Kosovo stifle hosts in fourth quarter, Malta and Andorra follow suit

SERRAVALLE (FIBA U18 European Championship 2016 Division C) - Kosovo enjoyed a brilliant final quarter and ran away for an 86-54 victory over the tournament's host in San Marino.

A strong finish to both halves by Kosovo proved to be too much for San Marino. Kosovo won the second quarter 28-19 to build a six-point halftime lead, before outscoring the home team 25-4 in the final period to get an 86-54 win.

Etnik Peci got it done on both sides of the floor. The Kosovo point guard stole the ball 5 times and scored 20 points - both numbers were game-highs. Vigan Gashi went 7-of-13 from two-point range to collect 18 points, and Gent Shala needed just 25 minutes to put in an all-round performance of 15 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Korab Muhadri was also in double-figures with 12 points. San Marino got 13 great minutes from Giovanni Ugolini, who shot 5-of-5 to reach 11 points.

Also in Group B, Malta switched gears in the decisive fourth quarter. The final run of 27-18 was enough to defeat Moldova 87-79 to start the competition. Alec Felice Pace led five Malta players in double figures with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Vadim Raducan finished with a double-double for the defeated team, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Raducan, who only just celebrated his 16th birthday, is the youngest member of the Moldova team.

In Group A, Andorra followed suit and also broke their opponents in the final 10 minutes. Azerbaijan and Andorra entered the fourth quarter tied at 44, but Javier Luque Puigjane's players won the period 25-15 to give Andorra a 69-59 win. Hugo Schneider Bartolome and Pol Vives Mino both had 16 points, Aaron Guzman Salinas added 12 points and 11 rebounds for Andorra. Endar Poladkhanli had 24 points for Azerbaijan.

Gibraltar cruised to a 78-64 win over the Principality of Monaco. The lead was 22 at the half, and Miguel Ortega used the second half to give all of his players minutes on court. Aaron Santos was unstoppable under the basket, finishing with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 11 rebounds, as well as adding a couple of blocks. Hugo Voulfor scored half of Monaco's points. Voulfor played all 40 minutes, finishing with 32 points on 14-of-27 shooting, but the rest of team shot just 10-of-44.

FIBA