First-placed Basket Esch took a tight 80-77 road win over Sparta Bertrange in the return round of the final phase, a game decided only in the last minutes. It was Esch's eighth straight win, while Sparta's three-game winning run ended.
Sparta, coached by Christian Michael Wulff, controlled the first half well. After a solid 19-12 opening quarter, the home side created the game's biggest lead in the second period at 38-23 with a strong 14-0 run, and went to halftime up 45-35. Thandizo Jon Zulu (Season PPG: 20.37) was the main offensive reference early, and Sparta also got good support from Hugo Dubois and Petar Kulisic, the 14-year-old forward.
The game changed in the third quarter. Basket Esch, led by coach Vincent Gevrey, won that period 27-13. Alexandre Kremer (Season PPG: 13.20) drove the comeback with 25 points overall, including 9 made free throws, while Euricky Semedo Da Veiga, a 14-year-old Portuguese guard, and Edmilson Vieira Miguel added important scoring. From 56-53 down, Esch put together an 8-0 push to move in front 61-56, and entered the last quarter ahead 62-58.
The finish stayed close. Sparta came back to 70-70, then Zulu gave them a 72-70 edge, but Esch answered immediately. Kremer scored 5 crucial points in the final stretch, Semedo added a late free throw, and Miguel scored inside for 79-75. Zulu kept Sparta alive and finished with 28 points, while Dubois had 12, Kulisic 10 and Aaron Torresani 9. For Esch, Kremer had 25, Semedo 13, Miguel 11, Paul Blettery 10 and Faisal Abdirizak Mohamed 7.
In the season series, Sparta won the first meeting, but Esch has now taken both final-phase games. Sparta still moved up one place to 3rd after this round, while Esch remained 1st.
(AI generated)