Aztec Financial edged Demy Rebounders 52-49 in Clausen after nearly letting a strong start slip away. AZT set the tone immediately with a 12-0 run through Christos Nterelis (AZT), Savvas Leventis Giannas (AZT), Krzysztof Radzimski (AZT), Leonidas Grigoriadis (AZT) and Pedro Fontes (AZT). That first-quarter control became a 22-8 lead.
DRS answered well in the second period. Pedrag Cavor (DRS), Gilles Page (DRS) and Ben Schmitz (DRS) helped trim the gap from 22-8 to 22-16 with 8 unanswered points. AZT then stabilized the game, rebuilt the margin and went into halftime up 36-23.
The home team reached its highest lead at 39-23 early in the third quarter on a Grigoriadis (AZT) three. From there, the momentum started to turn. Sebastian Hommel (DRS) led the response with 17 points, while Cavor (DRS) added 15 and kept DRS productive around the basket. Bernardo Henrique De Azevedo Santos (AZT) gave AZT a good spell in the third with 4 points in a row, but DRS still won that quarter 14-10.
The last quarter became a close-game finish. DRS came back from 46-37 to 49-49, with Hommel (DRS) central to that push. AZT also had to manage late foul pressure: Leventis Giannas (AZT) committed fouls in a row in the second quarter and later reached four fouls. Coach Chatzimousi's team still found the decisive play when De Azevedo Santos (AZT) hit the late three for 52-49.
AZT had balanced scoring: Fontes (AZT) finished with 10 points, Nterelis (AZT) and De Azevedo Santos (AZT) had 9 each, and Radzimski (AZT) added 8. For DRS, Hommel (DRS) and Cavor (DRS) were the main difference-makers.
(AI generated)