In Steinsel, Amicale Steesel B opened the Phase finale with a commanding 75-42 win over BC Mess B. The start was balanced, with Rayan Macedo Mendes (Season PPG: 8.44) sparking Mess to a brief 10-12 edge on a personal six-point burst. Coach Oliver Barth's early timeout settled Amicale, who closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run for 20-12.
The hosts broke it open in the second: a 12-2 surge pushed the gap to 32-16 and the halftime scoreboard read 40-23. Mess reacted after the break, winning the third quarter 9-11 behind Macedo Mendes and Lou Kinn Varela (Season PPG: 5.56), trimming to 49-34. Any hopes of a comeback vanished in the fourth as Amicale strung together multiple bursts (8-0 and 6-0) and finished with a 26-8 period, reaching the game's highest lead at +33.
Amicale's offense was almost exclusively inside the arc: 36 made two-pointers, zero threes, and three points from the line. Raphael Boreiko (11) led with 24 points on 11 two-pointers plus two free throws, while Jona Engel (Season PPG: 8.10) added 21. William Santos Ferreira (Season PPG: 4.08) chipped in 8, with support from Louis Kohn (Season PPG: 5.17) and Atanas Atapov (11, BGR).
For Coach Nigel Winandy's Mess, Macedo Mendes carried the load with 20 (nine two-pointers and two free throws), backed by Noé Koroglanoglou (Season PPG: 4.20) with 8 and Varela with 7, including the team's only three. Amicale extends its positive momentum to five wins in a row and moves to first place in the Phase finale (1-0), while Mess sits second (0-1).
(AI generated)