BC Mess beat Sparta Bertrange 83-75 in the opening return game of the M-U18 Division 2 final phase and moved up to 1st place (+2) with a perfect 5-0 record. Sparta stayed 4th at 2-4. It was the third meeting of the season between the teams, and BC Mess won all three, after earlier victories by 72-68 and 71-70.
The game stayed balanced early. Sparta had the better first-quarter momentum when Ata Tastekin (Season PPG: 12.93) scored 7 points in a row during a push to 13-8, but BC Mess answered and the period ended 15-15. In the second quarter, Jamie Freymann (Season PPG: 18.44), Pedrito Kemevuako (Season PPG: 20.44) and André Cristostomo Ribeiro (Season PPG: 9.13) kept Mess in front for stretches, including 26-24. Sparta then changed the rhythm with a 7-0 run to 31-26 and took a 42-38 halftime lead, with Ari Marinosson (Season PPG: 11.20) scoring repeatedly near the end of the half.
The turning point came straight after the break. Coach Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro's side opened the third quarter with 9 unanswered points to go from 38-42 to 47-42. Sparta reacted well and briefly moved back in front at 51-50, but Mess finished the quarter ahead 57-53. The decisive sequence came across the quarter break: Raphaël Alves Nunes (Season PPG: 0.80) hit a three, Yann Krings added another, and Freymann scored inside for an 8-0 burst and a 65-53 lead.
BC Mess later reached their biggest advantage at 83-69 before Sparta closed with 6 straight points. Mess had three main scorers at 19 points: Cristostomo Ribeiro, Bryan Hensen (Season PPG: 5.69) and Freymann. Hensen stood out from long range with 5 made three-pointers, while Kemevuako added 15. For Sparta, Marinosson finished with 17, Tastekin had 16, and Jorge Leocadio Botelho (Season PPG: 8.30) scored 9. The 16-year-old Tastekin, listed at 1.91m, gave Sparta steady inside production. BC Mess are now on a five-game winning streak, while Sparta have lost three in a row.
(AI generated)