Racing Luxembourg took this M-U22 qualification game 95-78 and moved to 4th place, while Etzella Ettelbruck sits 8th after its first loss.
Etzella, coached by Gavin Love, had the better start. Lou Clees (19, 1.89m) opened with 5 quick points, and José Miguel Domingos Sanches (20) helped ETZ to a 10-3 lead. The first major swing came when Angelo Caruso (20, 1.87m) entered: Racing produced a 14-0 run from 17-7 to 21-17, with Caruso scoring 11 points in that stretch. Etzella briefly stopped the slide at 21-21, but Racing still closed the first quarter ahead 23-21.
The second quarter stayed competitive early, with Giovanni Palermo Cardoso (18) tying it at 23-23. Racing then kept finding answers through Samuel Rehak (18, 1.84m), Leo Backes (20, 1.92m) and Noah Kraama (19, 1.88m). Kraama hit consecutive threes to push the gap, and Racing went into halftime up 45-38.
Etzella tried again after the break. Noah Wolter (18, 1.80m) scored from outside and inside, and ETZ cut it to 46-54. That was a crucial moment, but Racing answered immediately and rebuilt control, reaching 67-54 and then 69-58 after three quarters. Rehak, Igor Durovic (21, 1.87m) and Kraama were central in that phase.
In the fourth, Etzella never disappeared. Domingos Sanches hit back-to-back threes to reduce the margin to 74-86, but Racing responded with a 7-0 burst to 93-74, its highest lead of the evening, which settled the game.
Racing had strong balance with six players in double figures: Caruso 17, Rehak 13, Durovic 12, Kraama 12, Timothée Lahure (21, 1.93m) 11 and Backes 11. For Etzella, Schaaf scored 22, Wolter 20, Domingos Sanches 16 and Clees 12, though Clees' foul trouble mattered as the game progressed.
(AI generated)
Etzella Ettelbruck