Bascol Division 4 In Clausen, Aztec Financial edged BBC House Startups 37-31 in a lowscoring game that hinged on early runs and fourthquarter control.
HST opened 2-0, but AZT immediately hit back to 2-7. HST rallied to 9-9 and 11-11 through Maroun Altekly (HST) and playercoach Milton Antonio (HST). The key stretch of the night followed: AZT strung together a 10-0 run to 11-21 behind Michael Mercado (AZT), Krzysztof Radzimski (AZT) and Eleftherios Akritas (AZT). Antonio answered with five straight to close the first quarter at 16-21. The second quarter went scoreless on the sheet, keeping the margin intact at halftime.
After the break, Mercado pushed AZT to 16-25 and 18-27 with twopoint finishes. Jekabs Vinauds (HST) then authored a 6-0 solo burst (3+2+FT) to trim it to 24-27, before Radzimski replied for 24-29 after an AZT timeout. In the fourth, Ricardo Galoso (AZT) and Ioannis Maroudas (AZT) stretched it to 24-33; HST called time, Altekly scored, but Akritas and Radzimski rebuilt what became the night's largest lead at 26-37. A late three by Mikhail Erman (HST) and a Vinauds layup set the final score.
Top performers: Mercado led AZT with 12 points, all inside the arc, while Radzimski added 11, including AZT's only three. Akritas chipped in 6. For HST, Vinauds had 11 (3x2, 1x3, 2 FTs) and Antonio 9, including that firstquarter 5-0. Altekly scored 6.
Shot profile told the story: AZT produced 34 of its 37 points on twopointers and did not score from the line; HST tallied 10 twopointers, three threes and two free throws. Late foul pressure hit HST as Vinauds picked up two in succession in the closing minute, but no one fouled out. Coach Chatzimousi Chrstidouli's AZT closed it out; HST's Antonio led from the bench and the floor. Aztec Financial are the winners in a close game.
(AI generated)
BBC House Startups 