Ireland and Cyprus headline Semi-Final field in Prishtina

PRISHTINA (FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division C) – Ireland and Cyprus completed the Group Phase of the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018, Division C without defeats to headline the Semi-Final field in Prishtina, which will also include Monaco and the tournament hosts Kosovo.

Nathan Moore delivered a 24-point performance for Ireland, as the Paul Kelleher-coached side improved to a 4-0 record to lock in the top spot in Group A with an 87-70 victory over Moldova. Darragh O'Sullivan and Oisin Rice were also in double figures for the Irish, while Vadim Raducan was Moldova's top scorer after collecting a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The result saw Moldova spin out of the medal race, with Monaco claiming the second ticket to the Semi-Finals following a one-sided 92-45 victory against Malta. Roman Tomatis led the Monegasque scoring efforts with a team-high 16 points, while Nicholas Formosa collected 19 points and 6 rebounds for Malta.

Monaco finished second in Group A behind Ireland 

Meanwhile, Cyprus extended their unbeaten run in Group B by routing San Marino 101-37 to clinch the top seed on the other half of the tournament with a 3-0 record.

Rovertos Alexandrou needed just 19 minutes to secure the top-scorer honors in the contest, fouling out with 17 points and 7 rebounds next to his name in the boxscore; Francesco Palmieri had a team-high 12 points for San Marino.

Kosovo claimed second place in the group with a 77-47 win over Gibraltar behind a 20-point and 10-rebound double-double by Erhan Sholla, who put the cherry on top of his fine performance with 5 steals.

Tournament hosts Kosovo became one of the four Semi-Finalists

Gazzali Makasqi was the top scorer of the game with 23 points, while Alejandro Garcia Tejon had 17 points and 10 boards in a losing effort for Gibraltar.

The tournament hosts will be paired up with Group A winners Ireland in the Semi-Finals, with Cyprus taking on Monaco. The rest of the teams will take part in the Classification Group 5-9.

Semi-Final pairings:

Ireland v Kosovo Cyprus v Monaco [/unordered]

FIBA