T71 Dudelange opened the championship round with a commanding 98-67 win in Steinsel, controlling all four quarters and moving to the top of the Phase finale table (rank 1, +5). Entente RES AMI drop to rank 6 (-1). T71 also took the earlier season meeting (96-84), confirming the matchup trend.
ERA started 8-6, but the game flipped on a decisive 15-0 T71 run to 21-8 late in the first quarter. Thorsten Freiheit's timeout came during the surge, yet T71's rhythm held for 23-15 after 10 minutes. In the second period, Charel Brettner (20) and Daris Honsic (22, 16, FRA) pushed the lead to 49-34 at halftime, with Justin Lux already active in transition.
Tom Schumacher's team broke it open right after the break: Jonas Lies hit two threes around a Honsic finish, and the lead ballooned to 59-36. ERA answered with free throws from Riley Wohl and a triple by Elvio Amen Alissoutin, but T71's depth kept the gap beyond reach. The highest margin reached +37 (59-96) in the fourth before late ERA baskets settled the final score.
T71's scoring column was balanced and relentless: Lux led with 26 (Season PPG: 10.90), followed by Honsic (Season PPG: 14.45), Brettner (1.93m; Season PPG: 20.91) and Lies (17; Season PPG: 12.73). Tom Kloos added 9. For ERA, Wohl scored 15 (Season PPG: 10.25), Noah Terence Stansbury Daleiden (17) contributed 14 with timely threes, and Jules Reuter had 13 (Season PPG: 20.86). Kristupas Zilionis added 8.
Key stretches defined the contest: T71's 15-0 in the first quarter, the 10-2 burst to start the third, and multiple mini-runs where Lux strung together quick points in transition. ERA never saw a player foul out, but early whistles couldn't disrupt T71's flow. With this win, T71 start the round-robin on a strong footing and keep momentum over ERA from earlier in the season.
(AI generated)