Malta was beaten by Monaco in the opening match of the Under 18 FIBA European championship for men (Division C).

Monaco won the match comfortably 72-49.

The Monagesque had built a 20-13 lead in the first quarter and they increased that lead by the interval to 44-25.

Malta played better in the third quarter, but the Monagesque still managed to increase their lead by one point: 61-41.

In the final quarter, Monaco were again on top, winning it 11-8 for a final score of 72-49.

Top scorer for Malta was Samuel Deguara with 14 points. Mike Portera was next on seven, Billy Zammit obtained six points while Gavin Muscat scored five points.

Last week, it was announced that the 2.3m tall Deguara had been snapped up by Italian top club Treviso Benetton who have bound him to a nine-year contract, reported to be worth Lm500,000.