Musel Pikes B opened the Phase finale with an 87-69 road win in Wiltz, building a big firsthalf cushion, absorbing Les Sangliers Wooltz's thirdquarter push, and closing strongly.
Game evolution
- Q1: MUSB set the tone at 14-10 behind early baskets from Marvin Contreras and Maks Povhe.
- Q2: A 6-0 start after the break between quarters sparked a 34-19 frame for MUSB, stretching the lead to 48-29 at halftime. The visitors' highest lead reached 19 before the interval.
- Q3: SAN roared back 27-15. Ridwane Soumana Salomao carried the offense with 17 points in the period, trimming the gap to 63-56.
- Q4: The key moment came with Adam Ajdinovic's technical foul; Jason Kemmer converted the free throws and, together with JeanMichel Huber, fueled a 9-2 spurt to 72-61. MUSB closed the quarter 24-13.
Top performers
- MUSB: Contreras (31; Season PPG: 10.54) was relentless, mixing drives and late free throws; Kemmer added 23 (Season PPG: 13.65), and Povhe contributed 16 (15, SVN; Season PPG: 4.33).
- SAN: Soumana Salomao struck for 32 (Season PPG: 8.0) and powered the thirdquarter surge; captain Ajdinovic had 20 (Season PPG: 18.11) before fouling out; Elisio Monteiro added 11 (Season PPG: 7.0).
Foul trouble mattered: Ajdinovic picked up three personal fouls in the second quarter, drew a technical in the fourth, then fouled out, blunting SAN's momentum.
Coach Daniel Fernandes Sousa's side climb to first in the Phase finale standings (1-0) and are on backtoback wins. SAN (0-1) sit second; their losing streak extends to eight.
(AI generated)