Filou Oostende basket European currently on wings. The three consecutive victories in the Champions League – visiting the Turkish tradition club Galatasaray Istanbul, at home against the Israeli champion Hapoel Holon and away from Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul, winner of the FIBA Europe Cup 2022 – have put Ostend back in the European showcase. Coach Dario Gjergja succeeds again in getting an increasingly younger team to play high-quality matches.
Three European victories in a row is great, but not unique for Ostend. In the Champions League, Ostend achieved a series of six victories in a row during the period November 2018-January 2019. But striking: of the twelve youngest home games, Ostend failed to win twice in a row. That home win against the Red Dragons, as the home team is called; in Turkish: de Red Dragons – is now required for the new qualification.
“We don’t have to do anything. Nothing is a must. We want everything”, chairman Johan Verborgh responds calmly. “We want to become Belgian champions, we want to win the Belgian Cup, after last week we want to belong to the Round of Sixteen of the Champions League. We absolutely deserve our place there. We count in this competition”, emphasizes Johan Verborgh.
“A 6-30 win in the second quarter in Istanbul after a 27-10 loss in the opening quarter: that’s wonderful, you don’t often see that. We have a lot of confidence. In Istanbul we showed what we are worth. But let’s not call too soon. Qualifying is not in yet. We hope to have an almost full room full of atmosphere again, as it was against Hapoel Holon and against Kangaroos Mechelen.”
Promising statistics
Ostend dropped ten or more bombs in its last four Champions League matches. The match average beyond that three-point line (10.3) is higher than in any of the six previous campaigns in which Ostend never reached more than 9 bombs as match average.
Tyree is Ostend’s top scorer with 17.6 points per game. Bratanovic (71.1 %) and Gillet (73.3 %) scored the highest two-point finishes. With 57.1 % bombs and 89.5 % free throws, Thurman returns best in two offensive disciplines;.
Bleijenbergh picked up the most rebounds, 8.3 as a match average (15 and 17 in the two most recent matches). Van der Vuurt handed out the most assists, seven perfect goal passes per game.
Directly on television
Sport 10 will broadcast the match live on Tuesday from 8 pm on Proximus channel 132, Telenet channel 218 and TV Vlaanderen channel 34.
With a Turkish victory in Ostend and therefore a 1-1 score, a third match awaits on Tuesday, January 17 in Istanbul. The bet is – this Tuesday evening already – a ticket for the Round of Sixteen in a group with Bonn, Manresa (both group winners and therefore exempt from play-ins) and the winner of Rytas Vilnius-PAOK Saloniki.
