The Malta Independent 19 February 2025, Wednesday
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Historic day for Maltese basketball as men’s and women’s teams reach final

Saturday, 29 June 2024, 20:51 Last update: about 9 months ago

It was historic day for Maltese basketball as both men’s and women’s team reached the final of the FIBA Small States of Europe Championships.

In the men’s competition being held in Andorra Malta defeated Gibraltar in the semi final, and in the women’s competition being held in Pristina Kosovo, Malta defeated Albania to register the fourth successive victory and reach the final.

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The men’s team had the better of Gibraltar 85-79 and took sweet revenge after suffering defeat against the same opponents in the group opening match. Malta went in front at the start of the second quarter and never looked back despite Gibraltar’s strong return in the final quarter.

Samuel Deguara with 25 points and Kevin Cassar with 15 were Malta’s best scorers. Malta will face either Andorra or San Marino who play in the second semi final.

The women’s team kept marching on and after winning all three matches in the group, yesterday they easily beat Albania in the semi final. The Malta girls dominated the game with a powerful start in which they built a 15-point lead.

In the end Malta cruised to a 75-62 victory with Amber Constance Melgoza again Malta’s leading scorer with 17 points, closely followed by Stephanie De Martino and Kristy Galea both with 15, and Danika Galea with 14.

In Sunday's final Malta will probably face favourites Norway who play the second semi final against Cyprus.

 

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