Nitia Bettembourg won 91-79 at Racing Luxembourg in a game that stayed open for a long time before the visitors broke it in the last quarter. NIT, now 2nd in the standings with a gain of one place, also completed a 2-0 season sweep over RAC and extended its run to five straight wins.
The opening quarter was tight throughout. NIT moved in front 12-6 with Ewen Man-Fei Leung (Season PPG: 33.69) scoring six points in a row, but Racing answered through Levi Balde (Season PPG: 9.39), Alejandro Cuesta Jaramillo (Season PPG: 18.92) and Nicolas Breistroff (Season PPG: 10.68) to stay close at 21-22. Racing also had to manage two quick fouls in a row from Nikita Lamidiaux early.
Coach Christian Frick's team started the second period well with a 6-0 push for a 27-22 lead, the home side's best moment. Coach Jérôme Defer's team answered immediately: after a timeout, NIT flipped the rhythm and closed the half much better, taking a 44-38 advantage. Adrian Ion Zianveni (Season PPG: 22.62), a 14-year-old guard, and 13-year-old French captain Leung were already driving the game.
Racing rallied again in the third. Diallo (Season PPG: 21.92) and Cuesta helped cut the gap to 46-45, and RAC stayed within one possession several times, down only 57-60 after three quarters.
The decisive moment came early in the fourth. Racing briefly led 61-60 and 63-62 after back-to-back baskets by Breistroff, but from there NIT produced a 19-0 run to 81-63. Zianveni was central in that stretch, and NIT's highest lead reached 18 points.
Zianveni finished with 37 points, Leung added 34, and Diogo Barbosa Conte (Season PPG: 10.11) scored 12. For Racing, Balde had 20, Cuesta 17, while Diallo and Gabriel Guillen (Season PPG: 5.08) both scored 14.
(AI generated)