AB Contern B left Reckange with a 56-47 win over BC Mess B after turning a tied game at 43-43 into a decisive fourth-quarter surge. Mess started sharper: a Lou Kinn Varela triple and the inside work of Elija Jungers (Season PPG: 6.44) and Rayan Macedo Mendes (Season PPG: 8.36) built a 19-15 first-quarter lead. Jungers strung together multiple baskets in Q1, while Maxime Daems (Season PPG: 6.26) answered with five straight points late in the period for Contern.
Mess held a 28-27 edge at halftime and then exploded to 36-27 early in the third on a 9-0 run powered by Théo Pepôrte (Season PPG: 8.50), Varela and Macedo Mendes. Coach Jeffrey Schumacher's side steadied, replying with an 11-0 burst Bruno Rohde (Season PPG: 3.48) and Naël Hussain Teixeira (Season PPG: 9.38) led the charge, capped by a Hussain three to erase the deficit. Daems' timely long-range shot knotted it 43-43 entering the last quarter.
The finish belonged to Contern. Daems opened the fourth with five quick points and Hussain added a key two as Mess were held to just four points in the period. Leandro Almeida Cardoso (12, PRT) chipped in two late baskets, and Oscar Duchamp's mid-range make sealed it. Contern's perimeter edge (Daems 3 threes; Hussain 1) contrasted with Mess's lone triple.
Top scorers: Contern Daems 19, Colin Dumont Zimmer (Season PPG: 13.10) 14, Rohde 8, Hussain 7. Mess Macedo Mendes 16, Jungers 12, Pepôrte 6. Duchamp committed two quick fouls in the third, and Tim Limpach navigated foul trouble, but Contern controlled the game's closing minutes.
In the Phase finale standings, Contern climb to 3rd (+3), continuing a four-game winning streak. Mess drop to 0-2 in this round and sit 4th under coach Nigel Winandy.
(AI generated)