Belgium national basketball team

Belgium
FIBA ranking	28 (18 September 2018)
Joined FIBA	1932
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Royal Belgian Basketball Federation
Coach	Eddy Casteels
Nickname(s)	Belgian Lions
Olympic Games
Appearances	3
EuroBasket
Appearances	17
Uniforms
Light	Dark

The Belgian national basketball team^[1] has qualified for the FIBA EuroBasket 13 times, having their best result at the EuroBasket 1947 when they finished 4th. Further, they entered the Summer Olympic Games on three occasions, in 1936, 1948, and 1952. Their best result was 11th place at the 1948 Olympic Games, in London. Their qualification for the EuroBasket 2011, marked their first EuroBasket qualification in almost 20 years.

The team is nicknamed and also represents itself as Belgian Lions.

History

Continental Stage

EuroBasket 1935

The Belgian side came in sixth place at the first European basketball championship, the EuroBasket 1935 held by the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Europe continental federation. They lost to Romania in the preliminary round. In the 5th to 8th place classification match, the Belgians defeated Bulgaria to advance to the 5th/6th playoff. There they were defeated by the French, 49–30.

EuroBasket 1946

The next European championship that Belgium contested was EuroBasket 1946. In the most competitive of the preliminary groups, Belgium lost close contests to Switzerland and eventual champions Czechoslovakia. Their third-place finish in the group relegated them to the 7th–10th place semifinals, where they defeated Poland handily. In the 7th/8th place final, the Belgians were victorious over the Luxembourg team, in 7th place.

EuroBasket 1947

Belgium's third EuroBasket was EuroBasket 1947. The team went 2–1 in the preliminary round, losing only to Egypt. Czechoslovakia gave Belgium their only loss in the semifinal round, as they went 2–1 again. This put Belgium in a rematch with Egypt, this time with the bronze medal on the line. Egypt won again, relegating Belgium to 4th place.

EuroBasket 1951

EuroBasket 1951 was the next competition that Belgium contested. They defeated medal favorite (and in fact eventual silver medallists Czechoslovakia in the preliminary round on their way to winning the group with a 3–0 record. That record was reversed in the semifinal round, though, as Belgium lost all three of their games, by 10 points or fewer in each contest. Their losses continued as they dropped their classification 5–8 game to Italy, but Belgium did finish with a win, over Greece in the classification 7/8 game, the basketball team is beast over the world

EuroBasket 1953

Belgium competed again at EuroBasket 1953 in Moscow. Their preliminary round group included both the eventual gold medallist Soviet Union and silver medallist Hungary teams, and Belgium lost to both but defeated Denmark to finish third place in the group with a 1–2 record. In a less competitive classification round pool, Belgium finished on top with a 3–1 record, losing only to Romania. They then won their 9–12 classification match but lost to Bulgaria in their final game to finish 10th place of 17. in 1974 was the belgium team two of the world

EuroBasket 1957

Four years later, Belgium competed at EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia. They lost all three of their preliminary games, taking fourth position in the group and being sent to the classification round. There, they again lost three games but this time it was out of seven games in the round instead of three. Their 4–3 record in the classification pool put them in 12th place overall.

EuroBasket 2013 and 2015

In 2013, the Belgian Lions beat Germany 77-73. This was their first victory at the final stages of the EuroBasket in 20 years. In 2015, they improved further as they achieved three victories in six games.

Global Stage

On several occasions, Belgium qualified for events where they competed at the global stage. Yet, the country's major performances there date back to the 1940s/1950s. The country had its best performance at the 1948 Summer Olympics when it won 5 out of 8 games.

Competitive record

EuroBasket

FIBA EuroBasket					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1935	6th	3	1	2
1937	Did not Qualify
1939	Did not Qualify
1946	7th	4	2	2
1947	4th	7	4	3
1949	Did not Qualify
1951	7th	8	4	4
1953	10th	9	5	4
1955	Did not Qualify
1957	7th	9	4	5
1959	15th	7	3	4
1961	8th	8	4	4
1963	8th	9	5	4	Directly qualified
1965	Did not Qualify				3	1	2
1967	15th	9	2	7	3	3	0
1969	Did not Qualify				5	2	3
1971					4	2	2
1973					7	3	4
1975	Did not enter				Did not enter
1977	8th	7	2	5	Directly qualified
1979	12th	8	0	8	Directly qualified
1981	Did not Qualify				5	1	4
1983					5	2	3
1985					12	5	7
1987					5	2	3
1989					4	2	2
1991					10	6	4
1993	12th	6	1	5	6	4	2
1995	Did not Qualify				6	3	3
1997					10	4	6
1999					13	4	9
2001					15	11	4
2003					10	3	7
2005					10	3	7
2007					12	6	6
2009					12	6	6
2011	21st	5	0	5	8	6	2
2013	9th	8	3	5	8	5	3
2015	13th	6	3	3	6	5	1
2017	19th	5	1	4	6	5	1
Total	17/40	118	44	74

Olympic Games

Olympic Games					Pre-Olympic
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1936	19th	2	0	2
1948	11th	8	5	3
1952	17th	3	1	2
1960	Did not qualify				7	5	2
1964					8	5	3
1972					3	1	2
1976					6	4	2
1984					3	1	2
Total	3/18	13	6	7

World Cup

World Cup					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1950	Did not qualify				5	3	2
1986					6	1	5
2019					6	1	5
2023	To be determined

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2017.^[2]

The following is the squad in the EuroBasket 2017.

Belgium men's national basketball team – EuroBasket 2017 roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
PG	4	Lecomte, Manu	7003805100000000000♠22 – (1995-08-16)16 August 1995	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Baylor Bears
PG	5	van Rossom, Sam	7004114120000000000♠31 – (1986-06-03)3 June 1986	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	Valencia
PF	7	Hervelle, Axel	7004125400000000000♠34 – (1983-05-02)2 May 1983	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	Bilbao
PF	8	Mwema, Jean-Marc	7004101310000000000♠27 – (1989-12-05)5 December 1989	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Oostende
SG	9	Tabu, Jonathan	7004116510000000000♠31 – (1985-10-07)7 October 1985	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	Bilbao
PG	10	Serron, Quentin	7004100490000000000♠27 – (1990-02-25)25 February 1990	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Gravelines-Dunkerque
F	12	Salumu, Jean	7003989800000000000♠27 – (1990-07-26)26 July 1990	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	Oostende
PF	13	Gillet, Pierre-Antoine	7003963400000000000♠26 – (1991-04-16)16 April 1991	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Oostende
PF	14	de Zeeuw, Maxime	7004110850000000000♠30 – (1987-04-26)26 April 1987	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	Oldenburg
C	16	Tumba, Kevin	7003968600000000000♠26 – (1991-02-23)23 February 1991	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Murcia
C	19	Bako, Ismael	7003799600000000000♠21 – (1995-10-10)10 October 1995	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Leuven Bears
F	22	Kesteloot, Vincent	7003819700000000000♠22 – (1995-03-23)23 March 1995	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Oostende

Head coach

Eddy Casteels

Assistant coach(es)

Thierry Declercq
Roel Moors

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the tournament
Age – describes age
on 31 August 2017

Depth Chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Kevin Tumba	Maxime De Zeeuw
PF	Axel Hervelle	Pierre-Antoine Gillet
SF	Matt Lojeski	Jean-Marc Mwema	Wen Mukubu
SG	Quentin Serron	Jonathan Tabu	Jean Salumu
PG	Sam Van Rossom	Lionel Bosco

Other notable players

Other current notable players from Belgium:

Belgium men's national basketball team roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
PG		Manu Lecomte	7003783100000000000♠21 – (1995-08-16)16 August 1995	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Baylor Bears basketball

Legend

Club – describes current club
Age – describes age
on 23 January 2017

Head coach position

Eddy Casteels – since 2005

Past rosters

1935 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 10 teams

Robert Brouwer, Gaston de Houwer, Louis Levaux, Rene Demanck, Emile Laermans, Pierre van Basselaere, Gustave Vereecken

1936 Olympic Games: finished 19th among 21 teams

Robert Brouwer, Gustave Crabbe, Rene Demanck, Emile Laermans, Guillaume Merckx, Pierre van Basselaere, Gustave Vereecken, Raymond Gerard

1946 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 10 teams

Pierre van Basselaere, Louis Vandegoor, Armand van Wambeke, Henri Hollanders, Emile Kets, Marcel de Haeck, Auguste Wijns, Georges Baert, Augustin Bernaer, Henri Hermans, Ange Hollanders, Julien Meuris, Fernand Rossius, Henri Servaes (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1947 EuroBasket: finished 4th among 14 teams

Emile Kets, Georges Baert, Henri Hermans, Fernand Rossius, Joseph Pirard, Julien Meuris, Henri Coosemans, Guillaume van Damme, Henri Hollanders, Gustave Poppe, Ange Hollanders, Rene Steurbaut, Francois de Pauw, Armand van Wambeke (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1948 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 23 teams

Emile Kets, Henri Hollanders, Ange Hollanders, Gustave Poppe, Henri Hermans, Francois de Pauw, Julien Meuris, Rene Steurbaut, Armand van Wambeke, Augustin Bernaer, Henri Coosemans, Louis van de Goor, Georges Baert, Leon Lampo (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1951 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 17 teams

Jef Eygel, Emile Kets, Georges Baert, Henri Coosemans, Guy Gekiere, Desire Ligon, Francois Plas, Alex van Gils, Roger van Harck, Jean Crick, Francois de Pauw, Philippe Dewandelaer (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1952 Olympic Games: finished 18th among 23 teams

Jef Eygel, Henri Coosemans, Desire Ligon, Alex van Gils, Felix Roosemont, Julien Meuris, Henri Crick, Josef du Jardin, Johannes Ducheyne, Pierre van Huele, Jules Boes, Jan Ceulemans, Yves Delsarte

1953 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 17 teams

Georges Baert, Andre Vermeulen, Emile Kets, Henri Coosemans, Desire Ligon, Joseph Decombe, Felix Roosemont, Maurice Chavagne, Rene Steurbaut, Julien Meuris, Alex van Gils, Edouard Samson, Jean Nolis, Roger van Harck (Coach: Louis van Hof)

1957 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

Eddy Terrace, John Loridon, Emile Martin, Charles Storme, Jean de Nayer, Elie Deweerdt, Charles Feyen, Albert van Mechelen, Alex van den Avondt, Lucien van Kersschaever, Georges de Meyer, Robert Jolijt

1959 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 17 teams

Jef Eygel, Jean Steveniers, John Loridon, Richard Wagner, Maurice Chavagne, Rene Aerts, Pierre van Huele, Francois de Pauw, Elie Deweerdt, Lucien van Kersschaever, Henry Raets, Lievin Vinck (Coach: Eddy Verswijvel)

1961 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 19 teams

Jef Eygel, John Loridon, Jean Steveniers, Rene Aerts, Henri Degraeve, Andre Desplats, Oscar Wauters, Joseph Serron, Alphonse Maes, Charles Feyen, Pierre van Huele, Guido Scholiers (Coach: Rene Mol)

1963 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams

Jef Eygel, John Loridon, Rene Aerts, Lucien Michelet, Willy Ivens, Camille Dierckx, Pierre Dewandeler, Lucien van Kersschaever, Pierre van Huele, Francois d’Hoir, Guido Scholiers, Francois Clement (Coach: Roger Staes)

1967 EuroBasket: finished 15th among 16 teams

Jef Eygel, Etienne Geerts, Rene Aerts, Lucien Michelet, John Loridon, Lucien van Kersschaever, Alfons Declerck, Willy Ivens, Robert van Herzele, Raoul Schoeters, Camille Dierckx, Willy d’Hondt (Coach: Rene Mol)

1977 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 12 teams

Etienne Geerts, Imre Nytrai, Olin "Corky" Bell, Rene van den Broeck, Christian Becknel, Roger Marien, Hector Vermeersch, Alain Stollenberg, Robert van Herzele, Jos Peeters, Francois Huysmans, Ive van Poppelen (Coach: Rene Mol)

1979 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 12 teams

Etienne Geerts, Imre Nytrai, Rik Samaey, Rene van den Broeck, Jean-Luc Selicky, Jos Peeters, Herman Reynders, Francois Huysmans, Etienne Bodson, Tony Van den Bosch, Alain Stollenberg, Ive van Poppelen (Coach: Rene Mol)

1993 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

Eric Struelens, Rik Samaey, Ronny Bayer, Jacques Stas, Erik Cleymans, Marc Deheneffe, Daniel Goethals, Dimitri Lambrecht, Danny Herman, Herman Bruyninckx, Dirk Snyders, Ivan Verberckt (Coach: Tony Van den Bosch)

2011 EuroBasket: finished 23rd among 24 teams

Roel Moors, Sam Van Rossom, Christophe Beghin, Randy Oveneke, Jorn Steinbach, Jonathan Tabu, Dimitri Lauwers, Guy Muya, Marcus Faison, Maxime De Zeeuw, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, D.J. Mbenga (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

2013 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 24 teams

Roel Moors, Sam Van Rossom, Christophe Beghin, Axel Hervelle, Jean-Marc Mwema, Jonathan Tabu, Quentin Serron, Guy Muya, Wen Mukubu, Maxime De Zeeuw, Sasha Massot, Yannick Driesen (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: KIPSTA

2015: Voo

References

↑ FIBA National Federations – Belgium, fiba.com, accessed 5 July 2013.
↑ EuroBasket 2017 roster

External links

Official website
FIBA profile
Eurobasket.com
Archived records of Belgium team participations

Videos

Lithuania v Belgium - Group D - Game Highlights - EuroBasket 2015 Youtube.com video

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[1] FIBA National Federations – Belgium, fiba.com, accessed 5 July 2013.

[2] EuroBasket 2017 roster