Rebound Préizerdaul opened Phase 2 with a commanding 72-37 home win over BC Mess B in Bettborn, settling the game with a dominant fourth quarter and climbing to the top of the classification (+2 to 1st; Mess B at 2nd).
The hosts set the tone early (20-10 after Q1), riding relentless inside scoring. Mess B answered in the second quarter (15-11) to trim it to 31-25 at halftime, but Préizerdaul reasserted control after the break (47-34 after Q3) and then smashed the door shut with a 25-3 final period, closing on a 17-0 run and reaching their largest lead at the buzzer (+35).
Elmir Pjevic (15 years old) was the clear centerpiece: 43 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter alone. He accounted for nearly 60% of Préizerdaul's total and strung together a personal 6-0 burst in the third that broke Mess B's resistance after they had crept within striking distance. Support came from Leandro Santos Duarte (Season PPG: 5.00) with 8 points, Jamien Tom Simões Marbes (Season PPG: 7.00) with 7, and Max Serge Meissner (PRE) with 6. Préizerdaul scored all their field goals inside the arc (34 two-pointers) and added 4 free throws.
Mess B's best answers came from captain David Emilian Georgescu (ROU, 14), who matched his season high with 15 points, while Max Reiland (Season PPG: 2.00) added 10 and Jonathan Laël Lemvoka (MESB) contributed 9, including the team's lone three-pointer. Mess B finished with 14 two-pointers and 6 free throws.
Crucial moments: late in Q3, Pjevic's three consecutive baskets stretched the gap; in Q4, after a brief exchange to 56-37, Coach Jérôme Lefevre's group unleashed a 16-0 surge highlighted by repeated stops and quick interior conversions. Coach Deanthony Kendrick McCallum's timeouts couldn't stem the tide as Préizerdaul's physical finishing and concentration sealed a wire-to-wire statement to start the championship round.
(AI generated)