Party time in Antwerp as hosts Belgium punch ticket to Paris 2024

ANTWERP (Belgium) - Cheered on by another adoring home crowd of more than 7,000 fans in Antwerp, the Belgian Cats will appear at the Olympic Games for a second time after beating Senegal 97-66.

 

 

With even more Cats' supporters expected for Sunday's final outing of the Qualifying Tournament against Nigeria, the party might just last all weekend.

 

Having only made their Olympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020, Belgium head to France seeking to improve on their 7th place finish. And, some painful memories having endured heartache against Japan in the Quarter-Finals in what has been labelled as one of the best women's games ever. 

Turning Point: To their credit, Senegal made life tough for Belgium in the first-half, but Belgium found a higher gear after the break. They eliminated any remote possibility of an upset with a devastating 21-6 run.

TCL Player of the Game: It was fitting that on a night when Belgium celebrated their qualification, it was their leader Emma Meesseman who came up with the goods. She racked up a wonderful 32 points and shot the lights out, making 13 of 18 from the field. The forward also harvested 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. 

Stats Don't Lie: 34 assists for Belgium. Wow - what a number that is.

Bottom Line: There was always going to be something of a basketball hangover after the sheer intensity of that dramatic loss against the USA 24 hours earlier. And, so it proved. But once Belgium worked it out of their system, they grew in stature and influence and Senegal were not able to live with them.

Much of that was down to Meesseman, but also playmaker Julie Allemand who returned from injury to dish out a phenomenal 14 assists. 

The African side can be proud of how they played in the first two quarters, but the second half of the contest exposed the gulf in class between them and the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 winners. 

They Said: "I think we had a really good start and set the tone. It was important we did not give hope to Senegal. We never believed we could do this twice (getting to the Olympics) for such a little country. It is super special to do it again with this group. We can dream big for Paris but first let's enjoy this." Belgium winger, Antonia Delaere

"We treated this game like a Final but with the pressure that comes with a Final. We came back to our game and shared the ball in the second half and we were able to close out the game quickly in the third third quarter. The intention now is that we will not have Nigeria spoil the party but to have another good game in front of an amazing crowd and win over even more hearts," Belgium playcaller, Rachid Meziane.

"I think it was a pretty tough game. We gave ourselves a chance. We fought hard and did our best against the European champion in front of their crowd. We kept fighting until the end. We just kept in mind we were representing Senegal. We have to fight every time because of the jersey we are wearing and the flag on the jersey." Senegal player, Mathilde Diop.

"I am honestly happy. First of all it is amazing to play in this environment with all these people. Coming to compete against the European champions is not easy after yesterday. Physically we felt it today and we were playing one of the best teams in the world. We didn't give up. It would have been easy to have done that. Senegal has a bright future with many of our players" Senegal head coach, Alberto Carlos Antuna Leal

FIBA