PRISHTINA (FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division C) – The undefeated Ireland did not survive the Semi-Final showdown with Kosovo at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division C on Saturday, with the lower-ranked tournament hosts turning their home-court advantage into a momentous upset.

The Erhan Sholla-led Kosovar side handed their Irish opponents a knock-out blow with a convincing 69-55 scoreline, with the 17-year-old small forward setting team-high marks of 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Rilind Krasniqi and Leon Neziri collected 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the winners, who grabbed an impressive total of 27 offensive rebounds for a 65-32 overall advantage on the glass. Having collected 17 points apiece, Eoin McCann and Darragh O'Sullivan were the only double-digit scorers for Ireland.

Looking for their maiden set of gold medals in FIBA competitions, Kosovo are set to meet some familiar faces in the Final, with their former Group B rivals Cyprus coming out victorious in the other Semi-Final with a 76-64 triumph over Monaco.

Polys Iliadis and Georgios Tretiakov combined for 45 points for Cyprus, with Iliadis coming up with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and Tretiakov adding 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals. Meanwhile, Roman Tomatis had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists for Monaco.

After breezing  through the Semi-Finals, Cyprus are gearing for their second test against Kosovo this week

Having already met Kosovo in the Group Phase, Cyprus won the first contest between the teams after Polys Iliadis snatched a 64-63 victory for the islanders with a game-winning play in the closing moments of the contest.

The remaining teams continued their battles in the Classification Games 5-9, with San Marino and Moldova securing important wins that will have them play it out for 5th place in the final standings on Sunday.  Both teams are 3-0 in Group C after Moldova thrashed Gibraltar, 99-57, and San Marino topped Armenia 67-58.

FIBA