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On its return to the Country Hall in Liège, Liège, reinforced with five men, achieved a deserved 87-79 victory against leader Ostend. This was the third loss of the season for the coastal team.
Peter Rossel
After Ostend led 11-12 and 15-22, the new look Liège had already built up a 28-22 lead at the end of the initial quarter. Via 38-32, that difference remained virtually intact until the break: 49-44. The team from Liège kept control of the match and even widened the difference to a maximum of 57-44. Quickly the gap shrank to four or six units: 57-53, 59-53, 65-59 and 71-65. In the end, Liège cheered with 87-78 final figures.
At Liège, Angel Rodriguez was the top former with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. On the Ostend side, Bree Tyree excelled with 27 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 steal. Bratanovic recorded a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Contrary to his habit, Ostend only scored 24.3% beyond the three-point line: 9 out of 37. Liège was ahead in assists (23-15) and in steals (12-5). At Liège there was also a special Belgian contribution: Niels Van den Eynde handed out 8 assists, but he also scored 16 points and picked up 4 rebounds.