Basketball team returns from Monaco in shame after abandoned match

THE Cyprus National Olympic Committee decided to withdraw the national basketball team from the Games of the Small States of Europe after the last game of the basketball tournament between Cyprus and Iceland was abandoned due to a brawl sparked by the Cypriot players.

The NOC of Cyprus also denounced the bronze medal the team should have taken after finishing third in the competition.

Just before the violence erupted Aris Koronidis was disqualified from the game after trying to confront one of the referees, while seconds later Panayiotis Trisokkas got into a close physical encounter with Brenton Birmingham of Iceland. His actions prompted the local police to intervene in order to stop any further violence.

At the time Cyprus was leading 78-72 with 2 minutes 50 seconds remaining on the clock.

Officials registered a score-line of 2-0 in favor of Iceland, ensuring they won the gold medal. Luxembourg earned silver medal, while San Marino picked up the bronze.

Although Cyprus dominated the 12th Games of the Small States of Europe by winning a total of 94 medals out of which 36 were gold medals, ahead of Iceland who won a total 74 medals; the incident at the final stage of the basketball tournament brought an unwelcome end to Cypriot participation in the games and over-shadowed the efforts of the other athletes.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.