BC Mess edged Sparta Bertrange 71-70 in the M-U18 Division 2 Phase finale opener at nikibett/central, sealing it in the final minute. Sparta flew out 23-9 in the first quarter (largest lead +14), but Mess answered with a 10-0 run in the second to climb back to 29-27 and trailed 37-33 at halftime. The third quarter flipped the game: Jamie Freymann (23 pts; Season PPG: 17.0, 17 years, 1.80m) fueled an 11-2 close to the period, including six consecutive points, for a 56-49 Mess advantage. Early in the fourth, Mess stretched it to 63-51.
Sparta's response was swift. Jorge Leocadio Botelho (12 pts; Season PPG: 6.33) and Ari Marinosson (12 pts; Season PPG: 9.8) led a surge; Marinosson strung together four straight Sparta points to bring it to 65-67, Aaron Torresani's three made it 68-69, and Marinosson then put Sparta up 70-69. In the decisive moment, Pedrito Kemevuako (22 pts; Season PPG: 19.64, 17, AGO) delivered the game-winner for 71-70. A late Sparta timeout could not change the outcome.
For Mess, Freymann and Kemevuako drove the comeback, with André Cristostomo Ribeiro (13 pts; Season PPG: 6.82) adding range and Yann Krings (6) cool at the line. A fourth-quarter C1 against coach João Carlos Santiago Janeiro at 51-63 preceded two free throws by Rafael Da Fonseca Rocha, yet Mess kept composure to finish. For Sparta, Ata Tastekin (8; Season PPG: 11.36) sparked the first-quarter break, Nikolaos Papanikolaou (7; Season PPG: 9.44) contributed steadily, and Maximilaan Flechtner (SPA) added 8 including late free throws.
Mess also won the Phase 1 meeting in Bertrange (72-68) and, with this narrow success, sit 2nd in the Phase finale table while Sparta are 3rd. The victory ends Mess's five-game losing streak; Sparta are now on three straight losses.
(AI generated)