Belgium men's national basketball team

The Belgium men's national basketball team (French: Équipe nationale Belge de basketball, Dutch: Belgisch nationaal basketbalelftal, German: Belgier Basketballnationalmannschaft) represents Belgium in international basketball tournaments. The supervising body is Basketball Belgium.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national basketball team.

Belgium
FIBA ranking37 (9 December 2020)[1]
Joined FIBA1933
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBasketball Belgium
CoachDario Gjergja
Nickname(s)Lions
Olympic Games
Appearances3
MedalsNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
Appearances17
MedalsNone

Belgium has qualified for the EuroBasket 17 times, having their best result in 1947, when they finished fourth. Further, they entered the Summer Olympics on three occasions, in 1936, 1948, and 1952. Their top finish there was 11th place at the 1948 London Games. However, Belgium is still in pursuit of their first appearance to the FIBA World Cup.

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

History

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 Spain in the preliminary round. In the 5th to 8th place classification match, the Belgians defeated Bulgaria to advance to the 5th/6th place final. There they were defeated by France, 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 semi-finals, where they defeated Poland handily. In the 7th/8th place final, the Belgians were victorious over Luxembourg to finish in 7th place.

EuroBasket 1947

Belgium's third EuroBasket was at the EuroBasket 1947. The national team went 2–1 in the preliminary round, losing only to Egypt. Czechoslovakia gave Belgium their only loss in the semi-final 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 5th–8th place game to Italy. But Belgium did finish with a win over Greece, in the classification 7th/8th place final 39-28.

EuroBasket 1953

Belgium competed again at EuroBasket 1953 in Moscow. Their preliminary round group included both the eventual gold medallist Soviet Union and runner-up Hungary. The national team 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 9th–12th place classification match, but lost to Bulgaria in their final game to finish in 10th place of the 17 team field.

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 2011

The EuroBasket 2011 marked the first appearance for Belgium at the tournament since 1993. Although it was a very forgettable performance by the Lions, as they lost all five games with their only competitive match coming against Bulgaria, where they lost 68-65.

EuroBasket 2013

At the EuroBasket 2013, Belgium looked to avenge their last EuroBasket performance with a better showing this go around. After losing an hard fought battle to Ukraine in their first match, they rebounded quickly in their second game, pulling off a stunner at the hands of Germany in overtime 77-73. It marked the first win for the Lions at the tournament since EuroBasket 1993. From there they went on to win one more match in the preliminary stage against Great Britain to finish with a 2-3 record, enough to qualify for the second round. There the national team ran into trouble against Euro heavyweights in Serbia, eventual runners-up in Lithuania, and the eventual tournament champions France. The Lions could only squeeze out one victory in the round against Latvia, before being eliminated.

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 national team had its best performance at the 1948 Summer Olympics where they won 5 out of 8 games.

Competitive record

Results and fixtures

Group C
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 3 3 0 264 199 +65 6 EuroBasket 2022
2  Denmark 3 1 2 223 239 −16 4
3  Lithuania 3 1 2 238 255 −17 4[lower-alpha 1]
4  Czech Republic 3 1 2 226 258 −32 4[lower-alpha 1] EuroBasket 2022 as host
Updated to match(es) played on 27 November 2020. Source: FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
Notes:
  1. Lithuania 97–89 Czech Republic
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic matches in the November 2020 and February 2021 windows will be played behind closed doors in select host cities.[2]

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers matches played on 21 and 24 February 2020 against Lithuania and Denmark.[3]

Belgium men's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
PF 8 Jean-Marc Mwema 30 – (1989-12-05)5 December 1989 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Oostende
PG 9 Jonathan Tabu 34 – (1985-10-07)7 October 1985 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Le Portel
SG 10 Quentin Serron 29 – (1990-02-25)25 February 1990 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Strasbourg
SG 11 Loïc Schwartz 27 – (1992-12-04)4 December 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Oostende
PF 13 Pierre-Antoine Gillet 28 – (1991-04-16)16 April 1991 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Fuenlabrada
PF 14 Maxime De Zeeuw 32 – (1987-04-26)26 April 1987 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Hapoel Holon
SG 15 Retin Obasohan 26 – (1993-07-06)6 July 1993 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Bamberg
C 16 Kevin Tumba 28 – (1991-02-23)23 February 1991 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Murcia
G 18 Alexandre Libert 30 – (1990-01-25)25 January 1990 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Spirou
SF 22 Vincent Kesteloot 24 – (1995-03-23)23 March 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Antwerp
C 23 Khalid Boukichou 27 – (1992-09-17)17 September 1992 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Spirou
C 25 Haris Bratanovic 18 – (2001-04-20)20 April 2001 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Barcelona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Olivier Foucart
  • Frederic Wilmot
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 21 February 2020

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Head coach position

Past rosters

1935 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 10 teams

3 René Demanck, 4 Émile Laermans, 5 Louis Levaux, 6 Pierre Van Basselaere, 7 Gustave Vereecken, 8 Gaston de Houwer, 9 Robert Breuwer (Coach: ?)

1936 Olympic Games: finished 19th among 21 teams

1 Robert Breuwer, 2 Gustave Crabbe, 3 René Demanck, 4 Raymond Gérard, 5 Émile Laermans, 6 Guillaume Merckx, 7 Pierre Van Basselaere, 8 Gustave Vereecken (Coach: ?)

1946 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 10 teams

3 Armand Van Wambeke, 4 Henri Servaes, 5 Julien Meuris, 6 Georges Baert, 7 Henri Hermans, 8 Émile Kets, 9 Augustin Bernaer, 10 Alexander Hollanders, 11 Louis Van De Goor, 12 Henri Hollanders, 13 Marcel de Haeck, 14 Pierre Van Basselaere, 23 Fernand Rossius, 25 Auguste Wijns (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1947 EuroBasket: finished 4th among 14 teams

3 Armand Van Wambeke, 4 René Steurbaut, 5 Julien Meuris, 6 Georges Baert, 7 Henri Hermans, 8 Émile Kets, 9 Henri Coosemans, 10 Gustave Poppe, 11 Alexander Hollanders, 12 Henri Hollanders, 13 Fernand Rossius, 14 François De Pauw, 17 Joseph Pirard, 21 Guillaume van Damme (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1948 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 23 teams

3 Armand Van Wambeke, 4 René Steurbaut, 5 Julien Meuris, 6 Georges Baert, 7 Henri Hermans, 8 Émile Kets, 9 Henri Coosemans, 10 Alexander Hollanders, 11 Henri Hollanders, 12 Augustin Bernaer, 13 Louis Van De Goor, 14 François De Pauw, 15 Gustave Poppe, 16 Léon Lampo (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1951 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 17 teams

3 Jef Eygel, 4 Henri Crick, 5 Francois Plas, 6 Georges Baert, 7 François De Pauw, 8 Émile Kets, 9 Henri Coosemans, 10 Désiré Ligon, 11 Alexis Van Gils, 12 Philippe Dewandelaer, 13 Guy Gekiere, 14 Roger van Harck (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1952 Olympic Games: finished 18th among 23 teams

3 Jef Eygel, 4 Yvan Delsarte, 5 Julien Meuris, 6 Félix Roosemont, 8 Johannes Ducheyne, 9 Henri Coosemans, 10 Désiré Ligon, 11 Alexis Van Gils, 12 Henri Crick, 13 Jules Boes, 14 Jan Ceulemans, 16 Josef du Jardin (Coach: Raymond Briot)

1953 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 17 teams

3 Maurice Chavagne, 4 René Steurbaut, 5 Julien Meuris, 6 Georges Baert, 7 André Vermeulen, 8 Émile Kets, 9 Henri Coosemans, 10 Désiré Ligon, 11 Alexis Van Gils, 12 Edouard Samson, 13 Jean Nolis, 14 Roger van Harck, 15 Joseph Decombe, 16 Félix Roosemont (Coach: Louis van Hof)

1957 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

3 Albert van Mechelen, 4 Robert Jolijt, 5 Charles Storme, 6 Georges de Meyer, 7 Jean de Nayer, 8 Elie Deweerdt, 9 Emile Martin, 10 Eddy Terrace, 11 John Loridon, 12 Alex van den Avondt, 13 Charles Feyen, 14 Lucien van Kersschaever (Coach: ?)

1959 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 17 teams

3 Rene Aerts, 4 Richard Wagner, 5 Pierre van Huele, 6 Jef Eygel, 7 Francois de Pauw, 8 Elie Deweerdt, 9 Jean Steveniers, 10 Lucien van Kersschaever, 11 John Loridon, 12 Henry Raets, 13 Lievin Vinck, 14 Maurice Chavagne (Coach: Eddy Verswijvel)

1961 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 19 teams

4 Andre Desplats, 5 Pierre van Huele, 6 Jef Eygel, 7 Rene Aerts, 8 Jean Steveniers, 9 Henri Degraeve, 10 Guido Scholiers, 11 John Loridon, 12 Joseph Serron, 13 Alphonse Maes, 15 Oscar Wauters, 16 Charles Feyen (Coach: Rene Mol)

1963 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams

4 Francois Clement, 5 Pierre van Huele, 6 Jef Eygel, 7 Rene Aerts, 8 Francois d’Hoir, 9 Lucien Michelet, 10 Guido Scholiers, 11 John Loridon, 12 Pierre Dewandeler, 13 Lucien van Kersschaever, 14 Willy Ivens, 15 Camille Dierckx (Coach: Roger Staes)

1967 EuroBasket: finished 15th among 16 teams

4 Camille Dierckx, 5 Willy Ivens, 6 Jef Eygel, 7 Rene Aerts, 8 Lucien Michelet, 9 Robert van Herzele, 10 Raoul Schoeters, 11 John Loridon, 12 Willy d’Hondt, 13 Lucien van Kersschaever, 14 Etienne Geerts, 15 Alfons Declerck (Coach: Rene Mol)

1977 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 12 teams

4 Alain Stollenberg, 5 Ive van Poppelen, 6 Robert van Herzele, 7 Olin "Corky" Bell, 8 Etienne Geerts, 9 Rene van den Broeck, 10 Imre Nytrai, 11 Jos Peeters, 12 Francois Huysmans, 13 Christian Becknel, 14 Roger Marien, 15 Hector Vermeersch (Coach: Rene Mol)

1979 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 12 teams

4 Alain Stollenberg, 5 Herman Reynders, 6 Eric Rogiers, 7 Jos Peeters, 8 Ive van Poppelen, 9 Tony Van den Bosch, 10 Imre Nytrai, 11 Rene van den Broeck, 12 Francois Huysmans, 13 Christian Becknel, 14 Etienne Geerts, 15 Rik Samaey (Coach: Rene Mol)

1993 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

4 Jacques Stas, 5 Éric Struelens, 6 Dirk Snyders, 7 Ronny Bayer, 8 Rik Samaey, 9 Danny Herman, 10 Erik Cleymans, 11 Marc Deheneffe, 12 Herman Bruyninckx, 13 Ivan Verberckt, 14 Daniël Goethals, 15 Dimitri Lambrecht (Coach: Tony Van den Bosch)

2011 EuroBasket: finished 23rd among 24 teams

4 Roel Moors, 5 Sam Van Rossom, 6 Christophe Beghin, 7 Randy Oveneke, 8 Jorn Steinbach, 9 Jonathan Tabu, 10 Dimitri Lauwers, 11 Guy Muya, 12 Marcus Faison, 13 Maxime De Zeeuw, 14 Tomas Van Den Spiegel, 15 D. J. Mbenga (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

2013 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 24 teams

4 Roel Moors, 5 Sam Van Rossom, 6 Christophe Beghin, 7 Axel Hervelle, 8 Jean-Marc Mwema, 9 Jonathan Tabu, 10 Quentin Serron, 11 Guy Muya, 12 Wen Mukubu, 13 Maxime De Zeeuw, 14 Sacha Massot, 15 Yannick Driesen (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

2015 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 24 teams

4 Lionel Bosco, 5 Sam Van Rossom, 7 Axel Hervelle (C), 8 Jean-Marc Mwema, 9 Jonathan Tabu, 10 Quentin Serron, 12 Wen Mukubu, 13 Pierre-Antoine Gillet, 14 Maxime De Zeeuw, 22 Kevin Tumba, 23 Jean Salumu, 24 Matt Lojeski (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

2017 EuroBasket: finished 19th among 24 teams

4 Manu Lecomte, 5 Sam Van Rossom, 7 Axel Hervelle, 8 Jean-Marc Mwema, 9 Jonathan Tabu, 10 Quentin Serron, 12 Jean Salumu, 13 Pierre-Antoine Gillet, 14 Maxime De Zeeuw, 16 Kevin Tumba, 19 Ismaël Bako, 22 Vincent Kesteloot (Coach: Eddy Casteels)

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: KIPSTA

2015: Voo

See also

References
  1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  2. "Statement regarding the November 2020 and February 2021 Qualifiers". Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  3. "Belgium during the EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers in Feb. 2020". Retrieved 21 February 2020.

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