First-placed Arantia Larochette B stayed in control of the M-Nationale 3 relegation group and extended its winning streak to five games with a third win this season over sixth-placed BBC Dikrich, 71-64.
The visitors set the tone quickly with a 6-0 start. Dikrich came back to 12-13, but Larochette B answered with a 9-0 run across the end of the first quarter and the start of the second for 22-12. Coach Endrit Shala's team reacted through Amar Sijaric (Season PPG: 16.12), who scored 8 points in a row to bring Dikrich back to 20-22, yet ARAB still held a 32-26 halftime lead.
The key passage came in the third quarter. After Dikrich had reduced the margin to 31-37, Arantia produced a 9-0 burst to open its biggest lead at 46-31. Marc Backendorf (Season PPG: 10.46), Tom Becker (Season PPG: 9.40) and Pedro Nunes Jordao (Season PPG: 9.88) were central in that sequence. Dikrich stayed alive almost entirely through Sijaric, who finished with 33 points and 7 made three-pointers.
The home side made one last push in the fourth. Luigi Busto (DIE) and Joel Leite Delgado (Season PPG: 6.50) helped cut the score to 64-68 late on. The decisive plays then came from Nunes Jordao, who converted the last 3 Arantia points from the line, while Alvis Kasteckas (Season PPG: 13.80) had earlier hit an important three-pointer for 66-57.
Arantia's scoring was well shared: Kasteckas led with 19, Backendorf added 16, Nunes Jordao 15 and Becker 14, with those four combining for 64 of the 71 points. For Dikrich, Daniel José Almeida da Cruz (Season PPG: 1.47) added 10, his best total of the season. Foul trouble also weighed on the home side, as Sijaric fouled out and Leite Delgado collected four fouls in the fourth quarter.
(AI generated)