Black Lions controlled the Bascol Coupe final at Coque/Arena, beating Team Teaching 79-55 after a steady push-and-pull that turned into a convincing separation after halftime.
The hosts opened 6-0 on back-to-back triples by Angelo Barnellini and Denis Wirtz and closed the first quarter up 24-16, fueled by Wirtz's barrage of four made threes in the period. Team Teaching steadied in the second. Xavier Engel and Jean De Marchi trimmed the margin, and a sequence of free throws by De Marchi following a technical on coach Tom Schroeder and a player technical cut it to 36-33. Tom Schumacher's calm at the line restored a two-possession cushion for Black Lions at the break (38-33).
The third quarter decided it. After De Marchi's triple made it 40-36, Schumacher and Wirtz answered before Barnellini buried two threes on consecutive trips for 51-38, prompting a timeout. Even as Wirtz, who had been in early foul trouble, fouled out in the third, Black Lions kept rolling behind Schumacher's free throws and composure, taking a 57-42 lead into the fourth.
Barnellini struck again from deep to start the last quarter, and with Fränk Fasbender active inside, the gap ballooned. Engel answered with two late threes, but Black Lions' perimeter rhythm never dipped. The highest lead reached +26 at 79-53 before the final 79-55.
Barnellini (24) was the game's long-range headline with eight made threes, while Schumacher added 25, including nine free throws and four triples. Wirtz added 17 with five threes despite fouling out. For Team Teaching, Engel led with 22 and five threes, Michel Kirsch had 11, and De Marchi added 10. Team Teaching's best spell came late in the second quarter; thereafter Black Lions' spacing and outside shooting decided the final.
(AI generated)
Black Lions