Racing Luxembourg D edged Telstar Hesperange C 68-63 in a tight M-Division 3 championship-round game decided in the final minute. Racing set the tone early (17-12 after Q1) and took a 31-27 lead into halftime. The visitors briefly threatened to break away late in the third: despite an unsportsmanlike foul on Carlo Covelli, Racing strung together perimeter shots and built the biggest lead of the night at +9 (56-47). Telstar answered in the fourth with a 7-2 run to seize their lone lead at 63-62, but Racing closed with a 6-0 burst to seal it.
The three-point line was a clear separator. Racing buried nine triples, led by Matteo Facchetti (RACD) with four, while Lan Horvat added two and captain André Pesch (Season PPG: 3.71) hit two more; Jorge Montero contributed the ninth. Telstar replied with five long-range makes, three of them from veteran Romas Degutis (43, LTU; Season PPG: 9.0).
Facchetti paced Racing with 21 points, supported by Pesch's 18 and Horvat's 13. Montero added 9. For Telstar, Degutis led with 16, backed by Domas Savickas (Season PPG: 8.78) with 14, Arnas Damosevicius (Season PPG: 11.55) with 12, and Valentin Mitov (Season PPG: 6.88) with 10. A key late twist for coach Jarosas: Savickas fouled out in the fourth after picking up three fouls in the quarter, which blunted Telstar's inside presence just as the game tightened. Coach Pesch's side then executed: Elele Marc André Akpeubi scored four late points around a Horvat free throw before Facchetti's final basket completed the 6-0 finish.
Form and table context matter here. Racing's win makes it four in a row and keeps them 2nd in the classification. Telstar, who had won three straight before this, sit 3rd (+1 place) despite the narrow loss.
(AI generated)