Sparta Bertrange won the close game in Berbourg, 64-59, and the visitors built that success mainly before halftime. BBC East Side Pirates stayed near at 13-16 after one quarter, although Sparta had already erased an early 2-0 deficit with eight straight points. Emil Denter (Season PPG: 25.23) carried much of BEP's early offense with 7 of his team's first 11 points.
The decisive stretch came in the second quarter. Coach Yann Ewert's side controlled it 23-8 and turned a three-point lead into a 39-21 halftime advantage. Anton Mercier, a 13-year-old from France (Season PPG: 13.92), and captain Alexander Möller, 13, from Sweden (Season PPG: 13.73), gave Sparta steady production, while Filip Schumacher (Season PPG: 9.33) added important support.
Sparta pushed its margin to 52-30 in the third quarter, the game's highest lead, but BEP answered with a 10-0 run to close the period at 52-40. Stefan Jankovic (Season PPG: 17.33), Petar Jankovic (Season PPG: 12.24) and Dzan Ahmetovic sparked that sequence. In the last quarter, Nicolas Nestgen (Season PPG: 18.19), despite foul trouble, helped bring BEP back to 47-55 and later 59-63 after another Denter basket. Sparta still answered each surge, and Mercier's late free throw fixed the final margin.
For BEP, Denter and Nestgen both scored 17, with Stefan Jankovic adding 11 and Petar Jankovic 10. For Sparta, Möller and Mercier both had 15, Schumacher scored 11 and Rafael Ferreira (Season PPG: 15.81) added 10. Sparta move up to first place in the phase finale and extend their winning streak to 15 games, while BEP stay sixth after a third straight loss.
(AI generated)