Black Lions (BLD) controlled the trip to Eur. Investment Bank A (EIBA), 63-42, building a lead early and never letting it go. The visitors were up 15-8 after the first quarter and broke the game open in the second with an 11-0 run that stretched the score from 11-17 to 11-28. At halftime it was 36-16 for BLD. Any hopes of a comeback were short-lived; the margin peaked at +27 on two occasions (25-52 late in the third, 29-56 early in the fourth). EIBA took the final quarter 13-11 for cosmetics.
Denis Wirtz led BLD with 26 points, mixing strong drives with timely outside makes and steady work at the line. Nils Schröder added 22 and was pivotal in the second period, pouring in 10 points in that stretch and contributing two three-pointers overall. Angelo Barnellini and Laurent Willems chipped in 5 apiece, Willems' triple part of the key second-quarter surge. Luc Reuter (4 fouls) managed his foul trouble and still closed a late sequence with a layup. Coach Tom Schröder's rotation, with Tom Bemtgen and Willems entering early, kept the pace and pressure high.
For EIBA, Drini Manjani top-scored with 10, finding points in the paint and at the stripe despite picking up three fouls. Andreas Berkhoff added 8 on interior finishes, while captain-coach Nicolae Predescu contributed 6 after checking in during the second quarter. Tudor Maldrescu (5) hit a third-quarter three, Georgios Diakoilias (3) connected from deep in the fourth, and Hristo Stoykov (3) opened EIBA's account from long range in the first. Patricio Novales and Lan Horvat Kovac (2 each) rounded out the scoring.
The game's decisive passage came mid-second quarter: BLD's 11 unanswered points, with Schröder responsible for six, set a double-digit gap EIBA never seriously threatened. Coach Predescu's adjustments slowed the bleeding late, but BLD's advantage in shot-making carried the night.
(AI generated)
Eur. Investment Bank A 
Black Lions 
