Fellbach Flash edged Basket Esch 85-80 at deichwisen/central in the Season Opening tournament. Esch started brighter, 26-21 after Q1, with Quinten Nelson (LAL) active alongside Dino Ceman (LAL) and Damien Thill (22, 1.90m). The game flipped in Q2: Fellbach unleashed a 17-0 burst, turning 32-24 into 32-41, driven by Rodriguez (FEL) and Okator (FEL), and led 49-43 at the break.
The third was balanced, with threes traded by Rodriguez, Schliet (FEL) and Ceman. In the fourth, Nelson caught fire: he drilled key triples to 65-68 and 68-70, tied it at 73-73, then put Esch up 78-77, ultimately scoring 10 of Esch's last 12 points. A pivotal moment came at 70-70 when Axel Mendes (LAL) committed an unsportsmanlike (U2). Late, with Esch briefly ahead, Rodriguez strung together six straight points to swing it 78-83, and Lyles added a basket for 78-85. Ceman later fouled out, limiting Esch's options in the closing seconds.
Top performers:
- Fellbach: Rodriguez 29 (7x2, 4x3, 3 FT), Okator 16 (7x2, 2 FT), Billinger 11 (3x3, 2 FT), Schliet 10.
- Esch: Nelson 35 (7x2, 5x3, 6 FT), Ceman 12 (3x2, 2x3), Corentin Vincent Cornu (30, 1.82m, FRA) 12 (5x2, 2 FT), Jordan Hicks (35, 2.01m, USA) 10, Thill 9.
Coach Franck Meriguet's timeouts steadied Esch, but Fellbach's bench managed the endgame, closing on an 8-0 run.
(AI generated)