Semi-Finals preview: Can Telenet Oostende gain revenge over Elan Chalon?

OSTEND (FIBA Europe Cup) - Telenet Oostende will be out to settle some old debts against Elan Chalon in the first leg of the FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Finals after being knocked out of the competition by the French team last season in the Round of 16.

The Belgian club's coach Dario Gjergja, as well as the likes of Rasko Katic, Dusan Djordjevic, Pierre-Antoine Gillet, Jean Salumu and Khalid Boukichou all have first-hand memories of the 2-1 defeat in the series.

However, they might not recognize many of their to-be opponents. While play-caller Jean-Denys Choulet has remained at the helm of Elan Chalon, the roster changed from top to bottom, save for John Roberson and Axel Bouteille.

All three fixtures were won by home teams by double-digit margins last time around, with the French side making full use of their home-court advantage. That will no longer be in play, with a two-game home-and-away format replacing a best-of-three series.

The only Basketball Champions League team remaining after transferring to the FIBA Europe Cup, Oostende defeated Pau-Lacq-Orthez in the Round of 16 and survived overtime drama against Enisey Krasnoyarsk in the Quarter-Finals.

Dusan Djordjevic is the team's top scorer with stellar all-around averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists; Rasko Katic chips in with 14.0 points and 5.8 boards per game; while Corey Walden is the only other player in double figures at 10.8 points per game.

In a stark contrast to a top-heavy Elan Chalon, no single player averages more than 28 minutes per game for coach Dario Gjergja.

Cameron Clark and John Roberson, one of the competition's elite one-two punches, have been the key figures in coach Choulet's offense, combining for nearly 43% of the team's total scoring output. That figure rose to over 50% in the two Play-Off ties against Kormend and Cibona Zagreb.

🏀📺WOUHAWWWW ! Quel alley-oop Roberson-Clark 😵😵😵 ! L'@ELANCHALON est bien de retour 🏀🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/044Wd4kkfL

— SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) March 21, 2017

Averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, the explosive forward Clark is the leading scorer for Elan Chalon, while Roberson is not far behind with averages of 18.3 points and 6.7 assists. Lance Harris and Moustapha Fall are also in double digits in scoring.

The first leg of the tie will be played in Belgium at 20:30 CET on Wednesday, with the return leg taking place in Chalon-sur-Saone a week later.

FIBA