M-Division 4, championship round. T71 Dudelange C overturned Basket Esch D 70-50 after a dramatic late swing. Esch started sharper and led 21-12 after the first period, riding the touch of Noah Schwarz and Moris Czerwónka. The hosts kept control to halftime (31-22). T71 tightened up after the break and chipped away to 41-39 after three quarters.
The decisive turn came early in the fourth: from 43-39 up, Esch were hit by a 31-7 closing run. Karim Chakir strung together 9 consecutive points to flip the score from 43-39 to 43-48, then Pol Becker followed with three straight baskets for his own 6-0 burst. T71 continued to stack stops and efficient half-court scores, extending to the night's largest lead at the buzzer (+20). Time-outs could not stem the tide. Notably, Raouf Riahi picked up three fouls during the third quarter, hampering Esch's rotation at a delicate moment.
For T71, Chakir (24, Season PPG: 22.0) and Becker (24, T71C) shared top billing, with Luc Reuter adding 6 and Francisco Villoldo Feijoo delivering a late 2+1. Veteran Aldin Kocan (45, SVN) contributed timely plays on both ends. Esch's best came from Schwarz (15, Season PPG: 18.83) and Moris Czerwónka (12, Season PPG: 13.0). Player-coach Richard Czerwónka (55) added 6 and orchestrated a strong opening stretch, while Luc Gantrel and Eliaz Kaiser (LALD) chipped in 5 apiece.
The matchup completes a season sweep for T71 over Esch (70-59 in the first meeting, 70-50 here). In the standings, T71 sit 4th at 6-3 (part of the leading pack on 15 classification points) and extend their winning streak to three. Esch drop to 5-4 in 5th place. Coach Paulo Melanda's group found the right adjustments after halftime; Coach Richard Czerwónka's side owned the first half but could not answer the fourth-quarter surge.
(AI generated)