Ostend remains co-leader after a win in Leuven. — © Well
No third consecutive defeat for Ostend. The champion cheered after an intense match and one overtime in Leuven Bears. With 9 out of 13 and with Charleroi (10 out of 14) and Antwerp Giants (8 out of 12), the coastal team still sparkles in the lead. With 6 out of 13 and a seventh place, Leuven Bears does a bad job towards Elite Gold.
Tommy Vermeire, Patrick Ceulemans
American guard Joshua Heath was quickly in trouble. Ostend took maximum advantage and ran away via Breein Tyree to a 6-14 bonus. Simon Buysse took an unsportsmanlike foul and Nick McGlynn took care of a first Leuven bonus at 23-21.
Via Brevin Pritzl and Kevaughn Allen, the Bears even went into halftime with a 34-28 lead. Ostend was sharper in the second half, more alert, in other words. Vrenz Bleijenbergh (8 points, 10 rebounds) picked up rebounds, Breein Tyree kept scoring and after a 49-48 score it went to a 51-57 score in favor of the West-Flanders. Leuven Bears showed character, came back into the game and with two free throws from Kevaughn Allen it went to extra time: 64-64. In a tense overtime Pierre-Antoine Gillet succeeded in an important bomb. The profit for Ostend was immediately in a final fold.
The coastal team therefore boards the plane to Turkish Istanbul today with a victory. There it will play the decisive match of the Play-In of the Champions League against Bahcesehir College on Tuesday.
Leuven Bears-Ostend 72-76 (after extra time)Quartz: 8-16, 26-12, 15-20 15-16, 11-15
Leuven Bears: Kherrazi 5, Pritzl 22, Heath 3, Allen 20, Fulkerson 5, Vanderhaegen 7, McGlynn 13, T. Nunes 0, Snijers 0
Ostend: Troisfontaines 4, Tyree 24, Van Der Vuurst 4, Bleijenbergh 8, Barcello 8, Buysschaert 5, Thurman 7, Bratanovic 8, Gillet 11, Buysse 0, Waleson 0
