Sparta Bertrange overpowered AS Soleuvre 93-62 at atert/central to win this Minis Cup semifinal. The game turned late in the first quarter: trailing 10-14, Sparta closed the period on an 11-0 run to 21-14. From there, coach Yann Ewert's team controlled the pace, building a 42-28 halftime lead as Petar Kulisic (14) scored repeatedly in the paint.
Soleuvre tried to reset with an early timeout in Q1 and another late in Q2, but the pattern held. The third quarter briefly offered a momentum swing: Lou Lahure (Season PPG: 25.0) caught fire, pouring 11 points in a burst that trimmed the gap to 16 (69-53). He finished with 29 (4 free throws, 8 two-pointers, 3 three-pointers). Leo Loesch (Season PPG: 4.6) added 11 and Timéo Weber (Season PPG: 13.6) had 11, but Weber's foul trouble was costly; he picked up his fifth in the third quarter. Phillipe Vieira Geraldes also fouled out, and coach Carlo Ferrante's last timeout in the 8th minute of the fourth couldn't halt the slide.
Sparta's answer throughout was Kulisic's dominance: 47 points built on 19 two-pointers and 9 free throws. He strung together multiple scoring spurts, including back-to-back baskets and trips to the line to halt Soleuvre's attempts at a run. Support came from Anton Mercier (13, FRA) with 17 (3 free throws, 7 two-pointers) and Rafael Ferreira (12) with 16. Bora Oner chipped in 6, Alexander Möller 4 and Charel Didlinger 3.
The fourth quarter was one-way traffic (22-9), and Sparta reached their largest lead at 93-60 before the final basket. Soleuvre's best phase came mid-third behind Lahure's surge, but Sparta's interior scoring edge and sustained aggression decided the tie.
(AI generated)