VIBBALL Echternach controlled the U22 N2 qualification game in Bettembourg, winning 75-56 after building their advantage early and stretching it after halftime. Nitia Bettembourg actually opened better (7-5), but VIBBALL answered with a 9-0 surge to 7-16 and closed the first quarter 11-21. To start the second, Michel Ange Mafolo scored back-to-back baskets for 11-25, part of a 6-0 run that pushed the margin to 11-27. Halftime came at 21-36.
Nitia showed life after the break (RodriguesOtto hit a three for 26-39 and Owen Chen kept attacking), but VIBBALL replied with a decisive 12-2 stretch to 32-53, highlighted by perimeter shots from AlexandruCatalin Vlad (1.92m, 17, ROU) and sturdy inside work by Kouami Samuele Dogbonou. The visitors' largest lead reached +24 at 44-68 in the fourth. Coach VASS Ildiko's team managed the game well whenever Nitia tried to rally; an early 5-0 start to the last period (41-57) was quickly answered.
Captain Noah Marian Rudolf (18, BEL) set the tone for VIBBALL with 23 points, mixing multiple three-pointers with drives. Mafolo added 14, Vlad 12 and Dogbonou 11, while TudorAndrei Achim chipped in 9. For Nitia, Mathieu Ercolani led with 17, Chen had 15 (including two long-range makes and a steady first-quarter hand), and Wesley Almeida scored 8 with a late three. Noah Butler (7) battled through four fouls and knocked down a fourth-quarter triple.
In the table, VIBBALL climb to 2nd and are now on a two-game winning streak after opening with two losses. Nitia sit 3rd, their two-game run halted. Coach Mendes Araujo's early timeout at 7-14 couldn't stem the first-quarter tide that ultimately defined the game's rhythm.
(AI generated)