Bascol Coupe - Eliminatoires at lux gare: Titans edged BBC BCEE 70-69 after a tense finish.
BCEE struck first and set the tone in the opening quarter behind early outside accuracy from Thierry Abdiu (CEE) and Claude Bemtgen (CEE), taking a 15-21 lead. Early in the second, the visitors built the largest gap of the night at +10 (15-25). Titans replied through perimeter firepower: Liviu Constantin Rusu (TIT) buried two second-quarter threes, and Tobias Riewer (TIT) added five quick points to trim it to 38-40 at the break.
The third quarter swung twice. A technical on Miguel Gonzalez Vargas (TIT) briefly helped BCEE push to 43-51. From there, Peter Mabic's side authored the game's key spell: a 13-1 run powered by Loic Bolimba (TIT), Stylianos Gkikas (TIT), Rusu and Riewer flipped the score to 56-52 entering the fourth.
In the last period, Titans held small leads (up 63-59), but Rusu reached five fouls and exited. BCEE capitalised at the stripe through Pierre Hoffmann (CEE) and kept pressure via Alec Goedert (CEE), nudging ahead 67-69 in the ninth minute. With the game on the line, captain Corentin Guissard (TIT) answered with the decisive three for 70-69. Claude Bemtgen's bench took a late timeout, but the score stood.
Top performers
- Titans: Guissard (17) set the tone with early triples and hit the game-winner; Riewer (15) mixed threes, drives and a key free throw during the third-quarter surge; Gonzalez Vargas (11) added timely twos; Rusu (10) contributed before fouling out late; Bolimba (7) and Artur Wozniak (6, two threes) provided support.
- BBC BCEE: Abdiu (29) was the game's leading scorer, scoring from all ranges and frequent at the line; Bemtgen (15) combined outside shots and late free throws; Goedert (12) opened the scoring and hit vital fourth-quarter baskets; Hoffmann (4) and Philippe Di Cato (3) added points in crunch time.
Titans win a one-possession cup tie and move on to the next round.
(AI generated)
Titans