Third-ranked Arantia Larochette C opened the championship round with an 81-68 home win over fourth-ranked AB Contern C, but the game stayed competitive for a long time.
Contern started better. Patrick Walravens (33, 1.88m) and Michel Kirsch (40) hit early threes, and the visitors closed the first quarter with 8 unanswered points to move from 12-12 to 20-12. Larochette then changed the rhythm in the second period. Rui Nunes Jordao (40, 1.76m, PRT) and Luca Valerius (17) led a strong response, and ARAC turned a 12-20 deficit into a 24-22 lead. Later in the quarter, Larochette produced another important surge, from 24-24 to 40-29, and went to the break up 40-35.
The third quarter brought the closest phase of the game. Valerius kept scoring inside and from distance, but Contern came back through Michel Patrick Thein (24), Miguel Antonio Fernandes Torres (28) and Kirsch. CONC briefly went in front 51-50 and then tied it again at 53-53. This was the key moment: Larochette answered immediately, with Nunes Jordao scoring a three and Wallid Abdou Balde Said Aly (44, PRT) adding back-to-back baskets as ARAC regained control at 59-55.
In the fourth quarter, Larochette had the game winners. Nunes Jordao opened the period with 5 straight points, and later ARAC went on a decisive 10-0 run from 68-62 to 78-62. Their highest lead reached 17 points at 81-64.
Kasteckas (43, LTU) was Larochette's top scorer with 24 points, followed by Nunes Jordao with 22 and Valerius with 19. Balde Said Aly added 8. Contern had balanced production from Kirsch (19), Thein and Walravens (12 each), and Hommel plus Fernandes Torres (11 each). ARAC finished with four players in double figures, which made the difference late.
(AI generated)