Bascharage Hedgehogs opened their Championship Round with a 67-55 home win over Sparta Bertrange B, built on a strong start and a decisive finish. The hosts blasted out to 10-0 behind captain Kodjovi Armel Yohann Koutsawa (Season PPG: 16.0), who scored 7 quick points, before Sparta steadied and flipped the game to lead 31-25 at halftime, largely through the influence of Yann Kunzer Da Silva (Season PPG: 4.0), who had 14 by the break.
The third quarter swung back Bascharage's way. Viktor Pecirep (Season PPG: 5.33) and Koutsawa combined to edge the hosts ahead 43-42 after 30 minutes. The final period was all BAS in the closing stretch: after Sparta tied it at 55-55, the Hedgehogs closed with a 12-0 run, sealing the result with consecutive inside scores and stops.
Koutsawa paced BAS with 22, while Pecirep added 17. Alessandro Goncalves Da Cruz (Season PPG: 5.33) and Mateo Bogatu (Season PPG: 3.20) chipped in 10 apiece. Romeo Vincenzo Giampaolo (1.83m, 17) opened his account from deep and, despite an unsportsmanlike in the third, the hosts kept control. Bascharage's shot profile was clear: 26 made two-pointers, 4 threes and 3 free throws.
For Sparta, Kunzer Da Silva finished with 19 but fouled out in the fourth, a turning point as BAS pulled away. Jazz Pelkes (Season PPG: 7.57) had 9, while Thomas Boccara (SPAB) and Aaron Torresani (SPAB) added 8 each; Konstantinos Laliotis (Season PPG: 10.88) hit a late three.
Coach Veljko Dragasevic's side snapped a run of five defeats and sits 2nd after this opener; Sparta, coached by Christophe Dubois, is 5th and on a three-game skid. Bascharage's resilience overcoming two unsportsmanlike fouls (Bogatu in Q2, Giampaolo in Q3) and producing the 12-0 closing burst defined the game's evolution.
(AI generated)