Malta finished third in Group A of the FIBA Under-16 European Championships Division C tournament after beating Gibraltar 57-48 in their final game of the group on Monday.
It was finally a relief for the Malta boys after two consecutive defeats in the group against Kosovo and Moldova, as on Monday Omar Said’s clan took control of the game in the first quarter and never looked back.
While both sides were lacking from three-point range, Malta made more than half of their freethrows and scored 45.5% from their two-point attempts. Malta were also the more alert side at the boards on the day with 68 rebounds compared to Gibraltar’s 50.
In terms of scoring, Malta and Gibraltar shared six lead changes but Malta lead for the majority of the game despite the biggest lead being nine points. However, it was a case of opening and closing the game right with dominant first and fourth quarters. The bench was also a major contributor for the side with 21 points throughout the game.