Basket Esch strengthened its grip on first place in the M-U14 Division 2 final phase with an 82-61 home win over Mambra Mamer. Raouf Riahi's team is now 6-0 and on an eight-game winning streak, while Mamer moved up one place to 4th despite the defeat. It was also Esch's fourth win in four season meetings between the sides.
The game started with Esch's 6-0 burst, but Mamer answered well and even edged in front 15-13 late in the first quarter. Esch then closed the period with five straight points and took control more clearly in the second quarter. From 18-15, the home side opened with an 8-0 run to make it 26-15, and Lorenzo Vetro (Season PPG: 10.47) added a strong sequence of 6 consecutive points during that phase. At halftime, the gap was already 42-28.
Paul Jacque's team reacted after the break and reduced the score to 44-34, mainly through Owen John Coombes (Season PPG: 10.18), who finished with 19 points and matched his season high. That was one of the key moments: Esch answered immediately, rebuilt the margin, and ended the third quarter with a powerful 17-5 stretch for 65-42. The highest lead reached 28 points at 72-44 in the fourth.
Esch had balanced production. Arthur Léo Pierre Colle, the 13-year-old French guard/wing (Season PPG: 13.13), scored 17 points, including 8 points in a later fourth-quarter scoring run. Rodrigo Pacheco Reis (Season PPG: 17.12) added 14, Berin Hajdarpasic (Season PPG: 11.26) scored 11 and had 7 straight points in the first quarter, while Vetro and Lyan Gomes da Cruz both added 11. Mamer stayed alive through Coombes, Mathieu Moccia (Season PPG: 15.53) with 10, and an 8-point effort from Pierre Frieden. Mamer scored 15 points from the foul line but did not hit a three, while Esch spread the floor better with four three-pointers.
(AI generated)