Musel Pikes moved into 1st place in the M-U16 Division 2 Phase finale with a 69-47 home win over AB Contern, while Contern slipped to 2nd. It was Musel's fifth straight win, and also a season sweep after the earlier 108-75 success in Phase 1. Coach Daniel Fernandes Sousa's team built the game patiently before breaking it open late.
Contern had the better start through Emil Dostert (Season PPG: 21.00), who scored the first basket, and the visitors were still level at 11-11 in the opening quarter. Musel closed the period 16-13, then produced the first major run of the night at the start of the second quarter: 9 unanswered points from 16-13 to 25-13. Raphaël Siebenaler (Season PPG: 17.80) and Jaden El Basri (15, FRA; Season PPG: 18.21) drove that stretch. Contern stayed in contact before halftime behind Dostert, Alex Wies (Season PPG: 12.73) and Killian Bakayoko (15, 0.00m, FRA), cutting the gap to 32-24.
The third quarter kept the game alive. Siebenaler scored Musel's first 5 points after the break, but Contern answered several times and reduced the margin to 39-32 and later 49-40 through Bakayoko and Dostert. Coach Michael O. Ayodele's side was still within reach after three periods.
The decisive sequence came in the fourth. From 49-40, Musel surged to 64-42, a 15-2 run that settled the game and pushed the lead to its highest level. Siebenaler was on a roll in that phase and finished with 31 points, matching his season maximum. El Basri added 17, while Ben Schenk (Season PPG: 19.07) scored 7 despite four fouls. For Contern, Dostert posted 16 points, Bakayoko 14 and Wies 9.
(AI generated)