Coppa's girls close in on podium finish

Women's tournament
Malta 69
Iceland 53
(18-12, 16-12, 8-14, 27-15)

Malta's women's team opened their commitments in the round robin competition at the Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia, on a sound footing after beating Iceland, one of the major contenders for the medals, 69-53.

The outcome was still in the balance before the start of the fourth quarter as only a few points separated both teams.

But then the Maltese, driven by the dynamism of Rebecca Thoresen Brincat in attack, stepped up a gear to score a staggering 27 points and secure a precious victory, in the process making a significant step towards a podium finish.

At half-time, Malta led 34-24 but Iceland reduced the deficit to only four points in the third quarter which they won 14-8.

However, there was no doubting the Maltese team's prowess in the decisive stages of the match as Thoresen Brincat spearheaded the team's charge to finish top scorer with 32 points. Loretta Ellul scored 15 points.

The Maltese team, led by Italian coach Santino Coppa, had a 75 per cent success rate from the free-throw line but a rather low 33 per cent for outside shooting (5-15).

A concern for Malta was an ankle injury to Ashleigh Vella.

Thoresen Brincat could also be left out of today's match against Cyprus as a precaution after a head collision with an opponent late in yesterday's match.

"This win was achieved against one of the best teams in this tournament," Coppa said after the match.

"We played a tactically perfect match against an Iceland side that boasts several valid players. We were in control throughout, bar a brief period in the third session where we relaxed too much.

"However, we've still got to play another two matches, so we can't get carried away. We'll focus on Cyprus now and I expect my team to show the same kind of determination as they did against Iceland."

Men's tournament
Iceland 93
Malta 53
(29-13, 25-7, 20-14, 19-19)

Iceland underlined their bold intentions to defend the gold medal they won in Monaco two years ago with a 93-53 thrashing of Malta in a one-sided match yesterday.

The Maltese had Marko Matijevic in the side. He was the team's best scorer with 15 points but Iceland had already wrapped up victory by the halfway stage when they led 54-20.

Bruno Di Pietrantonio's players produced a better showing after the break as Iceland got their foot off the pedal, also in view of today's crunch match against Cyprus, a potential gold medal decider.

Malta will try to improve their medal hopes with a better performance in today's encounter with Andorra who beat San Marino 79-47 yesterday.