Malta are through to the final of the European Championship for small nations (men) after easing past San Marino 89-68 in yesterday’s semi-final in Gibraltar.

It will be the first appearance in the title showdown for Paolo Di Fonzo’s men who came into the last-four encounter in high spirits after having topped qualifying Group B with maximum points following back-to-back victories over Scotland and Wales.

Yesterday, the national team served up a dominant performance as after opening a four-point lead at the end of the opening quarter, 25-21, they slowly started to move away from their opponents to reach the half-time interval enjoying a 12-point lead, 49-37.

San Marino were unable to keep up the pace in the third quarter as Malta extended their advantage to 18 points, 68-50.

The cushion advantage helped Malta to control the match and administer their advantage wisely in the final 10 minutes to canter home to victory.

Josh Jackson was the team’s leading scorer with 23 points, followed by Sam Deguara who potted 21 and managed 13 rebounds.

In the final, Malta play against defending champions Andorra who beat Scotland 84-63 in the other semi-final.

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