Bitburg won a tight U16 friendly at BBC East Side Pirates, 68-63, after a game with several momentum swings.
BEP started well and led 18-16 after the first quarter. The home side then built the biggest lead of the game at 24-16 early in the second period, with Matteo Weydert (BEP) active inside and Lucas Schneiders (BEP) adding efficient scoring. But Bitburg answered strongly. The visitors closed the half on a 23-7 quarter and went to the break in front 39-31, with Jarno (BIT), Jasin (BIT) and Jona (BIT) driving that comeback.
The third quarter was BEP's best stretch. After falling behind 31-40, the Pirates produced an 11-2 run to level at 42-42. Emil Denter (BEP) was central in that phase and finished with a game-high 22 points, while Lucas Schneiders (BEP) added 18. Later in the quarter, Yuqiang Wang (13, CHN) scored 5 points in a row to bring BEP from 45-48 to 50-48, before Bitburg tied it again at 50-50.
The last quarter stayed close, but Bitburg found the decisive sequence. From 50-50, the visitors moved to 61-52, with Jonas (BIT), Felix (BIT) and Ben (BIT) all contributing. BEP still came back and cut it to 64-63 through Denter and Lucas Schneiders, but Bitburg finished better and closed the game with the last 4 points.
Bitburg's scoring was well shared: Jarno (BIT) 14, Jonas (BIT) 12, Jona (BIT) 11 and Jasin (BIT) 10. For BEP, the main weight came from Denter, Lucas Schneiders and Weydert (10). Denter fouled out late, which mattered in the final minutes, and Jasin (BIT) also ended in foul trouble after picking up several fouls across the middle quarters.
(AI generated)