Basket Esch C took control after a brief early deficit and won clearly, 92-38, away to Sparta Bertrange C in the Phase finale. In the updated standings, LALC moved up one place to 1st at 5-2, while SPAC stayed 4th at 2-6. The result gave Esch a third straight win, whereas Sparta is now on a run of five consecutive losses.
Sparta opened better, with Ramoni Albiol Sanchez (Season PPG: 16.18) pushing his team to a 4-0 lead. After that, the game changed quickly. Basket Esch answered with a 20-4 finish to the first quarter for a 20-8 advantage. The away side then started the second period with 9 unanswered points and stretched the score to 29-8. By halftime, coach Roger Do Rosario's team had built a 45-15 cushion.
The third quarter removed any remaining doubt. Sparta got back to 21-59, but Esch immediately went on a 17-0 run to 76-21. Their biggest lead reached 55 points late in the third period.
Niksa Oroz, a 15-year-old from Croatia, led Basket Esch with 24 points. Duarte Gonvalves Ponciano (Season PPG: 7.25) added 14, and Santiago Almeida Santos (Season PPG: 2.50) produced a season-high 12. Basket Esch also had balanced support from Redzep Ramovic, Emir Huremovic and Paul Augustine Mendy Cardenas, all with 8, plus captain Enzo Neves Casemiro (Season PPG: 7.15) with 7.
For Sparta, Albiol Sanchez scored 23 of the team's 38 points, including 10 in the opening quarter. Vincent Strangemann (Season PPG: 2.00) added a season-high 7, while Leopold Aina finished with 6 and picked up three fouls before halftime. Sparta did win the fourth quarter 17-16 after the game had already been broken open.
(AI generated)