The two U-18 national selections are in contention to win medals at the FIBA European Championship Division C tournaments being played this week.

The women’s team, under the charge of Sandro Farrugia and Silvia Gambino, have won two of their opening three matches from the round robin competition at the National Sports School Gym in Pembroke.

The Maltese girls opened their campaign with a come-from-behind win over Gibraltar.

They were trailing 29-19 at the interval but after the restart they clicked into gear, winning the third quarter 20-7 to start the final session three points ahead, 39-36.

Farrugia’s girls kept hold of their nerves in the closing stages to maintain their slim advantage and seal a 55-51 win.

Lena Ferrante charges forward against Kosovo.

In the second match, the locals could not match to Armenia who raced to a comfortable 83-53 victory.

Farrugia’s team remained in touch with the Armenians until the half-time break but the easterners’ superior quality emerged in the final two sessions to rubberstamp a convincing victory.

Interestingly, the Armenians have only seven players available as the other members in the squad were not issued with a visa.

Malta made amends for their upset on Thursday when, inspired by a strong defensive display, they edged past Kosovo 38-37.

Sophie Abela was the side’s leading player on both ends of the floor with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Jaelle Micallef added 12 points.

Malta are currently sharing top spot in the competition with Armenia on five points but have played a game more than third-placed Cyprus who are the only unbeaten side in the competition.

The Maltese will end their tournament commitments this evening when they face Cyprus.

If Malta lose they will still have a chance of taking the bronze medal, provided Armenia have the better of Kosovo.

The men’s selection, under Italian Andrea Paccarie and his assistant Ruben Baldacchino, completed a perfect group campaign in Nicosia after winning all their three matches to breeze into the semi-finals.

They kicked off their Group B commitments when brushing aside San Marino 74-61.

Kurt Cassar was the side’s star performer as he amassed 29 points and 24 rebounds while Nicholas Formosa potted 19 points.

Gibraltar were up next for Malta U-18s and the match went on an even keel until the end of the third quarter with the score locked at 56-all.

But Cassar then came to the fore to inspire his team-mates for a 82-66 victory after prevailing 26-10 in the last quarter.

Next up was a clash against Moldova with top spot in the group at stake.

The Maltese side gained the initiative right from the outset and with Keith Dimech, scorer of 23 points, and Formosa, on 20, they went on to claim a 76-69 victory to hand a first defeat on the Moldovans and reach the semi-finals as table toppers.

This evening, the boys will be up against tournament hosts Cyprus for a place in the final.