CFBB U18, now 4th in M-Nationale 2: Relégation at 4-5, produced a one-sided 95-33 home win over 6th-placed Rebound Préizerdaul, still winless at 0-9. It also confirmed the trend of the season series after U18 had already won the first meeting 91-54 away. For U18, it was a response after a run of three straight defeats; for PRE, the losing streak reached nine.
The game turned very early. PRE opened the scoring, but Denis Toroman's team answered with 29 unanswered points and closed the first quarter 29-4. That first break shaped everything. U18 then started the second period with 7 more points in a row for 36-4. PRE had its best reaction with a 6-0 stretch, yet U18 answered again with a 12-0 run to reach 48-10 and went into halftime up 48-12.
The third quarter was PRE's most competitive spell at 18-13, but the gap never dropped below 33. Early in the fourth, PRE briefly made it 66-29, before U18 took over again with a decisive 20-0 run from 75-32 to 95-32. The final margin, 62 points, was the highest lead of the evening.
U18's pressure was decisive: 35 steals forced 43 PRE turnovers, while also winning the rebound battle 52-36. El Hadji Modou Thiam Diop (Season PPG: 9.85, RPG: 8.68, AssPG: 1.50) was the MVP with 15 points, 12 rebounds and an excellent 7/8 on 2-pointers. Jules Reuter (Season PPG: 6.71, RPG: 4.85, AssPG: 0.90) added 16 points and 9 rebounds. Abram Macalou (Season PPG: 11.29, RPG: 4.03, AssPG: 2.03) scored 12 with an excellent 5/6 from 2-point range, while 17-year-old Lithuanian Sarunas Sulcas (Season PPG: 12.29, RPG: 5.23, AssPG: 2.36) had 13 points on a good 3/7 from deep. Omar Youssef Essid (Season PPG: 5.31, RPG: 1.56, AssPG: 1.38) stood out with 8 steals and 7 assists.
For Derek Wilson's side, Jamal Wilson (Season PPG: 8.00, RPG: 6.75, AssPG: 0.75) led with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Mathis Weyrich (Season PPG: 8.78, RPG: 6.38, AssPG: 1.50) had 5 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out, and Benoît Kraus (PRE) contributed 6 points. Aaron Legg (Season PPG: 6.50, RPG: 5.27, AssPG: 0.55) also fouled out.
(AI generated)