Kordall Steelers completed the qualification double over AB Contern with a 98-82 home win and bounced back after their previous defeat, while Contern's losing run continued.
KDS opened sharply with a 7-0 start, but Contern responded quickly. Marcellus Garrick scored 7 of his team's first 9 points, and the visitors moved in front 19-17. The key late change in the first quarter was a 9-2 Kordall run that turned the score to 26-21. In the second period, Antonio Bento dos Reis Pires' team pushed the gap to 39-29 and controlled the half well enough to lead 49-40 at the break.
The game became tense again after halftime. KDS went from 49-40 to 54-40, then built a 68-51 advantage. That looked decisive, but Anthony Tomba's side answered with 14 straight points across the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter to close to 68-65. That was the real winning moment: Kordall replied with a decisive 16-0 burst to 84-65 and later reached a highest lead of 19.
Gianluca Pellegrino Ombroni (Season PPG: 15.26, RPG: 6.7, AssPG: 4.85) was the MVP with 22 points and 13 assists, plus excellent 5/6 from three-point range. Erik Timko (24, 1.93m, USA; Season PPG: 28.33, RPG: 6.29, AssPG: 1.88) added 30 points and 5 steals. Robertas Jonaitis (Season PPG: 23.23, RPG: 9.63, AssPG: 1.47) posted 18 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, while Jalen Reynolds (Season PPG: 16.00, RPG: 7.63, AssPG: 0.88) had 24 points on a good 11/16 from two.
For Contern, Joshua Ferguson (29, 2.03m, USA; Season PPG: 19.00, RPG: 12.28, AssPG: 2.84) finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and an excellent 6/6 on free throws. Garrick (Season PPG: 21.60, RPG: 5.5, AssPG: 4.33) added 22 points and 6 assists, and Mihailo Andjelkovic (Season PPG: 9.00, RPG: 1.73, AssPG: 1.47) scored 16. KDS shot well as a team: 57% from two and 36% from three, with 23 assists.
(AI generated)