) keep our composure, we had great leaders like Alec (Felice Pace), KJ (James), Chris (Hinckson), Matt (Scerri) who made sure we don’t stay down no matter what the difference is. We’ve seen something like that before, so we knew how to face adversity and just came out and finished the job.

“It was really up to our leaders, they made sure to keep everybody in check and without them we wouldn’t be here.”

‘We stepped up to the occasion’ says Ferrante as Starlites win Knockout title

Starlites JSD won this year’s BOV Men’s Division One Knockout after beating SiGMA Depiro 89-83 at the Ta’ Qali Pavilion on Sunday.

It was a tussle from start to finish and with this victory, Starlites have now won the mid-season competition a second-straight time after taking the honours for the first time in their history last season.

It was a final which saw both sides go ahead for periods of time but it was a show of experience from coach Paul Ferrante’s clan as they lifted their third trophy since play returned in October for the Super Cup.

Ferrante was quick to assure that the job was not done yet but lauded his team’s efforts on the day.

“Right now, my focus is the playoffs and the Under-23 final. We can relax after all of that,” Ferrante admitted.

“Today we started really strong, maybe a bit too much but then had a patch where we relaxed just as much. Depiro gave us a lot of trouble, especially their big man (Kameron Rooks) and (Cameron) Cornelius. We’re expecting that the playoffs will be just like this.”

Asked about how the team’s experience contributes to their success, the Starlites coach said the advantage of it all is the fact that the team sticks together.

“The team gels together very well and when things go south, they get even more united – that’s a key thing,” he explained.

“In the final part of today’s game, (Depiro) began to put a lot of pressure on us and we ended up shifting our foreigner out of his regular position to guard them. Having said that, Matt Attard had impeccable shooting and we had Matthew Scerri again.

“It wasn’t our best game but when we needed to step up to the occasion, we did just that.”

Starlites’ James awarded Knockout final’s MVP

As close a contest as it was, Depiro’s Cameron Cornelius led the game’s scoring after another 30+ point game (33), adding to his masterful semifinal performance against Mellieha Libertas a week before. Fellow Depiro import player Kameron Rooks finished with a 16 points-13 rebounds double-double. However, it was Starlites’ Kurt James who stole the show with 17 points, most of which came in crunch time as the American turned the game around in the second half to hand his side the victory and land the Knockout’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the process.

In the post-game comments, James had nothing but appreciation towards his teammates, calling Sunday’s win a testament to all of the team’s hard work.

“It feels great! This is a testament to our club and supporters, and our guys who don’t necessarily get in the game, but they come to practice every single day,” James said.

“We’ve got guys that sacrifice a lot, so this is just a testament to coming to work every day, being humble and trusting the process. So I’m very thankful for my teammates always.”

Discussing Sunday’s performance, the forward who joined the Malta champions late last year, said Starlites never stop battling.

“Pressure either bursts pipes or creates diamonds, so it’s just about how you apply that pressure,” he said.

“With this club, we always have a positive outlook. We could be down 19 or 30, but we’re still going to keep applying pressure and in the game of basketball, and the game of life, that makes all the difference.

“Depiro is a really good team, they came out really prepared. They made some adjustments and some decent runs but ultimately, we were able to come together and get the win.”