US Heffingen advanced from the cup 1/16 finals with a 66-59 home win over Bascharage Hedgehogs after a game with several momentum swings. Coach José Alberto Pais Costa's team created the first real gap after Bascharage's 2-0 start: Helder Laercio Neto (25, 1.98m, AGO) and Najee Emanuel Williams (23, 1.95m, USA) set the tone, and a 9-0 finish to the opening quarter gave HEF a 21-9 lead, their biggest margin of the night.
Bascharage reacted strongly in the second period. Deni Sabotic (18, 1.85m) led the comeback, with support from Fabien Vandler (19, 1.85m) and Noah Bertolini (22, 1.75m), and BAS came back from 21-9 to 25-25. Two straight Sam Urwald (20, 1.89m) three-pointers gave Heffingen some air again, but Bascharage still managed to edge in front 32-31 before HEF recovered for a 35-32 halftime lead.
The third quarter brought another key run. Heffingen moved ahead 44-36, then Bascharage answered with 11 unanswered points, sparked by Luka Jovicic's three and Bertolini's scoring, to go 47-44 up. Robert Brinck (26, 1.86m) hit a timely three, and Neto steadied Heffingen before the last quarter.
The decisive stretch came late. From 56-49, Luka Stankovic (19, 1.90m) scored 6 points in a row, Sabotic added 4 more, and BAS took its first lead since 2-0 at 59-58. In this close game, Heffingen's winners were Neto, Williams and Lee Bourgeois (24, 1.95m), as HEF closed on an 8-0 run.
Neto, the game MVP, finished with 22 points, 29 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Williams added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Urwald and Bourgeois scored 11 each. For Bascharage, Sabotic produced 20 points and 6 assists, Bertolini had 14 points, and Vandler added 10 points with 5 steals. Stankovic also reached 10 points despite committing three fouls in the first quarter.
(AI generated)