Basket Esch edged Résidence Walferdange 62-60 in a tight Phase finale game between the 1st and 3rd teams of the standings. The win keeps Esch on top at 9-1 and extends its run to nine straight wins. Résidence, despite a second consecutive defeat, moves up one place to 3rd at 5-5.
Esch set the tone early. After a 4-4 start, Coach Vincent Gevrey's team went on a strong 17-2 stretch and led 21-11 after one quarter, with Jérémy Besch, Euricky Semedo da Veiga and Alexandre Kremer all active. The home side's highest lead reached 11 points.
Walferdange reacted well in the second period. Matas Sendzikas and Jokubas Toliusis brought energy, and the visitors won the quarter 18-12 to cut the gap to 33-29 at halftime. Esch rebuilt some control in the third, going up 42-32, but Résidence again answered, mainly through Nojus Banys, to stay close at 50-45.
The decisive swing came in the fourth. Résidence produced a 10-1 run, turning 51-45 into a 55-51 lead. Esch responded immediately with 7 unanswered points, capped by Kremer, to move back in front 58-55. The final minutes stayed tense: Walferdange tied at 58-58, Gabriel Thomas and Kremer pushed Esch to 61-58, Alexander Knowles cut it to 61-60, and Kremer added the last point.
Kremer led Basket Esch with 19 points (Season PPG: 13.56). Semedo da Veiga, a 14-year-old from Portugal, added 10, while Edmilson Vieira Miguel had 8 and Paul Blettery 6. For Résidence, Banys finished with 16 points (Season PPG: 20.06) before fouling out, Sendzikas scored 10 (Season PPG: 24.03), and captain Luis Leocadio Botelho added 9 before also fouling out. Late foul trouble hurt the visitors, including an unsportsmanlike foul on Jokubas Banaitis.
It was Esch's fourth win over Résidence this season.
(AI generated)