Telstar Hesperange edged Basket Esch 77-71 in the M-U18 Division 2 Phase finale round-robin, staying perfect on top of the classification (3-0) while Esch moved to 1-1 and third. It is Telstar's third straight win.
Game evolution swung sharply. Telstar took the first quarter 20-17 behind early inside scores from captain Jules Cochet and trips to the line for Samuel Rehak. Esch flipped the script with an 11-0 start to Q2 (from 20-17 down to 28-20), powered by two quick threes from Hugo Loureiro Duarte and steady contributions by Melvin Pereira Furtado. With Benjamin Muller hitting from deep, Esch built their largest lead at 41-33 and led 44-41 at halftime.
The third belonged to Telstar. From 50-47 down, the visitors strung together a 12-0 run to 50-59: Juan Joyner scored back-to-back baskets, Ceylian Lortilloir drilled a three, and Cochet kept the pressure on. Telstar won the quarter 23-13 to lead 64-57. They stretched it to 70-61 early in the fourth (largest lead +9) before Esch surged. Emmanuel Jesus Frederico (17, 2.00m, CPV) and Muller fueled a 10-0 answer that pushed Esch in front 71-70. Coach Uchenna Agada's group kept their nerve: Raffaele Santi and Cochet closed the night with a 7-0 finish for Telstar.
Top performers: for Telstar, Cochet (19) delivered key late baskets and Rehak added 19, including 11 made free throws; Shay Colgan chipped in 10. For Esch, Jesus Frederico scored 19 (eight 2FG, one 3FG), Muller had 13 with three triples, while Didier Samir Bounounou Bounang and Loureiro Duarte scored 10 each. Notably, Loureiro Duarte committed three fouls in the fourth, and Rehak finished with four but stayed impactful at the line.
Coach Dejan Pavlovic's side showed resilience, but Telstar's closing run decided a tight finish.
(AI generated)