Malta facing elimination
Malta 62Andorra 69(25-16, 12-14, 9-15, 16-24)\nJoe Galea's national team are on the verge of elimination after a second upset at the University Sports Hall last night. In front of another sizable crowd, the team again made an outstanding start against...
Malta 62
Andorra 69
(25-16, 12-14, 9-15, 16-24)
\nJoe Galea's national team are on the verge of elimination after a second upset at the University Sports Hall last night.
In front of another sizable crowd, the team again made an outstanding start against Andorra but failed to maintain the pace throughout the whole match, going on to squander a maximum lead of 13 points in the process.
At half-time, Malta were leading 37-30 but there was no cohesion in the team as Andorra kept snapping at their heels until they cancelled out their deficit in the fourth session. Malta showed signs of a revival here but an Andorra three-pointer silenced the home crowd as the visitors ran away to victory.
Malta's only hope now is to beat San Marino today but it will be hard to see the team back in contention. A victory tonight will perhaps earn Malta a chance to fight for the play-offs and avoid the last place in the group, a position which could spell finis to the team's GSSE 2003 venture.
Malta: M. Naudi (7), D. Falzon, M. Micallef (17), E. Bezzina (2), S. Schembri (9), N. Farrugia, O. Said (3), A. Micallef, A. Bonnici, J. Gatt (10), J. Jetson (2), S. Cassar (12).
Other men's results: Iceland vs San Marino 67-64; Monaco vs Luxembourg 57-84.
Standings: (Group A) Luxembourg 2, Cyprus 2, Monaco 2. (Group B) Iceland 4; San Marino 2, Andorra 2; Malta 0.