Amicale Steesel edged T71 Dudelange 63-60 in a tight M-Coupe Minis round of 32 game and moved on to the next round.
Coach Thorsten Freiheit's team had the better start at 16-12 after the first quarter, then produced the first real gap early in the second. Raphael Boreiko (AMI) and Atanas Atapov (AMI) helped lift Amicale to 19-12, which remained the biggest lead of the game at seven points.
T71, under coach Louis Wennig, answered well. The visitors went on an 8-0 run to turn 19-12 into 20-19, and a later score correction changed Sami Dzinic's basket into a three-pointer for 23-23. T71 kept the pressure on, but Amicale still reached halftime in front, 33-31.
The third quarter stayed balanced. Amicale rebuilt a 37-31 lead, but T71 reacted through Nikola Bugarski (T71), Dzinic (T71) and Tun Jungers (T71) to go ahead 44-42. The period ended level at 44-44, with Phil Linckels (AMI) and Charel Patz (AMI) already managing foul trouble.
T71 had its best spell at the start of the fourth, opening with an 8-2 burst for 52-46. Amicale then answered through Boreiko, Atapov and Patz. After a technical foul sequence, T71 still led 53-50, but Amicale regained control at 54-53, and Patz hit the home side's only three-pointer for 57-55.
The closing minutes stayed on one-possession margins. Linckels converted key free throws for 62-58, Jungers cut it to 62-60, and Noe Olmedo (AMI) added the last point.
Linckels (AMI) led the winners with 18 points, followed by Atapov with 14, Patz with 12 and Boreiko with 10. For T71, Jungers scored 15, Bugarski 14 and Dzinic 12.
(AI generated)