After the lost match against Serbia, disappointment naturally prevailed: “You are 2nd in the group and then you get 2 chances for a medal”, opens Thierry Mariën. “Of course you hope for more than, but as an amateur team we can be very proud of this.”
According to Nick Celis, the fatigue played an important role: “We have to rely on our energy and fast play and in the last matches we had to do it mainly on willpower. So condition is definitely still an issue.”
“The European Championship in Paris is now also coming and that is only good for us. We need more matches at the highest level. This way we can grow as a team. We can still learn a lot.”
“Still, I think we have shown very nice things. Basketball is alive again in Belgium, in the long term we will be able to look back on this achievement with great pride.”
The disappointment could be read on the face of Thibaut Vervoort: “I am very disappointed, but I would also like to thank all the people here at home for the support.”
“We were the odd one out here at the tournament”, Raf Bogaerts continues. “You also feel that the opponents really respect us. If we can maintain this level, I’m sure we will show great things.”
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The Serbian top player Dusan Bulut, MVP at the World Cup in 2016 and 2018, also wanted to say something about the Belgian Lions. “What I think about Belgium? You have great beer,” Bulut laughed.
He also praised the team: “I want to wish them good luck. They have made it a struggle. I think they lack some experience in the big tournaments.”
“They have played together in recent years, but I am sure that they have a very bright future ahead of them.”
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