Sparta Bertrange won the decisive quarter-final game 3 against Résidence Walferdange, 80-69 at atert/central, and qualified for the semi-finals by taking the best-of-3 series 2-1. After losing the opener 83-87 and then winning 79-76 away, Sparta controlled this deciding game for long stretches.
Karl Abou Khalil's team started sharply with a 10-2 opening and kept the initiative at 22-16 after one quarter. The key phase came in the second period. After Résidence had cut it to 24-20, Yannick Verbeelen (Season PPG: 10.80, RPG: 3.13, AssPG: 2.77) hit 9 points in a row, pushing Sparta into a 33-20 lead. Sparta then stretched the margin to 42-22 and went to halftime up 44-27.
The biggest gap came early in the third quarter at 51-27, a 24-point lead. Résidence did respond, mainly through Oliver Vujakovic (Season PPG: 15.22, RPG: 5.76, AssPG: 2.50), who finished with 24 points and an excellent 6/7 from 2-point range, plus Brendan Bailey (Season PPG: 22.28, RPG: 9.38, AssPG: 1.46) with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Résidence's best comeback came in the fourth. From 67-53, they scored 6 straight through John Clark Slajchert (25, 1.82m, USA), and closed to 67-59. Sparta answered well: Max Logelin (Season PPG: 16.25, RPG: 5.53, AssPG: 3.24) scored inside, Victor Iwuakor (Season PPG: 19.00, RPG: 9.85, AssPG: 1.30) stayed strong near the rim, and Jarvis Williams (36, 1.98m, USA) closed with free throws.
Iwuakor was the MVP with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Williams added 15 points and shot a good 9/11 on free throws. Sparta's team edge came from 3-point accuracy: 9/22, a good 40.9%, while Résidence shot only 6/26 from deep. Verbeelen and Tom Schomer both fouled out late, but the result was already leaning Sparta's way.
(AI generated)