Basket Esch C controlled three of four quarters to beat Sparta Bertrange C 72-58 in the M-U16 Division 7 Phase finale. Roger Do Rosario's team jumped to a 19-12 start and pushed the gap to 39-24 at halftime, their largest first-half lead at +15. Tine Nagy's visitors roared back after the break with a 28-17 third quarter, driven by Ramoni Albiol Sanchez (14, ESP), who poured in 14 points in the period, trimming the deficit to 56-52 entering the last stanza.
Esch answered decisively. Early in the fourth, Niksa Oroz (Season PPG: 18.63; 14, HRV) strung together four straight free throws and added a key two-pointer, sparking a 10-1 burst to 68-54. Sparta's captain Samuele Mondello (Season PPG: 4.00) then fouled out, further stalling the comeback. Esch sealed it with composed half-court play and defense, holding Sparta to just six points in the final quarter.
Oroz led all scorers for Esch with 26, aided by Redzep Ramovic (10) and Enzo Neves Casemiro (Season PPG: 6.56) with 9. For Sparta, Albiol Sanchez topped the charts with 23, while Francesco Morpurgo (Season PPG: 8.30) added 9 and Giacomo Spreafico (Season PPG: 10.50) had 7. The result flips the script from November's 43-72 loss at Bertrange and lifts Esch to 3rd in the Phase finale table (+1), while Sparta stays atop on classification points. Key sequences: Esch's early control, Sparta's third-quarter surge, and Esch's fourth-quarter 10-1 run powered by Oroz at the line.
(AI generated)