Anybody from Belgium here?

[woma]

Belgium League is probably the best european league, which isn't covered here on InterBasket forum, so I will try to open a discussion (hopefully) this way.
Are there any belgium fans here, or maybe anonymous persons from the clubs? .

As always belgium teams are impressive during the summer break, they are well prepared and because of it - even without huge budgets - they are able to get interesting players, like: Vanja Plisnic (Oostende), Eric Hicks (Oostende) or Greg Brunner (Verviers-Pepinster), damm, too bad that management people in Polish clubs are worthy of "never underastimate the power of the stupidity" quote...

[PHILIPeurobasket]

Euphony Bree has signed US Center Reggie Bassette (206-C-77, college: ODU) to a one year contract.
Reggie played at Old Dominion between 1995 and 1999 where he teamed up with IOdell Hodge till 1997.
Spent the early part of his pro-career in the USBL and Germany.
Played in Korea between 2003 and 2005 and was voted Korea Center of the Year in 2004 when he played for KCC Egis.
In 17 games that season he averaged 18.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg.
Also played in Israel for Hapoel Galil Elyon and Givat Schemuel.
Played the past season in France for ProA team Bourg Basket and had averages of 9.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg.
Eurobasket.com

[Ostend]

Belgium League is probably the best european league, which isn't covered here on InterBasket forum, so I will try to open a discussion (hopefully) this way.
Are there any belgium fans here, or maybe anonymous persons from the clubs? .

As always belgium teams are impressive during the summer break, they are well prepared and because of it - even without huge budgets - they are able to get interesting players, like: Vanja Plisnic (Oostende), Eric Hicks (Oostende) or Greg Brunner (Verviers-Pepinster), damm, too bad that management people in Polish clubs are worthy of "never underastimate the power of the stupidity" quote...

Yeah there are some belgian fans on here...
My team in Belgium is Oostende so yeah we signed Vanja Plisnic and Eric Hicks. Posted the roster of the team earlier on same other thread. This is what i wrote about Ostende...

This is the roster so far for the Uleb team: Telindus oostende.
pg: Rashad Wright / Sam Van Rossom + Laurent Lhote
SG: Veselin Petrovic / Dennis Wucherer
SF: Lavor Postell / Marko Simonovic + christian Ilongo (plays both sg as sf)
PF: Vanja Plisnic / Eric Hicks
C: Elvir Ovcina / Sebastien Bellin

Rashad Wright is our new american pg, he will be replacing Jean Marc Jaumin, some of the Malaga fans will still remember him. Played for ostende a long time, moved to Malaga, came back to belgium playing for Mons. Last season he was the player who gave us a championship title. For next season...he quits playing. He will still work with some youth teams but he's ending his playing career.
Marko Simonovic is also new on the team, he's replacing Damjan Rudez who signed for KK Split.
Vanja Plisnic new on the squad too, replacing Mirza Teletovic who signed for Tau...to the fans of Tau.... you're so lucky to have Mirza on your team. One of the most talented players for the moment. No one can dunk like him or be fisty as him....I really hope he can play alot, prove himself cause he's just a great person and player.
Eric Hicks is replacing Brent Wright, suprised everyone is ostende with signing in Cibona Zagreb. Eric Hicks is supposed to be really good, comments on him from some site are excellent.
Sebastien Bellin also new, came from Antwerp giants.

Think the team looks pretty good on paper, but we'll just have to wait and see how they do in the first Uleb game and in the belgian league.

Alot of the players that came to play in Belgium underestimate how tough our league can be. They change their mind after the first competition game usually We've had some good players in belgium over the past years. Some of them now still play with a euroleague team or Uleb team. Unfortunately we don't have too many belgian players who make it to the big league...
We have Tomas Vandenspiegel who plays for Cska Moscow.
Axel Hervelle in Real Madrid.
Can't count Didier Mbenga in the Nba cause he's not really born here although he does have the belgian nationality.
But we do have many talented belgian players in this league.

Greets

[ziv]

well at least mbenga plays for the nt - it more than what the liths can say about the big-z...
i often quote israeli nt coach tzvika sheref who said last year that the belgium is nt is no worth than any team israeli faced during the EC (well that's a bit ahhmmm...) - and we played spain, s&mn and greece...
anyway - israel has some players in belgium i would glad to here about. these are watson, shelef (and coach shivek).

[Joško Poljak Fan]

Ostend, how come Teletovič and Rudež left your team?

[Ostend]

2Matiz: Well in case of Mirza (Teletovic) Tau offered him a good deal. I know he wants to go to the NBA and i really hope he makes it there...but it's good for him to get some experience in the toughest european league. So i can't wait to see how it will go for him in Tau. But we will miss him alot. He's got a great aggressive attitude on court... We all loved him. No one would really dare to mess with him We've seen him get angry a few times, but he knows how to calm himself down... after crushing some ice cubes maybe but he'll be fine. That makes him more eager to win...
Then the case with Damjan (Rudez) that's a crazy case. He's one of the most talented guys in Croatia and i personally really feel he's got the talent to make it. But they never wanted to play him during the games. He always worked hard in practice, after practice he would very often still go to the fitness gym to work out. After games that he didn't play, and if the fitness gym would still be open...then that was the place where you could find him sometimes. After the first season he was already doubting to come back cause they never gave him any chance.... but he did come back, Ostende promised him that they would find him a team to lend him to so that he could play. Believe me that's all this guy wants to do is TO PLAY and be able to prove himself. But in those months before christmas they would play Damjan and he was starting to become i felt more confident in himself and he was really becoming better every day, every game. I asked him if they would now find him another team and at that point he was so happy that they would let him play, were giving him more confidence that he wasn't thinking on leaving... After the christmas break, they just left him on the bench with no good reason, he would still be the same him on practise and all. But they just never let him play again... maybe for like 7 seconds or something. That was sick. So personally i know that after this season we weren't gonna see him back here...although he loved being here very much, he would have done anything to play here. But i really hope that he now gets some rest and gets back into shape for the season with Split. I just hope he has a coach who will give him confidence and a chance and not destroys his good spirit.

[Zalgirinis]

Yeah there are some belgian fans on here...
My team in Belgium is Oostende so yeah we signed Vanja Plisnic and Eric Hicks. Posted the roster of the team earlier on same other thread. This is what i wrote about Ostende...

This is the roster so far for the Uleb team: Telindus oostende.
pg: Rashad Wright / Sam Van Rossom + Laurent Lhote
SG: Veselin Petrovic / Dennis Wucherer
SF: Lavor Postell / Marko Simonovic + christian Ilongo (plays both sg as sf)
PF: Vanja Plisnic / Eric Hicks
C: Elvir Ovcina / Sebastien Bellin

Great lineup for ULEB Cup if they gel good as there are some new players. Hicks is a beast, being 195 cm hes rebounding and fighting in Charles Barkley mode. Just he will need to keep himself out of foul trouble with his playing style. Wright is a very good PG, Postell is good for american too and you have some other experienced players also. I like this roster much, you could really go to the semifinals in ULEB Cup IMHO.

[cheezdoodle]

Pepinster today signed 6-5 Missouri SG/SF Thomas Gardner, the 2nd rookie on their roster. Gardner led the Big 12 in scoring last year and was considered one of the best shooters in the NCAA. He signed for 80K to play in Belgium. Rumors say an American point guard will sign in the next few days.

[woma]

I totally forgot about this thread, and I am surprised to see some replies .

Belgium league for me is very interesting to watch - I don't know how I will do it, but I will find a way . I am open for any ideas of course...
Pepinster has Gardner, but also Billy Edelin (from Syracuse championship team), Greg Brunner and Justin Gray.
Liege has Yemi Nicholson.
Oostende has Wright-Hicks-Plisnic trio I really like.
Charleroi just signed Amit Tamir and Corey Brewer.
For me belgium league is the most underrated league in Europe, and seeing 2 spots in Euroleague for France, and zero for Belgium, makes me sick...

[ziv]

1. belgium does host the uleb-cup finals for sometime know (an i think will continue at least until 2009). which means uleb does recognise the belgique b-ball as strong.
2. don't forget they also have 2 teams in the uleb-cup as compenstion for not having a euroleague team (that's my interpetation and of course it's not a complete one). in a way i excpect more from the teams in the uleb cup (though bree gave some hard times to hapoel jerusalem last year).

[Billy]

How come the Belgian NT played so poorly in the EC qualification stages?

[woma]

How come the Belgian NT played so poorly in the EC qualification stages?

I was still surprised they've beat Russia NT.
With all my love to belgium league, I don't see a belgium players being a reason for it...

[rusher]

How come the Belgian NT played so poorly in the EC qualification stages?

League is strong mainly because of foreigners. Belgian players don't play much, leaders of the teams are foreign players- just like in Poland, Netherlands, Portugal.

[Jilou]

Ziv,

You probably know that my team (Charleroi a.k.a. Spirou Basket) signed Amit Tamir from your country during the summer. His contribution to the team is growing game after game. Last saturday in the clash between Spirou Basket and Dexia Mons, he knowed down 2 successive treys which IMO really downed Mons' morale. I really like him, he only needs make less avoidable fouls.

[PHILIPeurobasket]

Jilou, are you Spirou fan? Do you have maybe any contact with Damir Krupalija? This is my old good friend, I have to him his address and e-mail but he didint reply