Carles Teixido has won the first Maltese qualifier for the Red Bull King of the Rock after an exciting final with David Bugeja at Valletta’s Great Siege Square.
Transformed into a basketball court, the famous square hosted the finals with the remaining eight players battling it out for a place at the World Finals in Taiwan.
Played on a knock-out format, the one-on-one basketball tournament from the world of Red Bull was a great showcase for the game, giving the opportunity to the local basketball community to take part in such a prestigious event.
In the first round, Teixido, Peter Shoults, David Bugeja and 16-year-old Miguel Falzon had the better of Anton Axiaq, Nikola Vasovic, Alberto Lorenzo and Denislav Vladimorov respectively.
In the semi-finals, Shoults offered a worthy challenge to Teixido but it was the Spaniard who prevailed to progress to the final.
In the other semi-final, Bugeja proved too strong for the young Falzon who had done very well to claim a top-four spot.
Teixido will now fly to Taiwan in September to represent Malta at the world finals of the Red Bull King of the Rock.