Etzella Ettelbruck B opened the Phase finale with a commanding 80-53 win at Basket Esch B, taking a 2-1 edge in this season's head-to-head after Esch's one-point success in Phase 2. The visitors seized control from the tip with a 9-0 start and a 21-7 first quarter, repeatedly striking in transition and at the rim. By halftime it was 46-23, the decisive stretch of the night as Etzella stacked mini-runs and controlled the glass and tempo.
Esch's best spell came right after the break: Leonardo Antuquia Lopes Cruz (LALB) and Colin Schneider (Season PPG: 7.90) drilled back-to-back threes for a 6-0 run to 29-46, and the hosts edged the third 19-16. Etzella answered immediately 15-year-old French guard Bastian Torres (Season PPG: 12.10) buried a three and kept the scoreboard moving to restore a 20-point cushion by 30'. The gap peaked at 27 late in the fourth.
Torres led all scorers with 21, mixing three-point range with rim attacks. Rafael Caroux (Season PPG: 9.90) added 18 and was steady at the stripe, while Charel Hilger (Season PPG: 6.29) chipped in 13 and Yona Posing (Season PPG: 7.84) 11. For Esch, Antuquia Lopes Cruz (LALB) paced the hosts with 10; Schneider had 8, Amilcar André Rodrigues Moreira (LALB) 7, and Bo Zarotti (Season PPG: 6.45) 7. Edwin Pereira Furtado hit a late three as Esch tried to trim the margin.
Foul management mattered for the hosts: Rodrigues Moreira and Bastien Roger both reached four fouls, complicating rotations. Coach Guillaume François Torres's group kept composure in the fourth with patient possessions and free throws, while Coach Stéphane Feller's side found rhythm only after the long break.
In the new standings, Etzella jump to 2nd (+3), while Basket Esch sit 5th (+1) after the first round-robin date of the Phase finale.
(AI generated)