Basket Esch overpowered Sparta Bertrange 103-59 at atert/terrain1 in the M-U22 Qualifications. Coach Dejan Pavlovic's team set the tone with an 8-0 start and led 17-10 after the first quarter. The game broke open in the second: a 30-10 period included a 19-2 burst, with Fabien Vandler repeatedly punishing the defense and Emmanuel Jesus Frederico adding timely points. Esch then opened the second half on an 8-0 run and won the third 32-15 to remove all doubt. The margin peaked at 44 at the buzzer.
Vandler (Season PPG: 19.2) authored a standout 40-point night, built on 5 three-pointers, 10 two-pointers and 5 free throws, including several mini-runs of his own. Edi Sabotic (Season PPG: 9.0) added 19, while Emmanuel Jesus Frederico (17, 2.00m, CPV) chipped in 17. Deni Sabotic (Season PPG: 20.6) scored 12, and Quentin Laurent Piere Iorio (7, FRA) supported the perimeter surge.
For Sparta, captain Tom Germeaux (16, 1.99m) and Theo Mc Leod (16, 1.79m, FRA) carried the scoring load, with Max Hagen (13, 1.89m) and Nikolaos Papanikolaou (7, GRC) contributing. Early interior fouls on Tian Kuharic and Leo Engels didn't lead to disqualifications but limited Sparta's resistance during Esch's decisive second-quarter run. Coach Elton Jorge Ferreira's side battled to a 24-24 final quarter but the damage was long done.
The result ends Esch's four-game losing slide and lifts them to 1st in the standings (ranking gain +5). Sparta is 7th and on a two-game losing streak.
(AI generated)