Brussels, Belgium – September 2, โ2025 – The Belgian Lions’ EuroBasket hopes ended in disappointmentโค sunday with an 88-85 loss to Israel, despite aโ furious late โrally. The defeat eliminates Belgium from contention, concluding their tournamentโข run after โa final push โthat came too โlate โขto overcomeโข an earlier ample deficit.
The Lions โคinitially struggled, falling behind early and facing a notable 0-14 run after a brief scoring burst from Niels van โคden Eynde (8 โpointsโ in 2 minutes) at the start of the second quarter. This proved insufficient to staunch the flow,as โคIsrael continued to build their โขlead.โ Belgium โtrailed 36-51โค at halftime.
A growing frustration withinโ the โคBelgian ranks escalated as the gap widenedโ to 21 points (46-67), with concerns arising aboutโ 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 finalโฃ fifteen minutes – their strongest period of theโ tournament.Hans Vanwijnโข 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 โtransitions, allowed them to close the gap, but โultimately โขfell short byโ three points.
Belgium finishedโค the game shooting 23/38 on two-point attempts, 12/28 from three-point โrange, โand โ7/13 on free throws, with โข35 rebounds, 17โ assists, andโ 25 fouls. Lomte lead the scoringโ with 15 โpoints,followed by Vanwijnโฃ 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, โtotaling 33 rebounds, 22โ assists, and 20 fouls.
The referees for the game were Salins (Let), Yilmaz (tur), andโฃ Mรคnniste (EST).
Quarter Scores: 15-23, 21-28, 18-20, 35-21.
Belgium’s finalโ match โagainst Poland on Thursday โwill serve as a final possibility before exiting the tournament.