Brussels, Belgium – September 2, 2025 – The Belgian Lions’ EuroBasket hopes ended in disappointment sunday with an 88-85 loss to Israel, despite a furious late rally. The defeat eliminates Belgium from contention, concluding their tournament run after a final push that came too late to overcome an earlier ample deficit.
The Lions initially struggled, falling behind early and facing a notable 0-14 run after a brief scoring burst from Niels van den Eynde (8 points in 2 minutes) at the start of the second quarter. This proved insufficient to staunch the flow,as Israel continued to build their lead. Belgium trailed 36-51 at halftime.
A growing frustration within the Belgian ranks escalated as the gap widened to 21 points (46-67), with concerns arising about the team’s cohesion and the coaching staff’s control. However, spurred by a surge of energy from bench players Mennes and Ledegen, belgium mounted a spirited comeback in the final fifteen minutes – their strongest period of the tournament.Hans Vanwijn nearly achieved a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
The Lions’ revitalized play, characterized by improved collective defense and faster offensive transitions, allowed them to close the gap, but ultimately fell short by three points.
Belgium finished the game shooting 23/38 on two-point attempts, 12/28 from three-point range, and 7/13 on free throws, with 35 rebounds, 17 assists, and 25 fouls. Lomte lead the scoring with 15 points,followed by Vanwijn and Schwartz with 14 each,and Mwema and Ledegen with 10 and 12 respectively.
israel was led by Avdija with 22 points, Sorkin with 18, and ginat with 13. They shot 22/39 from two, 9/24 from three, and a near-perfect 21/25 from the free-throw line, totaling 33 rebounds, 22 assists, and 20 fouls.
The referees for the game were Salins (Let), Yilmaz (tur), and Männiste (EST).
Quarter Scores: 15-23, 21-28, 18-20, 35-21.
Belgium’s final match against Poland on Thursday will serve as a final possibility before exiting the tournament.
