Rebound Préizerdaul secured a valuable 73-67 home win over North Fox in the final phase, climbing two places to 3rd while Fox dropped to 5th. It also balanced the season series after the earlier 102-99 loss and ended PRE's two-game losing streak. FOX are now on two straight defeats.
Jérôme Lefevre's side controlled the game for three quarters. After Fox scored first, PRE changed the rhythm with a 9-0 run from 10-7 to 19-7, then closed the opening period with 7 more unanswered points for 26-16. The home team kept that momentum in the second quarter, stretching the margin to 35-18 and reaching halftime with a strong 48-30 lead.
Fox briefly cut it to 48-34 after the break, but PRE answered well. Hanan Ahmic (Season PPG: 12.57) and captain Elmir Pjevic (Season PPG: 27.57) drove the key response, and the gap grew to the game-high 26 points at 69-43 early in the fourth. Ahmic finished with 23, Pjevic added 22, and Lenn Lefevre (Season PPG: 4.40) supplied 13. The 16-year-old Portuguese Leandro Santos Duarte also contributed during PRE's solid middle phases.
North Fox still made the end of the game tight. Yannis Ludes (Season PPG: 15.94) scored 30 and Mattis Rob (Season PPG: 22.50) added 26, carrying Fox's 24-6 fourth quarter. From 73-58, the visitors closed on a 9-0 run, so PRE were the game winners in a much tighter finish than the first 30 minutes suggested. Nick Schmitz (Season PPG: 9.81) added 6. PRE also had to navigate late foul trouble, with Pjevic and Ahmic both finishing on four fouls.
(AI generated)