Amicale Steesel won 91-61 at Basket Esch and moved up to 2nd place after the round, while Esch is 7th.
The game was balanced for 20 minutes. Esch went up 9-4, with Clancy Mac Rugg (35, 2.03m) scoring five straight points, and the home side was still very much in it at halftime, down only 31-29. Basket Esch also had efficient inside play early, but the match changed sharply after the break.
Darko Ristic's team dominated the third quarter 30-13. From 31-29, Amicale created separation through Conley Leroy Phipps III (26, 1.88m, USA) and Landon George Seaman (24, 2.03m, USA). Phipps, the game MVP, finished with 34 points and excellent shooting: 2/2 on free throws and 6/10 from 3-point range. In the middle of the third period, he scored 8 of Amicale's 9 points in one key sequence. Seaman added 19 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, with good 2-point shooting at 8/13.
Amicale's team numbers were decisive: 25/41 from 2-point range for 61% and 8/21 from 3-point range for 38%, both good. Jonas Theisen (30, 1.95m) gave strong support with 11 points and an excellent 5/5 from 2-point range, while Alex Laurent (33, 1.98m) added 7 points and 4 assists.
Esch had excellent free-throw accuracy at 5/5 and a good 21/40 on 2-pointers, but 7/27 from long range limited its offense. Quinten Gregory Dee Nelson (27, 1.85m, USA) led LAL with 16 points on a good 6/9 from 2-point range. Rugg posted 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Denilson Ramos Fonseca (28, 1.93m, PRT) scored 10 points on 5/8 from 2. Amicale's highest lead reached 33 points late in the fourth quarter.
(AI generated)