The Malta U-18 women’s national team won a silver at the FIBA Challengers tournament that were held in Andorra.
Sandro Farrugia’s girls produced a stirring second-half fightback but were not enough to avoid a 60-45 defeat to Cyprus in the final in La Vella on Sunday.
The Cypriots took control of the girl right from the word ‘go’ and they opened 14-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Maltese tried to hit back but could not match the quality of the Cypriots who further extended their advantage to 37-14 when ends were changed.
With Cypriots enjoying a commanding 23-point lead it looked as though the match was already dusted but Farrugia’s girls kept fighting and managed reduce the deficit in the final two quarters for a 60-45 final scoreline.
Cyprus player Sofia Sttylianidi was the match protagonist when she potted an impressive 31 points.
On the other hand Julia Borg was Malta’s top point-getter when she notched 18 points followed by Catherine Cilia who recorded ten points.
