Malta to face hosts Andorra, Gibraltar, and San Marino
The Malta men’s national team is gearing up for the 2024 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, set to take place in Andorra from June 25 to 30. This marks the first official games for Malta under the new head coach, Duncan Fenech, who took the reins in February.
In preparation for the tournament, Fenech has meticulously overseen the training of an initial squad of 18 players, recently narrowed down to the final 12. The team is set to depart for Andorra on Sunday, with high hopes for the championship.
Commenting on the build-up to the tournament, Fenech emphasized the importance of team unity and balance.
“The team’s preparations have been optimal. Our main focus was on achieving the right balance and a sense of unity within a group of players coming from different clubs, keeping in mind that they have not had many opportunities to play together over the past few months,” he said.
Fenech highlighted the reliance on local players for this tournament as a key consideration.
“We are relying mostly on local players for this tournament and that was another consideration we have taken into account in our preparations for this competition,” he noted.
The team has engaged in several friendly matches, demonstrating notable progress.
“We anticipated a tough start to these friendlies, but the team showed improvement from game to game. Overall, I’m satisfied with the progress of our preparations,” Fenech added.
Malta’s campaign in Group A will commence against Gibraltar on Tuesday, June 25 at 17:00hrs. They will then face San Marino on Wednesday at the same time, followed by their final group game against hosts Andorra on Thursday at 19:30hrs. The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, with the third-place game and the final set for Sunday.
We need to approach this challenge with the right mindset, knowing that we need to work very hard to win games and boost our chances of winning gold.
Duncan Fenech
Fenech stressed the importance of the right attitude and commitment from his players to achieve their goal of winning gold.
“In a way, it adds to the pressure since this is a short tournament where we will be playing against teams that are relatively not at the top of the bracket,” he explained, “We need to approach this challenge with the right mindset, knowing that we need to work very hard to win games and boost our chances of winning gold.”
The Malta Basketball Association expressed gratitude to Sport Malta for their continuous support, which has been instrumental in the team’s preparations.
MALTA SQUAD
- Matthew Scerri, Ian Felice Pace, Alec Felice Pace, Kurt Xuereb (all Starlites)
- Miguel Brincat (Depiro)
- Nathan Xuereb (Luxol)
- David Bugeja (Mellieha Libertas)
- Neil Cassar (Valletta Fighters)
- Kurt Cassar (NPC Rieti, Italy)
- Sam Deguara (Taiwan Mustangs, Taiwan)
- Michael Sjoberg (Monthey-Chablais, Switzerland)
- Joshua Tomasi (Casey Cavaliers Cranbourne, Australia)
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