AB Contern edged Telstar Hesperange B 49-42 in a game that remained close deep into the fourth quarter. The win moves Contern up to 2nd place (+1) at 7-1, while TELB slip to 3rd (-1) at 6-2. Contern have now won seven in a row; Telstar's three-game winning streak ended.
TELB, coached by Uchenna Agada, had the sharper first response after a 0-3 start and went 8-3 up with eight unanswered points. Contern answered with the first major swing of the evening: a 10-0 run to close the opening period at 13-8. Damian Ioannis Xirouchakis (1.76m, Season PPG: 19.25) was central in that sequence and kept Contern in front for most of the first half.
Telstar stayed in contact well. They trimmed the gap to 22-25 at halftime, then fought back again after the break, tying the game at 32-32 and later at 38-38. That second tie was the key moment. Alain Wies' team produced an 11-2 burst to 49-40, their biggest lead of the night. Efe Denizlerkurdu (Season PPG: 16.33) hit two important fourth-quarter threes, and Alex Wies (Season PPG: 9.38) added a late three-pointer plus two free throws.
Xirouchakis finished with 17 points for Contern before fouling out, Denizlerkurdu added 13, and Wies scored 5 timely points. For TELB, 16-year-old French scorer Grégoire Leclercq (Season PPG: 12.63) led with 15, Fabio Gilotti Gonzalez (Season PPG: 7.18) had 10, and Nikola Mratsenkov (Season PPG: 6.00) added 6. TELB also had to manage foul trouble, with Baptise Ernest Le Phuez fouling out and several other rotation players reaching 3 fouls.
(AI generated)