Nitia Bettembourg turned a rough start into an 82-73 home win over Résidence Walferdange in the M-U14 Division 2 Phase finale. Résidence controlled the first quarter 13-23, with Kasparas Voska setting the tone. Nitia flipped the script in the second, winning it 29-16 to lead 42-39 at halftime, sparked by the tandem of Ewen Man-Fei Leung and Adrian Ion Zianveni. Leung even scored Nitia's next three baskets in mid-Q2 as momentum swung.
Out of the break, Jérôme Defer's team opened with a 7-0 run to 49-39, then built the night's largest gap at 67-49, capped by a three from Luca Marnach De Angelis. Résidence answered through Voska and Gael Dos Santos Antonio to close to 67-55 after three. In the fourth, Voska strung together several baskets to keep the visitors alive, but Zianveni's triple for 71-61 and Leung's late back-to-back field goals sealed it. An important note for the visitors: Dos Santos (19 pts, Season PPG: 16.33) fouled out in the final quarter, blunting their push. Nitia's Pramod Khatri was whistled for two quick fouls early in Q4.
Standouts
- Nitia: Adrian Ion Zianveni 33 (Season PPG: 21.55, three triples), Ewen Man-Fei Leung (13, FRA) 30, Diogo Barbosa Conte 12.
- Résidence: Kasparas Voska (14, LTU) 32 (Season PPG: 31.08), Gael Dos Santos Antonio 19, Stefans Grandovskis 13.
In the table, Nitia climb to 1st (3-1, +2 places), Résidence drop to 2nd (3-1). Form lines diverge: Nitia extend their winning streak to three, while Résidence's three-game run stops here. Coach Steve Stéphane Alexandre's side had the better start but couldn't withstand Nitia's mid-game surge.
(AI generated)