Nitia Bettembourg handled Racing Luxembourg 81-61 in the M-U14 Division 2 Phase finale, imposing their rhythm early and controlling the interior for most of the night. Coach Jérôme Defer's team opened 25-12 and stretched the gap to a game-high +21 at 42-21 in the second quarter, built on repeated finishes by captain Ewen Man-Fei Leung (Season PPG: 34.67) and Adrian Ion Zianveni (Season PPG: 21.11). Racing rallied after halftime with a strong 24-14 third quarter to close to 57-47, but Nitia reset in the fourth with an 8-1 spurt to 70-57, then another push to 77-59 to seal it.
Nitia's dominance came inside: 36 made two-pointers (72 points). Leung (13, France) poured in 26 from midrange and at the rim, while the 14-year-old Zianveni led all scorers with 27 and steadied the fourth quarter with a 3-point sequence and later free throws. Diogo Barbosa Conte (Season PPG: 8.00) added 14 before fouling out late, and Yohannes Thomas Michael (Season PPG: 15.33) also exited on fouls. Mark Mencler (Season PPG: 5.00) hit Nitia's lone three.
Racing had no three-pointers and 54 points from two-point field goals. Christian Nittler's side found rhythm after the break through Nikita Yannick Philippe Lamidiaux (12, France) with 16, plus double figures from Levi Balde (Season PPG: 8.38) and Roby Sahr (Season PPG: 9.78) with 11 each, and Nicolas Breistroff (Season PPG: 10.18) with 10. Henrik Alfred Piirsalu (Season PPG: 11.12) chipped in 7.
In the standings, Nitia moves to 1-1 and 4th (+2) and bounces back after a loss. Racing falls to 0-2 in 5th and remains on a difficult run of defeats.
(AI generated)