VALETTA — The newly-signed Valencia Basket point guard Chris Jones put on a stellar performance for Armenia to defeat Malta 84-68 (15-19, 24-11, 23-18, 22-20) and capture the European Championship for Small Countries trophy.
Jones was unstoppable, scoring 41 points, making 8 three-pointers, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists for 47 PIR points.
It was the second trophy of the tournament for Armenia, having previously captured first place in 2016. Malta had previously won its lone trophy in 2018.
Besides Jones, only Andre Spight scored more than 10 points on the Armenian square, amassing 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting and 7 rebounds on his account.
Samuel Deguara was the top scorer on the Maltese team with 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting while also grabbing 16 rebounds for 36 PIR.
The FIBA European Championship for Small Countries is held every two years. The 2020 competition was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.
