Racing Luxembourg B opened the M-Division 1 championship round with a 71-57 home win over Racing Luxembourg C. The game turned clearly after halftime.
RACC started better and led 19-14 after the first quarter. The visitors even pushed the margin to 23-14 early in the second period, with Pit Schneider (31, 1.80m), Max Hilger (31, 1.85m) and Giorgio Riboldi (37, 1.80m, ITA) giving them early control. RACB worked back patiently through Emanuel Loncaric (26, 1.96m, HRV), Mattia Coghetto (31, ITA) and Drini Manjani (33, ALB), and the game was tied 34-34 at halftime.
The decisive moment came in the third quarter. After RACC reduced the gap to 38-37, RACB answered with a 10-0 run to 48-37. Loncaric scored four points in a row in that stretch, Edoardo Cappelli hit from long range and Guido Mori added inside. RACB won the quarter 24-11 and created a 58-45 advantage, its key platform for the finish.
Manjani led RACB with 18 points, Loncaric added 17 and Coghetto 13. Mori scored 6, Cappelli 4, and Lan Horvat Kovac (28, SVN) brought useful support with 6 points. For RACC, Hilger finished with 10 points, while Riboldi, Louis Paul Soragna (31, 1.88m) and Schneider all had 9.
RACC remained close for one half, but the second half was harder to manage, especially with Hilger and François Aulner both reaching four fouls. After this first championship-round game, RACB stands 3rd at 1-0, while RACC is 9th at 0-1.
(AI generated)