U18 Belgian Lions head to the Quarter-Finals!

It was a rough game for our U18 Belgian Lions as they faced Greece for a possible place in the Quarter-Finals of the U18 European Championship (Div. A).

For 34 minutes Greece seemed to be in total control as the Belgian offense struggled, shooting a very low percentage from behind the arc, while our big men were also unable to establish any kind of dominance inside the paint. Luckily Hodge and Efono occasionally found their way through the defense for a much needed bucket. Greece accumulated a maximum lead of 13 points throughout the first 3 quarters but were never really able to pull completely out of reach.

Headed into the final quarter the score still read 46-54 in favor of Greece but the momentum switched slightly and Belgium was clearly igniting a slow but inevitable come-back. Thanks to Giltay and Tallir the score dwindled down to 54-55 and when Tallir then drained his first and only 3 of the night, Belgium had suddenly taken over, leading it 57-55 with less than 6 minutes left to play. Again it was Tallir and Giltay – on an offensive board and put-back – who kept Belgium in the driver’s seat and when Vanderstraeten then drained a big three, Belgium was up by 4 (64-60) with 33 seconds left to play. In the remaining seconds Greece was able to find the bottom of the net on a lay-up but it was Efono who put the final score on the board from the FT-line for the 66-62 win.

Jayden Hodge was our most productive scorer throughout the game and finished with 15 pts & 10 rebounds in his first start of the tournament, but it was really Feie Tallir who made the difference in the 4th quarter, scoring 9 of his 13 points. He also added 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Corentin Efono recorded 12 pts & 6 asts. Victor Vanderstraeten had his best game of the tournament with 9 pts & 6 rebs, including a big three in the 4th quarter that put Belgium out of reach of Greece.

Tomorrow Belgium will play the Quarter-Finals against Serbia (at 5:30PM).