Kordall Steelers edged BBC East Side Pirates 44-38 in a tight M-U18 Division 5 opener in Wasserbillig. Defense set the tone early (6-4 after Q1), before Kordall flipped the game with an 8-0 burst to start Q2: Mahé Schmitz scored twice, Tomas Cerqueira Santos added two, and Rayan Cardarelli finished the run for 6-12. Pirates responded through Sam Schaeffer (15) and captain Leo Carreira de Oliveira (16), who combined to restore a 17-16 halftime lead.
The third quarter swung back and forth. Carreira de Oliveira strung together a five-point mini-burst (2 and a 3) for 24-20, but Kordall closed the period on a 7-2 spurt, with Mickael Pereira Briga (14, PRT) and Maylon Ramos Monteiro pushing them ahead 33-30.
The decisive phase came midway through Q4: from 34-34, Kordall authored a 7-0 run Santos at the rim, a Pereira Briga triple, then Cardarelli in transition for the night's biggest gap at 41-34. Finn Diederich's free throws briefly kept BEP in touch, but the visitors managed possessions well down the stretch. An unsportsmanlike foul on Schaeffer in the closing minute further blunted the Pirates' late push.
Top performers: for Kordall, Pereira Briga (11) was steady and clutch, Santos added 10, Cardarelli 9, and Diego Ricardo Miranda Lima (17, PRT) chipped in 7. For BEP, Carreira de Oliveira led with 12 despite foul trouble (4), Schaeffer matched with 12, and Diederich added 8. Coaches Raphael Felix Kemmer (KDS) and Gérard Boby (BEP) leaned heavily on their captains in a balanced, physical contest.
(AI generated)