Gibraltar play Andorra in FIBA Small Countries semi-finals

Gibraltar's national basketball squad will be hoping to produce a better result than Thursday's 80-50 defeat at the hands of Andorra when they take on the Andorrans for a final time this Saturday.
Thursday's encounter, the last of the group stage matches in the FIBA Small Countries Championship, confirmed Gibraltar would face Andorra in the semi-finals, while favourites Malta take on San Marino later this evening at 7.30pm.
Gibraltar will have an earlier 5pm tip-off at the Tercentenary Sports Hall, having already been tested once by Andorra. Although the team suffered defeat, the fact they already knew they would face Andorra again in Saturday's semi-final meant Thursday's match was as much about tactical preparation as it was about the result.
Gibraltar started slowly, allowing Andorra to race to 30 points in the opening quarter. However, the Andorrans were unable to repeat that scoring output during the remainder of the match, with their points tally reducing in each successive quarter. Meanwhile, Gibraltar continued to rotate players and experiment with different systems without ever really hitting top gear.
Although losing by a 30-point margin, something that will undoubtedly give Andorra confidence heading into the semi-final, Gibraltar is expected to present a very different challenge on Saturday. Their performances against both San Marino and Malta demonstrated a resilience and determination that allowed them to change the momentum of each match at key moments.
Gibraltar dominated against San Marino and produced a dramatic comeback against Malta at one stage, only for the much stronger Maltese side to regain control and secure victory.
Gibraltar will be looking to book a place in Sunday's final against Malta, with the Maltese side expected to overcome San Marino once again. Malta already defeated San Marino 111-68 earlier in the tournament.