Gréngewald Hueschtert; Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Saturday 15 March 2025, the Basketball Cup Finals for men's and women's teams took place at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, attended by 4,500 spectators.

The first final of the day determined the winner of the LALUX Ladies Cup. The championship’s undefeated team this season, Gréngewald Hueschtert, faced their closest rivals, Sparta Bertrange. Sparta took control early in the game, heading into the first break with a 16-point lead. Although Gréngewald managed to cut the deficit to nine points in the second quarter, Sparta maintained their advantage, entering the second half with a 46-32 lead.

"I trust my players, and I know that the first half was not the level of my team. I was really sure that we would have a different face in the second half. So it happened," shared Gréngewald Hueschtert head coach François Manti with Chronicle.lu.

That is exactly what happened. Gréngewald’s key players, centre Amanda Brooke Cahill and forward Alexus Latrese Johnson, took charge, combining for 47 points. Johnson also grabbed 13 rebounds, achieving a double-double. Sparta Bertrange managed to hold off their opponents’ push until the start of the final quarter. However, the game soon became level and Gréngewald took the lead, securing a 79-73 victory and lifting the LALUX Ladies Cup trophy.

“I'm really happy. Happy because probably [it] is my last time in the cup, so I will be more than happy with this title for sure. But for the ladies, for what they did from the beginning of the season, it's really important. […] It depends every time how we manage this event with emotion, with pressure. It's the first time for my American player [Alexus Latrese Johnson], so it's totally different. And she took time to come back into the game and to make the difference,” concluded François Manti.

The men's teams took to the court next, closing the final evening with a matchup between Etzella Ettelbruck and Basket Esch. Record titleholder Ettelbruck allowed their opponents to take control early in the game. At first, the Esch-sur-Alzette team led by just four points, but they managed to extend their advantage, finishing the first half with a 39-25 lead.

A fourteen-point gap, just like in the women's final, but Basket Esch held onto their lead for much longer. With just 96 seconds left on the clock, Etzella Ettelbruck managed to cut the deficit to a single point (65-66) and had a chance to equalise, but Jimmie Lee Taylor III missed his free throws. In response, Thomas Grun of Basket Esch made one of his attempts, bringing the score to 66-68 with six seconds remaining. Ettelbruck had one final possession to force overtime or win the game, but they failed to convert their opportunity, handing the Basket Esch team the victory and the Basketball Cup, which now heads to Esch-sur-Alzette.

“It's never easy. So to come here with this final against Etzella, everybody told us, okay, it's going to be, it's going to favourite. So we had more pressure than the normal game because we were underdog and we did the game we supposed to do defensively. We let them 25 points at the half time, 68:66 - at the end. So that's why we are very, very really proud,” said Basket Esch head coach Franck Meriguet.

Basket Esch guard Quinten Gregory Dee Nelson was the game's top scorer, finishing with 19 points. His teammate, Clancy Mac Rugg, recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

IK