Basket Esch B won 83-54 at Bascharage in the phase finale, a result that levelled the season series at 1-1 after Bascharage had taken the first meeting 89-60. In the standings, Bascharage stays 5th and Esch B 6th, but the visitors stopped a seven-game losing streak.
Stéphane Feller's team imposed the game early. Esch B opened with a 22-6 first quarter, with Colin Schneider (Season PPG: 8.29) and Leonardo Antuquia Lopes Cruz (Season PPG: 6.67) setting the tone, while Jake Feller Birchen (Season PPG: 9.36) was already active around the basket. Bascharage struggled to match that rhythm, despite early answers from Samuel Hobby (Season PPG: 10.72) and 15-year-old Ilija Radojevic from Serbia.
William Guenfissi's side reacted well in the second quarter. Radojevic carried that response almost alone for long stretches and scored 13 points in the period. He even put together 9 Bascharage points in a row during one key stretch, helping BAS reduce the gap from 6-22 to 26-37 at halftime.
The third quarter was more balanced at 19-19. Tom Kruchten (Season PPG: 12.83) hit from outside, Hobby kept attacking, and Bascharage briefly got within 48-56 early in the fourth after another Kruchten three.
That was the turning point. Esch B answered with a 9-0 run to 65-48, then added an 11-0 push from 50-65 to 76-50. Feller Birchen was the main difference there, scoring 13 of his 22 points in the last quarter. Antuquia Lopes Cruz added 12, Schneider 10 and captain Bo Zarotti (Season PPG: 5.79) 8. A positive sign for Esch B: all 11 players scored.
For Bascharage, Radojevic finished with 27 points, exactly half of his team's total. Hobby scored 11 and Kruchten 10, but Esch B's depth and late-game surge decided the return game.
(AI generated)