Etzella Ettelbruck won a close Phase finale game at Racing Luxembourg, 73-68, and moved up to 3rd place (+2), while Racing stayed 6th and is now on an eight-game losing streak overall. Etzella has also won all three meetings between the teams this season.
Racing, coached by Uros Niksic, started sharply with a 10-0 opening and still led 20-16 after the first quarter. Elhadj Ibrahima Diallo (Season PPG: 13.57) set the tone early, and Racing looked in control again at 24-18 in the second period. From there, Etzella changed the rhythm. Thierry Kremer's team won the quarter 25-13, with Seid Muratovic, a 14-year-old from Montenegro (Season PPG: 15.74), Ben Schock (Season PPG: 16.53) and Yona Posing (Season PPG: 7.43) driving the comeback to a 41-33 halftime lead.
The key stretch came in the third quarter. Etzella built the biggest lead of the game at 57-40, but Racing answered with 13 unanswered points to close the period at 53-57. Martin Cuesta Jaramillo (Season PPG: 10.56), Nick Wallers (Season PPG: 29.63) and William Jaud (Season PPG: 8.45) were central in that run.
The last quarter stayed tight. Etzella went back to 69-60, Racing rallied again, Alejandro Cuesta Jaramillo, a 13-year-old from Spain (Season PPG: 3.00), tied it at 63-63 with a three, and Martin Cuesta Jaramillo even pushed Racing ahead 65-63. That made Etzella's response decisive: an 8-0 burst turned the game back, with Ben Schock, Yona Posing and Jahleeon Nascimento Rocha Carvalho finishing key actions before Gilles Schock closed it from the line.
Top scorers were Diallo with 19, Martin Cuesta Jaramillo 16 and Wallers 14 for Racing; Ben Schock had 18, Muratovic 17 and Posing 10 for Etzella. Alejandro Cuesta Jaramillo fouled out late, which mattered in the final minutes.
(AI generated)