BC Mess controlled Basket Esch 73-64 in the M-U18 Division 2 championship round, building a 46-29 halftime cushion and managing Esch's third-quarter surge to secure the win in Mondercange. Mess jumped out 22-13 after the first, including a 7-0 spurt to 10-2, and pushed the gap to a game-high +17 by the break. Coach Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro's team then absorbed Esch's response: the visitors pieced together a 7-0 run to get within 51-44 in the third. At that moment Pedrito Kemevuako (Season PPG: 20.85) steadied Mess with six consecutive points (four free throws and a basket) to restore a double-digit margin.
Esch, guided by coach Dejan Pavlovic, kept coming in the fourth cutting it to 67-60 before Bryan Hensen (Season PPG: 5.00) answered with five straight (a two and a three), and Jamie Freymann (Season PPG: 18.77) buried a late triple to seal it. Kemevuako led all Mess scorers with 28, supported by Freymann's 17 and Hensen's 15. André Cristostomo Ribeiro added 7, including a key three in the closing stretch.
For Esch, Emmanuel Jesus Frederico (Season PPG: 14.92), 17, CPV, powered the comeback tries with 23 points despite four fouls and a technical. Captain Benjamin Muller (Season PPG: 14.17) had 19, while Noah Kouamedjouo (Season PPG: 10.15) chipped in 5. Esch's two technical fouls in Q2 and Q3 handed Mess extra points at delicate moments.
The result flips the script on the teams' previous meeting this season (Esch 94-62) and extends Mess's winning streak to three. In the updated classification, Telstar leads, with Mess up to 2nd, while Esch sits 4th.
(AI generated)