BBC Käldall edged Telstar Hesperange 67-65 in Kayl to open the Relégation round-robin, a close finish decided at the foul line. Käldall climbs to 2nd (+1, 9-6) while Telstar stays 5th (6-9). Käldall have now won seven of their last eight; Telstar slip to a two-game skid.
The visitors exploded out of the blocks with a 14-0 start: Steven Mersch (Season PPG: 21.67) knocked down two early free throws, a three and a layup, with Christian Michael Holman and Noam Chomel adding buckets before Ralph Anthony Lana (Season PPG: 22.38) drilled a triple. Max Klepper (Season PPG: 14.36) finally stopped the drought and Telstar trailed 10-15 after 10 minutes. Käldall controlled the second quarter, stretching the lead to a game-high +16 (24-40) and taking a 27-40 cushion to the half behind the Mersch-Lana tandem.
Telstar regrouped after the break, Klepper and Jamie Kappler (Season PPG: 11.29) trimming it to 47-56 through three. The fourth quarter turned dramatic: Kappler caught fire, scoring eight in a row (a two and back-to-back threes) to flip the score to 62-60. Mersch, the 1.87 m captain, immediately answered from deep for 62-63. In the final minutes, Käldall kept their nerve at the stripe Holman and Sofiane Belal (Season PPG: 11.33) pushed it to 62-65, before Telstar's Niccolò Spagnoletti (Season PPG: 9.90) and Gonzalo Muñoz Scharfenberg (27, ESP) tied it at 65-all. Florian Briwa (Season PPG: 15.20) hit a key free throw for 65-66, and Lana added the decisive point for 65-67.
Top performers
- Käldall: Mersch 26 (three triples, steady at the line); Lana 19 (two triples, game-winning FT). Useful support from Chomel (6) and Briwa (5, clutch late FT).
- Telstar: Muñoz Scharfenberg (27, ESP) 14 despite an early technical; Klepper 14; Kappler 13 with the late 8-0 personal run; Spagnoletti 9 (4 free throws), Lorenzo Ferrari (Season PPG: 11.00) 7.
Käldall's perimeter (six threes) set the tone early; Telstar answered with five and a strong fourth-quarter push. Coach Didier Frédéric Chomel's group closed it out at the line, while Coach Christophe Thil's men nearly completed the comeback. Notable sequence: Telstar's Loïc Wohl was whistled twice in quick succession in the first half, part of a choppy opening that favored Käldall's 14-0 launch.
(AI generated)