Ferdinand Zylka led the Giants to victory in ZZ Leiden. — © GOYVAERTS/GMAX AGENCY
What a great performance by Telenet Giants Antwerp. The Giants won Elite Gold for the tenth consecutive time and also captured pole position towards the Belgian playoffs. In the semi-finals and possibly the final, the Sinjoren enjoy the important home advantage. Ferdinand Zylka was the star with 26 points (6 out of 7 three-pointers), Desonta Bradford scored the winning points in the closing seconds. As cup winner and therefore with undefeated status in Elite Gold, the Giants open the semi-finals of the play-offs on May 10 in the Lotto Arena.
Patrick Ceulemans in Leiden
In the first quarter, the Giants remained in the game through Ferdinand Zylka in particular: 20-20. Defensively, the Giants were not up to par in the second slide. Deion Hammond scored three pointers for ZZ Leiden, Telenet Giants Antwerp missed free throws and were quickly chased: 29-27 and 34-27. The Dutch, with a light push from the Dutch refs, headed for the dressing room after 39-30 with a 43-32 bonus.
Telenet Giants Antwerp started the second half with more defensive intensity. The second slider was therefore for the Sinjoren. Ferdinand Zylka kept scoring and was supported by Thijs De Ridder and Desonta Bradford. Quinten Smout and Brandon Anderson dropped important bombs and after three quarters a 59-53 deficit flickered on the board for the Sinjoren.
ZZ Leiden panicked in the final quarter, didn’t finish much and the Giants showed character. The arbitration was not easy, but after 63-59 Thijs De Ridder put the Sinjoren ahead at 65-66. What followed was a pure nail biter. ZZ Leiden had their sights set on winning 74-69. With an ultimate final jump and via Ferdinand Zylka and Desonta Bradford, it finally went to an important Antwerp victory 75-77.
ZZ Leiden-Telenet Giants Antwerp 75-77
Quartz: 20-20, 23-12, 16-21, 16-24
Telenet Giants Antwerp: Anderson 7, Smout 3, Bradford 14, D’Espallier 0, De Ridder 9, Zylka 26 , Marinkovic 3, Rogiers 5, Mwema 4, Upshaw 6
