Belgium Announce Preliminary Squad, Schedule
Belgium have come up with a slogan ahead of this summer's Additional Qualifying Round games for the EuroBasket in Poland.
ONE TEAM, NO LIMITS!
If the Belgians keep on playing as they did in their final game last summer when they beat Ukraine 76-58 to avoid dropping into the relegation muck, the catchphrase is a perfect fit.
Indeed, the win for Belgium clinched a 2-4 record and one of the six spots for the additional qualifiers and they were subsequently drawn against Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group A, with those games to be played in August.
The team hasn't played in a Final Round of the EuroBasket since 1993 and to do so this time will take a monumental effort, and luck.
They first must finish top of their pool above Bosnia and Herzegovina and Portugal - sides that have reached the EuroBasket in recent times - and then beat the winner of Group B (Italy, France or Finland) on aggregate in a home-and-away tie.
The Eddy Casteels-Jacques Stas coaching duo has selected a 24-strong preliminary squad that includes 2.05m forward Christophe Beghin, who played in all six games last summer and averaged 14 points, along with young point guard Sam Van Rossom, Dmitri Lauwers and Roel Moors.
There is a Jef Van Der Jonckheyd, a small forward who logged the fourth most number of minutes. The most prominent names, however, are the Real Madrid duo of Axel Hervelle and Tomas Van Den Spiegel and the Los Angeles Lakers' Congo-born center Didier Mbenga.
As Hervelle showed in the one game that he played last year, the decisive win over Ukraine, he has the potential to be the best player on the court.
In that triumph, Hervelle had 17 points and seven rebounds.
To get ready for the Additional Qualifying Round, Belgium have scheduled a training camp in Dallas, Texas, from July 10 to 20, where the NBA's Mavericks have invited them to use their facilities.
Dallas is where the 28-year-old Mbenga spent the first three years of his NBA career.
Belgium will return to Europe and be in France from July 24-26 and have friendly games against the French, the Czech Republic and Austria in Strasbourg.
Belgium will play games against New Zealand on July 29 in Courtrai and the following day in Anvers and then finish with a trip to Sofia and play against Bulgaria on August 2 and 3.
Belgium Preliminary Squad: Sam Van Rossom, Jonathan Tabu, Lionel Bosco, Domien Loubry, Gerri Major, Dimitri Lauwers, Roel Moors, Guy Muya, Thomas Dreesen, Randy Oveneke, Jef Van Der Jonckheyd, Bob Menama, Wen Mukubu, Axel Hervelle, Sacha Massot, Aleksander Lichodzijewski, Maxime Dezeeuw, Yannick Driesen, Kristof Ongenaet, Sebastien Bellin, Christophe Beghin, Piet De Bel, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, Didier Mbenga.
All other players aren't bad.