Kordall Steelers B edged Nitia Bettembourg B 78-70 in the M-Division 2 championship round opener, a game that swung on momentum runs. Kordall started cleaner, up 23-18 after the first and breaking away 33-20 on a 10-2 burst before Nitia trimmed it to 36-42 at halftime.
Nitia hit back in the third: a 7-0 streak carried them to their lone lead at 45-44, driven by Owen Chen (19, 1.76m, CHN) and David Picco. Kordall answered immediately with the night's decisive spell a 12-0 run powered by Ermin Babic (23, 1.83m) and Timo Tani (24, 1.80m), capped by a Raphael Kemmer three to 56-45. In the fourth, Nitia surged again with a 10-0 charge to 60-61 after an Eric Picco triple, but Kordall's bench steadied the game and replied 7-0 to 68-60. Tani's late free throws sealed it. Highest lead for Kordall was +13 (33-20).
Standouts core players: Babic 27 (7x2, 2x3, 7x1), Tani 26 (9x2, 1x3, 5x1), Kemmer (25, 1.89m) 11 for KDSB; Chen 24, Nelson Pinto (35, 1.85m) 15, Eric Picco (32) 13 for NITB. Other contributors: Ulryc Marchand (19, 1.72m, BEL) 8 for KDSB; Aaron Rodrigues-Otto (18) 3 for NITB.
Foul note: Nitia's backcourt was hit late Pinto and David Picco both fouled out in the fourth, complicating the final push. Kordall open the round-robin with a win.
(AI generated)