Eddy Casteels and Leuven Bears victorious in Feyenoord and undefeated: Back in the game

Roel Bucumi (links).

Stella Artois Leuven Bears initially had a hard time with Feyenoord Rotterdam. In the shadow of the legendary Kuip of Rotterdam football pride, it immediately erased a 12-3 deficit. When the Bears took a 15-17 lead, they never gave up their bonus – except for the 75-75 at the very end.

The people of Leuven went into halftime with a 39-46 score. “We had a more difficult time in the second half,” says coach Eddy Casteels. “Feyenoord responded after 47-55 and came back to 57-61. We stayed ahead, that was important. We did not give the momentum back to the Dutch.”

Feyenoord Rotterdam narrowly won the third quarter, but could not really return. It did in the lock slide. Via a three-pointer from Maik Bouwer, a 75-75 suddenly flashed on the Rotterdam scoreboard in money time. The Bears stayed cool and with a bomb from top scorer Jalen Tate (23 points) they achieved a deserved 75-80 victory. Codi Riley (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Thibault Vanderhaegen (10 points, 13 rebounds) scored double-doubles and Tyreke Key scored 19 points.

Back on track

With the third consecutive victory, Leuven Bears is in a shared second place with Brussels in Elite Silver. It has only one point less than leader Kortrijk Spurs. However, the West Flemish people have already played four matches and lost twice. After a weak Belgian regular phase (5 out of 20), the people of Leuven are complete back on track towards the Belgian play-offs. Three of the six Belgian teams in Elite Silver are qualified for this.

“Don’t float around and keep working hard. That is the only way to success,” said coach Casteels. “Only look at ourselves and not at the competitors,” adds Thibault Vanderhaegen. “We also have to win the next games and then see where we end up. In any case, it is nice that we made the connection.”

Bad news

In the first half, Leuven Bears suffered another blow: Roel Bucumi dropped out with a foot injury. The 20 year old forward was on fire. He scored seven points in seven minutes, but did not return after sustaining a foot injury. Research must now show how long the Leuven talent will be out.

Roel Bucumi (links). — © Well

Feyenoord Rotterdam-Stella Artois Bears 75-80

Quartz: 24-27, 15-19, 18-15, 18-19

Feyenoord Rotterdam: Sow 0, Bangala 20, Gibson 14, Bouwer 11, Edwards 16, Racine 11, De Vreede 3;

Stella Artois Leuven Bears: Tate 23, Key 19, Vanderhaegen 13, Riley 10, Davis 0, T. Nunes 2, Bucumi 7, Huurman 2, Meeusen 2

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