Gréngewald Hueschtert controlled the Phase finale opener in Bertrange, beating Sparta Bertrange C 77-55 under coach Nicolas Saquan Parrish. The visitors came out flying with an 8-0 start behind three straight baskets from Paul Dortschy Boixados, forcing an early timeout from coach Tine Nagy. Sparta answered through Ozan Donmez and especially Liam Ammermann, trimming it to 14-18 after 10 minutes.
The game tilted in the second quarter. Gréngewald strung together a 7-0 burst to 14-25, highlighted by back-to-back triples from Jake Jozef Rajniak. With Arnas Pakasius and Henry Ian Hind adding inside points, the gap reached 23-38 at the break (Q2: 9-20). Sparta's Ammermann kept producing despite picking up two early fouls, but the guests' balance and depth told.
After halftime, Gréngewald maintained the cushion as Dortschy and Rajniak continued to score and Rasmus Praestegaard added a late three (36-56 after three). Sparta's best spell came early in the fourth when Giovanni Vena scored four in a row and Donmez added back-to-back baskets, yet Gréngewald always had an answer. The highest lead hit 24 points at 38-62 before the visitors closed it out.
Top performers: For Gréngewald, Rajniak (16 pts; Season PPG: 16.89) and Dortschy Boixados (16; Season PPG: 15.00) led the way, with Pakasius (10; 12 years old, LTU; Season PPG: 11.40) and Praestegaard (9; Season PPG: 12.20) in support. For Sparta, Ammermann powered the offense with 22 points (40% of the team's total; Season PPG: 12.00), helped by Donmez (9; Season PPG: 9.00) and Vena (9; Season PPG: 9.25).
Standings impact: Gréngewald moves to the top of the Phase finale (rank 1, +1), while Sparta drops to rank 6 (-2). Gréngewald also halted a two-game slide; Sparta takes a setback after its recent win.
(AI generated)