Nitia Bettembourg edged Avanti Mondorf 62-60 in a tight friendly at Bettembourg. The game swung repeatedly: MON opened with a triple from Foni Mertens and used a 9-0 burst in Q2 (free throws from Lou Mertens, back-to-back scores by Joël Wealer and a Sven Bartholomey three) to flip a 20-18 deficit into a 20-29 lead, before NIT trimmed it to 32-34 at halftime. After the break, NIT seized control with an 18-6 third quarter, highlighted by a 14-4 push from 36-36 to 50-40, and reached the night's largest lead at 52-41.
Mondorf rallied late: Bartholomey (29, 1.86m) buried his third three and added a late two, while Foni Mertens chipped in multiple free throws to close to 62-60. A calm free throw from Daniel Prior Torralba (30, 1.92m) at 62-58 and timely baskets from Ewan Joris Mistico (32, 1.85m, FRA) and Jérôme Bous (two triples) preserved NIT's advantage. Lou Mertens (22, 1.98m) fouled out, and NIT's LouisStéphane Lobe Lobas (29, 1.86m, FRA) also exited after 10 points both absences mattered in the closing minutes.
Top scorers: NIT Modou ThiamDiop 14, Owen Chen (19, 1.76m, CHN) 12, Lobe Lobas 10. MON Bartholomey 21, Wealer (37, 1.94m) 15, Foni Mertens 14. Coaches Isabelle Duboutay and Phil Dejworek traded timeouts in the final minute as NIT held on.
(AI generated)