Category: 3×3 NT

Malta bow out of FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifiers after falling to favourites in knockout stages

Women’s national team secures semifinal finish, men end campaign in quarterfinals

Malta’s women’s 3×3 national team levelled their previous best finish in the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifiers as they bowed out after a loss to tournament favourites Azerbaijan in the semifinals on Sunday.

The 15-10 defeat came after a tough 21-15 loss to Luxembourg in the final Pool A fixture and a stunning 17-13 victory against Ireland later in the day.

Meanwhile, Malta’s men’s 3×3 national team ended their FIBA Europe Cup qualifiers campaign with a historic win against Luxembourg and defeat to Cyprus in the quarterfinals.

In a fixture originally listed for Saturday evening, Malta and Luxembourg’s women’s teams were both looking for their first win in the tournament. While it was Luxembourg’s opening game of the weekend, Malta had already lost to Azerbaijan on Saturday.

Malta suffers close defeats in FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifying openers

In spite of a brave showing, Malta had to settle for a second-straight defeat as Luxembourg proved to be the stronger side and leapfrogged the Maltese into a guaranteed two-pool finish.

In the quarterfinals, Malta were pitted against Pool B runners-up Ireland. 

The Irish kickstarted the scoring with an and-one before a Kristy Galea long-ranger to tie things up. This parity lasted just a few seconds as Ireland pushed back up to cause a four-point separation before Sophie Abela and Steffi De Martino bagged Malta’s next points.

De Martino was again up for the task from deep to level terms before Danika Galea switched leads with 4.19 to go. This was the spark Malta needed as they continued to surge ahead and progressed into the semifinals.

Against Azerbaijan, Malta faced a tough replay from day one. Sophie Abela hit from the line to open Malta’s scoring before De Martino hit from deep to tie the game after a quick Azeri start.

Azerbaijan surged forward with several long-distance efforts and they benefited from wasted opportunities from the Malta offence, but De Martino and Danika Galea combined to keep the game at just a three-point difference.

Nevertheless, Azerbaijan settled the game with another two points for a five-point victory and a ticket to the final.

A team photo of the Malta's 3x3 men's national team.
Malta’s 3×3 men’s national team in Kosovo.

Men’s quarterfinal finish

In the men’s competition, Malta celebrated their first victory in the 3×3 competition when they beat Luxembourg in the final Pool A game on Sunday.

In the morning fixture, also delayed after rain on Saturday, Luxembourg got things going with an immediate two-pointer before Matthew Scerri bagged Malta’s opener with a close-range layup.

Despite the early Luxembourg lead, Malta turned things around a minute and a half into proceedings. 

Similarly to the clash against Ireland, Malta began to play more consistently while Luxembourg played a more physical game. In turn, Malta held a four-point lead midway through the game.

Luxembourg looked lost as Malta continued to power through and took a 15-11 win which guaranteed them a place in the final round.

In the quarterfinals, a few hours later, Malta faced a much more technical side and were made to pay as the more experienced Cypriots progressed to the semifinals with a 21-11 finish.

Cyprus kickstarted proceedings with a layup before Ian Felice Pace hit one of two freethrows and Matthew Scerri levelled the game with a two-pointer.

Scores from Louie Farrugia and Neil Cassar created a Malta gap but Cyprus brought the game to parity five minutes in. 

With their newfound momentum after three straight two-balls, the Cypriots gained a sizeable lead, and eventually the win as Cyprus splashed in a condemning long-ranger to reach the scoring limit.

Malta suffers close defeats in FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifying openers

To play Luxembourg on Sunday after rain postponement

Malta’s men and women suffered close defeats on Saturday as they tried their luck in Prishtina, Kosovo for a place in this summer’s FIBA 3X3 Europe Cup. 

The men’s team, listed as the eighth seed in the competition, started their Pool A campaign with the toughest of clashes, against top seed Ireland. However, this did not stop the quartet of Matthew Scerri, Ian Felice Pace, Neil Cassar and Louie Farrugia from issuing a strong statement. 

Against Ireland, Scerri was in fact, the game’s top scorer with 11 points after four long-rangers and three freethrows. Despite this, it was a close Irish 18-17 victory by the final buzzer.

While Malta looked strongest in the opening minutes of their opening fixture, Ireland settled in and it was a case of foul trouble that evened things out. Luck was with the Irish in the final seconds of the encounter however as a missed Felice Pace effort with the sides level gave Matthew Spencer Treacy the chance for one last score in the last second. 

Malta fell to a 17-13 loss against Andorra in their second fixture.

Unlike their opener, Malta struggled to get things going and it was a Farrugia layup five minutes into the game that became Malta’s first point as Andorra shot ahead. The age gap between the two sides began to prove costly as the experienced Andorra players looked in control while Malta’s youngsters chased the deficit. 

Two straight Felice Pace two-pointers brought Malta closer to the surface with less than two minutes to go but two long rangers from Andorra settled things to hand Malta their second defeat of the day.

Women’s competition

In the women’s competition, Malta only had the opportunity to play their opening game, a 17-14 loss to tournament favourites Azerbaijan.

Looking to push past their previous high – a semifinal appearance in Cyprus – Malta sent a strong lineup with Steffi De Martino leading the pack which also featured Kristy Galea, Sophie Abela and Danika Galea.

On Saturday, Danika Galea fired first as it became a battle between the Malta youngster and Azerbaijan’s Mercedes Walker. 

Even though the Azeris entered the tournament as the top seed, eighth-seed Malta remained as close as ever throughout proceedings.

The two sides were level with just under three minutes to go. However, Azerbaijan rallied in the final moments for a three-point victory.

With the team set for their second game of the day, another tough contest against Luxembourg, a rain delay first postponed play for 30 minutes, before the organisers shifted the tournament’s final contests to Sunday morning.

Malta faces Luxembourg in both the men’s and women’s Europe Cup qualifiers on Sunday with only a win on their minds, especially since only the top three from each Pool progress to the next round.