Nitia Bettembourg opened the M-U22 N2 qualification with a very one-sided 118-51 away win over BC Mess and moved up four places to 1st in the new classification. BC Mess remains 4th after the opening round.
Mess began well and led 3-0 through Lio Nosbusch (MES), but Bettembourg quickly took control. After 14-22, the visitors closed the first quarter on a 17-0 run for 39-17. The decisive phase came in the second period: with João Carlos Santiago Janeiro's side already under pressure, NIT built a 29-0 run from 49-21 to 78-21 and turned the game into a clear separation before halftime.
BC Mess was more competitive after the break and scored 30 points in the second half. Bryan Hensen (MES) stood out with 21 points and four 3-pointers. Tom Jadin (MES) added 9 points, Raphaël Alves Nunes (MES) had 7, and Nosbusch finished with 6. Mauro Gammaitoni (MES) also had an active game but picked up two fouls in the first half and a third early in the second quarter.
Bettembourg had scoring depth throughout. Mathieu Ercolani (NIT) led the way with 25 points, while Mathieu Serge Jules Mujkic Launois (NIT) scored 20. Owen Chen (20, 1.76m, CHN) and Gabriele José Minoia de Almeida (NIT) each produced 14 points, with Wesley Almeida (NIT) and Maik Zhan (NIT) both adding 13. Jack Da Costa Fernandes (NIT) contributed 10, and Tomás Figueiredo Pinto (18, PRT) brought 6.
Bradley Gene Melton's team won all four quarters and extended the margin to 67 points late in the game.
(AI generated)