Sparta Bertrange B edged Entente RES AMI B 60-57 in a tight M-U18 Division 4 Phase finale opener at nikibett/central, climbing to the top of the classification (ranking gain: +3). Coach Christophe Dubois' team trailed 10-12 after Q1 and 24-32 at halftime, but turned the game with a steady third quarter (17-12) before closing strong.
ERAB, coached by Filip Dukic, looked in control early in the fourth: Malkin, Sarrazin and Nicula strung a 7-0 run for 41-51, and Thein's triple pushed the highest lead to +11 (43-54). Sparta answered immediately with an 8-0 burst (Kunzer da Silva, Cezard Mangel twice, Vernaison) to 51-54. After Stoltz nudged ERAB back to 54-57, Sparta finished on a 6-0 run: a clutch three by Martin Cezard Mangel tied it at 57-57, captain Jazz Pelkes converted the go-ahead free throw (58-57), and Thomas Boccara hit the final two at the line to seal it.
Sparta's attack leaned on 6 made threes (to ERAB's 3), offsetting ERAB's 12 made free throws. Top performers for the winners: Cezard Mangel (Season PPG: 9.18) led with 15 points, Boccara (Season PPG: 10.29) added 13, while Konstantinos Laliotis (Season PPG: 11.65) and Hugo Dubois (Season PPG: 4.17) chipped 8 each; Pelkes (Season PPG: 8.15) had 7 including the decisive late point.
For ERAB, Aurel Nicula (17) paced with 17, backed by Finn Stoltz (Season PPG: 6.64) with 10 and Illia Malkin (Season PPG: 7.20) with 9. Jokubas Toliusis (15, LTU) brought 6 off the bench. ERAB's captain Malkin scored and reached the line repeatedly, but he committed several fouls in a row during the closing minutes, stalling ERAB's rhythm.
Sparta also repeats its head-to-head success after a 77-54 win earlier this season. In the updated table, SPAB lead the Phase finale ahead of ERAB.
(AI generated)