Amicale Steesel took a 91-61 road win at Basket Esch after a tight first half turned sharply after the break. Franck Meriguet's side stayed level for 20 minutes and even moved 21-16 ahead early in the second quarter, but AMI answered before halftime and led only 31-29 at the interval.
The decisive stretch came in the third period. Darko Ristic's team went from 42-36 up to 52-36 with 10 unanswered points, then finished the quarter on another 6-0 run for 61-42. From there, the margin kept growing until the final 30-point gap.
AMI built that separation with good efficiency: 58.3% on 2-pointers and 38.5% on 3-pointers, plus a strong 40-26 rebounding edge, 15 assists and only 11 turnovers. Basket Esch had an excellent 5/5 at the line and a good 52.8% on 2-pointers, but 6/23 from deep and 19 turnovers were costly.
MVP Conley Leroy Phipps III (Season PPG: 26.14, RPG: 5.56, AssPG: 2.67) led everything with 34 points, including an excellent 6/10 from three. He also scored 8 straight AMI points in the second quarter and carried the third-quarter break. Landon George Seaman (Season PPG: 18.67, RPG: 12.25, AssPG: 1.50), 24, 2.03m, USA, added 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jonas Theisen (Season PPG: 4.83, RPG: 2.13, AssPG: 0.00) finished with 11 points on an excellent 5/5 from two.
For Esch, Quinten Gregory Dee Nelson (Season PPG: 20.43, RPG: 2.90, AssPG: 2.60), 27, 1.85m, USA, scored 16 points with 4 assists. Clancy Mac Rugg (Season PPG: 13.86, RPG: 5.90, AssPG: 2.00) had 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Denilson Ramos Fonseca (Season PPG: 7.29, RPG: 4.90, AssPG: 1.30) added 10 points. Emmanuel Jesus Frederico, 17 and 2.00m, picked up two first-quarter fouls, which affected Esch's rotation early.
(AI generated)