Sparta Bertrange took a third win over Racing Luxembourg this season, 82-63, and moved up to 1st place in the M-U16 Division 1 Phase finale (+2). Racing slipped to 6th (-1) and are now on a six-game losing streak.
The game was balanced early. Racing turned 2-0 into 4-2, then a 9-0 spell pushed them from 4-5 to 13-5. Sparta reacted well with a 7-0 run to get back to 12-13, and the first quarter stayed tight at 18-17. The key break came in the second period: after Racing had cut the margin to 26-25, Sparta produced a decisive 16-1 run to open a 42-26 lead. Christian Michael Wulff's team then started the third quarter with 11 unanswered points, stretching the score from 42-28 to 53-28. Later, Sparta reached its highest lead at 27 points, 75-48.
Maximilaan Flechtner (15, DEU, Season PPG: 18.14) was the major offensive force with 34 points, matching his season high. Captain Thandizo Jon Zulu (15, SVN, Season PPG: 19.07) added 17, while Hugo Dubois scored 6 with two 3-pointers and Loïc Schmit gave Sparta a useful long-range basket in the third quarter. Flechtner stayed productive despite foul trouble and fouled out late.
For Racing, captain Nick Wallers (Season PPG: 30.64) led with 20 points and kept scoring in every phase of the game. Doruk Ege Kurtes (14, TUR, Season PPG: 8.12) added 10, and Elhadj Ibrahima Diallo finished with 8. Racing scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, their best offensive period, but the gap remained too large after Sparta's second- and third-quarter surge.
(AI generated)