Résidence Walferdange B edged Telstar Hesperange 75-72 in another very tight duel between the two sides, after their 83-82 meeting earlier in the phase finale. The win lifts RESB one place to 5th, while TEL drops to 6th. It also stops a four-game losing run for Walferdange B; Telstar has now lost three in a row.
The game stayed balanced almost throughout. RESB led 18-17 after the first quarter, with 15-year-old Irish player Alexander Knowles (Season PPG: 5.30) already active inside, and stretched a small margin to 36-34 at halftime. Telstar had a good spell in the second period when Mathis Adehm (Season PPG: 10.68) and captain Gabriel Marques dos Ramos (Season PPG: 22.95) pushed them in front 23-22, but Valerio Gulli (Season PPG: 13.00) answered with six straight points for RESB.
The third quarter brought Telstar's best moment. They opened the half with a 13-2 run and reached their biggest lead at 47-38, powered by Gabriel, Batu Polad (Season PPG: 13.27) and Adehm. RESB reacted well: Gulli and Kristupas Malaisé (Season PPG: 3.69) changed the rhythm, and Gulli scored eight key points in that comeback as Walferdange B turned a nine-point deficit into a 56-54 lead entering the last period.
In the fourth, Coach André Da Cruz's team looked in control at 75-62, their biggest lead of the evening. Knowles and Gulli were decisive there, while Kevin Brdarevic (Season PPG: 3.19) and Joaquym Branyan Questier (Season PPG: 2.33) added useful baskets. Telstar still came back with a 10-0 run to 75-72, mainly through 16-year-old Portuguese captain Gabriel and Adehm, but RESB held on.
Top scorers were Gulli with 28 and Knowles with 23 for RESB; Gabriel had 27, Adehm 18 and Polad 16 for TEL. Adehm's foul trouble mattered late, as he collected three fouls in the second quarter and eventually fouled out in the fourth.
(AI generated)