Amicale Steesel edged T71 Dudelange B 72-68 under FIBA rules after a marked momentum swing. T71B exploded from a 9-9 tie to close the first quarter on a 20-1 run for 29-10, fueled by early baskets from Tim Wagner (Season PPG: 9.6), Luka Babovic (15, FRA) and Phanuel Magoum. A bench technical against coach Sandro Ceresi late in the period did not halt the surge.
Thorsten Freiheit's team settled in during the second quarter through Vincent Segers and Max Schanck, trimming the halftime gap to 40-28. T71B re-asserted at 55-40 in the third, highlighted by Jamie Papa Muller (Season PPG: 7.0) scoring six points in a row. Amicale replied to reach 57-51 entering the fourth.
The final quarter flipped the game: a 6-0 start leveled it at 57-57. After a brief T71 edge (60-59), Felix Engel struck for five consecutive points (a three, then a two) to put Amicale ahead 64-60, launching an 11-2 run to 70-62 with contributions from Segers and Miguel Lopez Fernandez. T71B answered as Ben Jemming (Season PPG: 7.2) drained back-to-back threes for 68-70, but Andreas Nys (14, BEL) hit the decisive basket for 72-68.
Top scorers
- Amicale: Engel 16, Segers 16, Nys 15, Lopez Fernandez 12, Bobby Kirsch 7. Engel and Nys were the game winners in the fourth, while Nys and Lopez managed impact despite four fouls each.
- T71B: Paddy Keiser 14, Wagner 12, Babovic 11, Jemming 10, Papa Muller 8. Jemming's late threes kept T71 alive.
Amicale climb to 3-0 and first place (three wins in a row, ranking gain +2). T71B fall to 2-1 but remain second. The game's highest lead was T71B by 19; Amicale's poise in the last quarter, especially the 11-2 burst, turned the classification battle their way.
(AI generated)