SERRAVALLE (FIBA U16 European Championship 2018, Division C) – Tournament hosts San Marino did the unthinkable and snuck into the Medal Round of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018, Division C by registering a massive upset over Albania on the last day of the Group Phase.

San Marino and Austria snatched up the two remaining Semi-Finals tickets on Sunday, joining Group B teams Andorra and Wales through to the next phase of the tournament in Serravalle.

Having come into the do-or-die clash against Albania needing to win by at least 15 points to secure a favorable position in a three-way tie, San Marino got the job done with a 73-55 victory in a breathtaking turn of events down the stretch in the fourth quarter. 
Edoardo Pasolini delivered a clutch performance for San Marino

The hosts first turned the balance of the tie in their favor with just over two minutes on the clock left in regulation and managed to keep the shell-shocked Albania scoreless the rest of the way to advance. 

San Marino, Albania and Azerbaijan all finished with identical 2-2 records, but the Stefano Rossini-coached home side had the best point differential in head-to-head games against their opponents.

Edoardo Pasolini led the way for the hosts with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double; while Francesco Palmieri and Filippo Miriello chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively. For Albania, Xhersido Hajdari had team-highs of 13 points and 11 boards.
Albania would have qualified to the Semi-Finals with any defeat under 15 points

Still undefeated in the tournament, Austria also progressed and clinched the top spot in Group A with a 51-41 victory over Azerbaijan behind a 14-point and 9-rebound performance by power forward Lazar Gagic. This proved to be the toughest test yet for the Bernd Wimmer-coached Austrians, who had won their first three contest with an average margin of 30.7 points.

The result saw Austria finish the Group Phase with a 4-0 record, while the Azerbaijani side missed out on second place in a three-way tie with San Marino and Albania after dropping to 2-2. In the Semi-Finals, Austria will take on the second-placed Group B team Andorra, while San Marino will take the undefeated Wales.  

Having already locked in qualification on Saturday, Andorra and Wales wrapped up the Group Phase with a head-to-head clash that saw the fantastically-supported Welsh side come out on top 56-50 to secure pole position and get a second-seeded opponent in the Semi-Finals instead of Austria.Wales fans celebrating the top spot in Group B

Mason Grady stepped up for Wales with a 13-point, 19-rebound double-double, while the team's top scorer Panagiotis Karras also got into double figures with 10 points. Meanwhile, the trio of Sergi Serrato Balletbo, Oriol Betrian Pujol and Marti Obiols Puig scored 42 of the total 50 points for Andorra.

In the only other game of the day, Scotland got their first win in Serravalle by steamrolling Gibraltar 85-19 to qualify for the Classification Games for 5-8 places, which will also include their Group B rivals Malta, as well as Albania and Azerbaijan from Group A.

In the meantime, the fifth-place teams from both groups, Gibraltar and Moldova, will play each other on the last day of the tournament, looking to avoid finishing last in San Marino.

FIBA