Basket Esch pulled away late to beat T71 Dudelange 75-59 in the M-U16 Division 1 championship round at grimler/terrain1, completing a season sweep after the Phase 1 win (84-70). The visitors remain perfect in Phase 2 (3-0) and climb to second place (+1), extending their current streak to four straight wins. T71 sit fourth (+1) and have dropped two in a row.
The opening quarter was a trade of blows (19-21), with T71's captain Tunn Wirion driving the hosts' scoring. T71 then imposed themselves before the break, taking the second period 15-7 and leading 34-28 at halftime, helped by a Wirion three and steady inside finishes. Esch's response after the interval changed the game: a 6-0 start tied it at 34-34, and after T71 briefly went up 40-36, Esch closed the third on a 13-2 surge to lead 49-42.
Early in the fourth, T71 rallied. A Finn Dondelinger triple and a Ben Jemming three levelled the score at 53-53. From there Esch delivered the decisive blow: a 16-1 run, launched around an unsportsmanlike sequence, with Gabriel Thomas cool at the line and Paul Blettery and Euricky Semedo da Veiga hitting from deep for 69-54. The largest lead reached 16 at the buzzer.
Esch's balanced attack told the story: Blettery (18; Season PPG: 14.25), Edmilson Vieira Miguel (15; Season PPG: 9.50), Thomas (13; Season PPG: 10.38) and Semedo da Veiga (11; Season PPG: 11.13) all hit double figures, with Amilcar André Rodrigues Moreira (14, PRT) adding a key fourth-quarter burst. For T71, Wirion (20; Season PPG: 16.50) carried the load, and Dondelinger chipped in 13. Jemming's fourth-quarter triple briefly reignited the hosts.
Coaches featured in key moments: Eric Jeitz (T71) was assessed a C1 in the second quarter, while Vincent Gevrey's Esch group adjusted impressively after halftime to flip a six-point deficit into a double-digit win. Max Schartz's U2 in the fourth punctuated a choppy stretch for T71 as Esch converted at the stripe and in transition.
(AI generated)