Etzella Ettelbruck won 74-64 at T71 Dudelange and moved up to 1st place in the M-U18 Division 1 Phase finale, while T71 dropped to 2nd. It was the third meeting of the season between the teams, and Etzella now leads that head-to-head 2-1 after losing the first game and winning the last two.
The game turned quickly after a balanced 2-2 start. Coach Nelson Delgado's team produced an 8-0 run for 10-2, then kept the pressure to close the first quarter 24-12. T71 reacted early in the second and cut the margin to 16-24, but Etzella answered immediately with a 9-0 sequence to 33-16, a key stretch in the first half. T71 found some rhythm through Charel Brettner (Season PPG: 20.31), a 17-year-old 1.93m forward/center, yet the visitors still led 41-30 at the break.
The third quarter was decisive. Etzella won it 24-11 and extended the lead to 25 points at 60-35, with Marvin Delgado dos Santos (Season PPG: 24.57) driving the offense. He finished with 19 points, while Charel Wilmes added 17 and Lenny Lopes Morais 14 with four three-pointers. Noah Wolter (Season PPG: 15.67) scored 14 as well despite early foul trouble and fouling out in the fourth quarter.
T71 did not stop playing. After falling behind by 26 points at 74-48, Coach Tom Schumacher's side closed on a 16-0 run and clearly owned the last quarter, 23-9. Brettner led T71 with 15 points, Jonas Lies scored 11, Kevin Fernandes Vaz (16, CPV) also had 11, and Daris Honsic added 9, all nine coming from three-point range.
(AI generated)