Telstar Hesperange won 71-61 at home against BBC Käldall and did it with a strong reversal after a difficult first half. Käldall, ranked 8th after the game, controlled the opening 20 minutes and led 17-13 after the first quarter, then 41-27 at halftime. The away side reached a game-high 16-point margin and looked in command under coach Fabien Hirt, with Darys Alsym Kahoul Betouche (21, FRA) attacking well inside and Léo Martin Gutierrez-Ortega (35, FRA) stretching the defense.
The game changed completely in the third quarter. Telstar answered with a 28-12 period and turned a 30-43 deficit into a 49-47 lead through a 19-4 surge. Oleksandr Senchenko (22, 1.85m) and Max Klepper (34) gave Telstar rhythm, while Lorenzo Ferrari (28, ITA) added timely points. Käldall briefly stayed close at 53-53 late in the third, but the momentum had already shifted.
The crucial stretch came at the start of the fourth. Telstar opened the period with 10 unanswered points, moving from 55-53 to 65-53. Juan Joyner Lopes da Costa dos S. (TEL) scored 8 points in a row in that run and became the key offensive finisher. From there, coach Christophe Thil's team controlled the last minutes.
Top scorers for Telstar were Lopes da Costa dos S. with 17, Senchenko with 14 and Klepper with 12, while Jamie Kappler added 9 and Ferrari 9. For Käldall, Kahoul Betouche finished with 20, Ralph Anthony Lana added 15 and Gutierrez-Ortega 14.
In the classification, Telstar is 2nd at 2-0, while Käldall is 8th at 0-2.
(AI generated)