Basketball
The Belgian Cats gave the packed Sportpaleis a nice salute of honor. The Belgian women already qualified for the Olympic Games earlier this week, but that slowed Meesseman and co. not to push the old-fashioned way against Nigeria again. The score was 78-61.
Belgium – Nigeria was the last – sportingly unnecessary – match of the Belgian Cats at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Antwerp. The European and African champions had already qualified for the Games on Friday evening at the expense of Senegal. The two countries can also meet each other in Paris, so the final match was, in addition to a gala match in front of an almost sold-out Sports Palace (11,645 spectators), also a nice test for a possible Olympic meeting in six months’ time.
Just like against the US and Senegal, the Belgian Cats started the match with a flying start. To the sounds of a frenzied audience and with their characteristic energetic style, the physically imposing, but sluggish Nigeria was initially played like crazy. Just like against the US, the Cats’ danger came from all sides. Vanloo, Delaere, Mununga and Allemand were soon on the scoreboard.
And of course also the inevitable Emma Meesseman, who also unselfishly provided assists and again accounted for the majority of the rebounds. After the first quarter, the Cats already led 22-11.
It actually all went a little too smoothly for the Cats, where all players were given a lot of playing minutes. In the second quarter, some nonchalance crept into the team. Much to the annoyance of national coach Rachid Méziane, who sternly lectured his players during a time-out. Yet the eleven-point gap remained on the board at halftime: 40-29.
The same match scenario just after half-time. The Cats took their foot off the accelerator for a moment and saw Nigeria close to within three points in no time. Let it be a warning to Paris: 95% will not succeed. Fortunately, the Belgian women have grown so much that a small intermediate gear was enough for them to finally outnumber even the African champion.
Just six minutes later the Cats had another reassuring 20-point bonus. At the start of the last quarter, the 63-42 lead was enough to enter the end of the match without stress. Nigeria no longer pressed and national coach Méziane also gave his bench many extra minutes to gain experience. Emma Meesseman and Antonia Delaere – very strong and top scorer with 15 points – received applause replacement well before the whistle.
After a small closing party with the fans, the Belgian Cats can now look forward to March 19. They will then enter the trophy for the Olympic draw with eleven other countries (see below). This will determine how difficult the road is to the clearly stated ambitions: the semi-finals and two chances for Olympic medals.
