Nitia Bettembourg won a close road game against Basket Esch, 65-59, and moved up one place to 3rd in M-U14 Division 1 Phase 1. Basket Esch stayed 6th and is now on a three-game losing run.
The game changed direction more than once. Bettembourg led 21-19 after the opening quarter, but Esch answered well before halftime. The home side built its best margin at 27-21 and went into the break in front, 35-33, with strong production from Samuel Vidal Martins (LAL), Mahir Adrovic (LAL) and Wu Michel Ocean N'Goran (LAL).
The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. After Esch had edged ahead 37-35, Bettembourg produced a major run and turned that deficit into a 50-37 advantage. That 15-0 sequence was the key moment of the game, and the visitors later reached their highest lead at 13 points. Yohannes Thomas Michael (NIT) was central in that phase and finished with 26 points, while Jacques Zeimet (NIT) added 13. Levi Genot (NIT) and Luca Marnach De Angelis (NIT) both scored 8.
Esch kept pushing in the last quarter. N'Goran scored 4 points in a row early in the period to bring the score from 47-54 to 51-54. Later, Vidal Martins kept the hosts close at 57-61 and 59-63. Bettembourg still had the right answers, first with a 5-0 response that included a three from Michael, then with the final basket from Marnach De Angelis.
For Esch, Vidal Martins led with 22 points, Adrovic had 15, and N'Goran finished with 14. Coach Jérôme Defer's team controlled the most important stretch after halftime, while coach Raouf Riahi's side showed enough offense to stay within reach until the final minute.
(AI generated)