Etzella Ettelbruck beat phase-finale leader Amicale Steesel 72-53 in a game largely controlled by the home side. ETZ stayed 3rd at 5-3, while AMI remained 1st at 6-2. It was also a response to the 79-50 defeat suffered by Ettelbruck in the previous phase-finale meeting, and it extended ETZ's winning streak to four games while ending AMI's run of five straight wins.
Coach Dragana Zoric's team set the tone early. ETZ went from 2-2 to 11-2, with Lenny Weber, Lenn Dos Santos and Mustafa Yakta Inal driving the first separation. Amicale recovered well at the end of the opening quarter, cutting the gap to 16-10.
The second quarter was the key stretch. After AMI got back to 20-13, Etzella answered with a 10-0 run to build a 30-13 advantage. Laurent Zhou Ji added a basket in that sequence, while Inal and captain Jahleeon Rocha Carvalho kept the pressure on. At halftime, ETZ led 34-19.
The game's biggest gap came in the third quarter. ETZ pushed the margin to 54-27, a 27-point lead, with Rocha Carvalho, Marc Liam Hetto and Inal all scoring in rhythm. Amicale reacted with an 8-0 run to close the period at 54-35 and stay alive.
AMI opened the last quarter by trimming the score to 54-39, but never got close enough to make it a late-game fight. Weber and Rocha Carvalho answered, and Etzella managed the final minutes well.
Weber finished with 17 points, Rocha Carvalho with 15, Inal with 15 and Hetto with 10 for ETZ. Rocha Carvalho, who came in with a season average of 28.00 points, again had major impact. For Amicale, captain Harons Rafaels Faduls scored 13, Aiden Riley Smith (13, CAN) added 10, and Jona Engel finished with 6. Dos Santos' 9 points also mattered for the home team, despite picking up fouls in quick succession during the third quarter.
(AI generated)