Malta conceded their second defeat in as many games at the FIBA Under-18 European Championships in Azerbaijan on Monday as they fell to a 63-46 loss against Moldova.
Moldova looked the stronger side throughout but were kept at arm’s length for most of the game by a fighting Maltese side that pushed for every possession nonetheless.
In fact, good defence from either side restricted each other’s offence to a troubled 29% field goal percentage for both. However, Moldova managed to find a way in either way with more than half of their points coming from inside the paint. Malta’s bench had a positive day with 22 points, compared to Moldova’s 16-point bench player scoring.
Adam Azzopardi led Malta’s scoring with Game One’s top scorer Connor James having a particularly quiet game on Monday. Azzopardi scored 13 and managed to grab five rebounds. Isaac Azzopardi followed with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.
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