Arantia Larochette B opened the Relégation round with a 98-76 home win over AS Soleuvre B, built on a blistering first quarter and a ruthless finish. ARAB exploded out of the blocks with a 16-4 surge and took the first period 34-15, fueled by Dylan Rocha Pires, Donovan Delhommais and Marc Backendorf. Coach Hervé Marie-Rose called an early timeout, and SOLB answered in the second quarter (8-17) behind Ibrahim Hasic and captain Tom Lahure to cut it to 42-32 at halftime.
The visitors kept coming after the break: Kieran Nono hit from deep, Lahure added another triple and Sandro Sanches connected from outside to bring SOLB within 54-53. ARAB still led 61-59 after three.
The turning point arrived early in the fourth. From 65-61, ARAB strung together a 12-0 run Rocha Pires, Pedro Nunes Jordao and Backendorf combining, with two free throws added after an unsportsmanlike foul by Rainjay Maturan to make it 77-61. The hosts never looked back, stretching the gap to a high of +25 (98-73).
Top performers ARAB: Rocha Pires (22 pts; Season PPG: 13.5), Nunes Jordao (22 pts; Season PPG: 9.35) with two late threes and calm free throws after the U2, and Backendorf (20 pts; Season PPG: 9.73) with timely outside shooting. Alvis Kasteckas (42, Lithuania) added 14 while navigating four fouls. Delhommais (Season PPG: 25.58) chipped in 11.
For SOLB, Hasic (22 pts; Season PPG: 14.3) mixed inside touches with a late three, Lahure (16 pts; Season PPG: 10.6) and Nono (13 pts; Season PPG: 10.83) led the third-quarter push, and Sanches (11 pts; Season PPG: 5.64) hit a key triple in that spell.
Player-coach Rui Nunes Jordao managed ARAB's late surge. In the standings, ARAB remain top (14-1) and extend their winning streak to three, while SOLB sit fourth (7-8) after a second straight defeat.
(AI generated)