Black Frogs Schieren (FRO) moved into the 1/4 finals with an 81-71 home win over Racing Luxembourg (RAC), built on a dominant opening and a composed finish. Nigel Tolentino's team raced to 29-17 after the first quarter, sparked by early outside makes from Alexandre Pereira Meireles (24, 1.96m, PRT) and steady inside work from Eric Christopher Anderson (26, 2.00m, USA). Racing responded in the second period and trimmed it to 43-34 at the break, capped by Johan Bouttet's three.
The third quarter belonged to RAC's push. Steve Lanners and Louis Paul Soragna (30, 1.88m) hit from deep, and Brendan Adam Temple (24, 2.06m, USA) kept scoring at the rim as the visitors closed to 59-55. Each time momentum tilted, Khyree Terell Armstead (25, 1.96m, USA) answered notably with back-to-back threes to briefly restore daylight.
Racing got as close as 66-64 in the fourth behind Antunio Xavier Bivins (33, 1.99m, USA), but the game's key swing followed: Gabriel Solomon (23, 1.83m, PHL) hit a corner three for 69-64, Temple replied, then Pereira Meireles buried another three and Anderson scored inside for 74-66. FRO closed it out from the line to 81-69 before a late Bivins basket.
Numbers underline the story: FRO won the glass 48-40 and doubled RAC in assists (23-11). From distance, FRO went 9/30 (30%) while RAC struggled at 4/23 (17%). Free throws hurt the visitors (7/19, 37%), whereas two-point efficiency was similar (FRO 46%, RAC 47%).
Armstead flirted with a triple-double (16 pts, 15 reb, 9 ast). Anderson added 17 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast and 2 blk (2/2 FT, excellent). Pereira Meireles led with 20 pts and 3 blk, shooting 80% on twos. Solomon chipped in 12 pts and 9 reb. For Adam Radomirovic's side, Temple earned MVP with a double-double (18 pts, 12 reb) and an excellent 9/11 on twos; Bivins scored 17 and drew 9 fouls. Max Hilger (30, 1.85m) added 9 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, while Soragna had 10 pts.
(AI generated)