BBC East Side Pirates edged Sparta Bertrange B 72-70 in Wasserbillig after a tense finish. The Pirates flew out 26-18 behind the inside work of 15-year-old Sam Schaeffer, but Sparta flipped the script in the second quarter with a 14-0 blast: from 31-22 down to 31-36, fueled by Vasileios Paspaltzis' burst, including back-to-back threes. Sparta reached the break up 35-40.
Coach Aziz Ndiaye's side answered right after halftime with an 8-0 run (35-40 to 43-40) through Mil Boby's drives and Schaeffer's touch, and carried a 59-56 lead into the fourth. In the final act, Finn Diederich steadied BEP at the line and Matteo Weydert's triple pushed it to 69-62. Sparta responded: Paspaltzis drilled another three and Loïc Schmit 15 years old hit his fifth of the evening to make it 71-70. After a late timeout, Sean Harmelin Dostert knocked down the game-winning free throw for 72-70, and BEP held on. Sparta's Jakob Kavas Puc (12.6 PPG) fouled out in the closing sequence, limiting options for coach Dimitrios Paspaltzis.
Top performers
- BEP: Sam Schaeffer (Season PPG: 22.9) 22 points; Finn Diederich (Season PPG: 10.78) 18 with key fourth-quarter free throws; Mil Boby (Season PPG: 9.5) 11; Matteo Weydert (Season PPG: 7.78) 8, two threes.
- SPAB: Vasileios Paspaltzis (Season PPG: 11.36) 30 with 4 threes, a dominant 14-year-old guard from Greece; Loïc Schmit (Season PPG: 5.46) 18 on 5 threes; Kavas Puc 10.
BEP's highest lead was +10 (24-14), while Sparta briefly stretched theirs to +7 (33-40). The Pirates (4-1) climb to first place (+1 ranking gain) in the M-U16 Division 3 Phase 2 standings. Sparta sit fifth at 1-4, their form still marked by a long string of losses despite this spirited push.
(AI generated)