NICOSIA (FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers) - Cyprus had it all in their hands, but failed to defeat Luxembourg and book a ticket to the Second Round. The guests celebrate an 89-76 win, which helped Armenia.

Turning point: Luxembourg held a double-digit lead most of the game, but Cyprus crawled back within four points to start the final quarter. A 10-2 run by Luxembourg kept Cyprus at bay, and trading buckets the rest of the way meant the visitors were right on course to collect their first win in Group C.

Game hero: Alex Laurent was unstoppable, scoring 29 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor, and he had a helping hand in Bob Melcher, who went all-round for his 19 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds.

Stats don't lie: Live by the three, die by the three. Cyprus tried to force their way back from beyond the arc, taking 37 three-point shots compared to 31 shots from inside the arc. They scored on 11 tries, as did the Luxembourgers, but on a much more effective 22 shots taken.

Game notes: Cyprus fell to 2-2 in Group C, but a -9 points difference was not good enough for them to take the last ticket to the Second Round. Armenia thus join group winners Portugal, Denmark and MKD as the best second-placed team of the competition, at 2-2 and +3.

They said: "It was a big win for us, our first of the competition. We were very close in Portugal, but lost in overtime. We were disappointed then, but we showed a great reaction and shot well to win the game." - Ken Diederich, Luxembourg head coach

"We had 22 assists, and less turnovers, we won the rebounding battle and had better efficiency. We won every category in this game. We have a young team and great future." - Alex Laurent, Luxembourg

"It is a bad result for us and an unexpected loss. We managed to throw away the big effort we had in November with the win over Portugal, and in February, when we won easily in Luxembourg. Today we threw away a great opportunity." - Pantelis Gavriel, Cyprus head coach

FIBA