BBC Dikrich, first in the table before and after this round, controlled this M-U18 Division 5 Phase 1 game well and beat fourth-placed Nitia Bettembourg 87-58. It was Dikrich's fourth straight win, while Bettembourg's losing run reached three games.
The game turned quickly. Dikrich opened on a 12-0 run through Joakim Deblander (DIE), Farih Nurkovic (DIE) and Joan-Junior Deblander (DIE), and the first quarter already created a strong gap at 23-8. Bettembourg settled better in the second period, with Ewen Leung (NIT) and captain Liam Raas (NIT) bringing the score back to 33-26, but Dikrich answered with a 6-0 stretch to go into halftime up 39-26.
The away side had its best phase in the third quarter. After Dikrich moved to 43-26, Bettembourg answered with a 14-2 run and cut the margin to 45-40. That was the main pressure point of the game. Nurkovic then stopped the momentum, and Dikrich rebuilt the lead to 58-45 before the last quarter.
The fourth quarter was decisive. Bettembourg came within 62-53, but Laszlo Jozsef Hartl's team produced two strong bursts, first 8-0 and then 11-0, to break the game open. The final margin of 29 points was the biggest lead.
Nurkovic led Dikrich with 35 points, and Joan-Junior Deblander (DIE) added 27, including a late scoring push. Joakim Deblander (DIE) scored 14, while Mimballa Erwan-Scott Owoutou Monty (DIE) gave useful interior scoring with 8.
For Bradley Gene Melton's side, Leung was the clear offensive leader with 24 points. Raas added 12, Matthieu Deyan Gerouville (NIT) scored 8, and Jiabin Chen (NIT) finished with 6. Bettembourg also had Ilyes Ikherrazen (NIT) foul out after picking up repeated fouls across the first three quarters.
(AI generated)