No cup final for Giants: Ostend will also win in Antwerp
No problem for Ostend, which also won the return of the semi-final against Telenet Giants Antwerp in the Lotto Arena. “We still believe in it, but against such a strong team you can afford your weak moment”, Matt Tiby sighed.
Tiby opened in an atmospheric Lotto Arena with a bomb, but the Giants were completely dominated by Ostend in the first quarter. Even without the Finnish international Jantunen (calf) it was defensively sharp and attacking precise. Gillet got three pointers the driving force of the 7-14 bonus. Defensively, the Giants didn’t care, Ostend got a boulevard to score. Gillet was supported by Brimah and after the first quarter the scoreboard was already 18-27. Not much improvement for Antwerp in the second quarter either. Donkor went on five points in a row (23-30), but a cunning Ostend didn’t give up and ran through Booth and Randolph. Half way: 36-47.
The third slide brought some Antwerp character, the visitors did not go further than 15 points. But Telenet Giants Antwerp had no offensive momentum, especially because the team of coach Luc Smout acted too sterile offensively. Ostend started the final quarter with a 53-62 bonus. There was also no Antwerp recovery in that last slide. † “Of course this is a disappointment, but we have to have them be the best team in the country. Above all, we continue to work hard,” said Matt Tiby.
Four times this season against Ostend, it went down twice. The Belgian Cup is gone, what rest is the competition. The Giants still have to knock for a ticket for the Elite Gold and top 5. A win against Limburg United on the final day (Sunday in the Lotto Arena) of the regular phase of the Belgian Betfirst BNXT League is up for grabs. Or the Giants must receive an assist from the West Flemish on Friday in the postponed game between Ostend and Limburg United. If the coastal team wins in their own midst, the Giants are automatically assured of the top-5.
patrick Ceulemans
TELENET GIANTS ANTWERP: Fridriksson 16, Tiby 15, Van Den Eynde 0, D’Espallier 2, T. De Ridder 0, N. De Ridder 2, Rogiers 6, Hands 3, Bruin 11, Krutwig 8, Mwema 2, Donkor 7
OSTEND: Conger 4, Randolph 13, Stand 12, Van der Vuurst 10, Buysschaert 8, Bratanovic 0, Pintelon ,0 Djordjevic 2, Gillet 10, Brimah 23, Troisfontaines 0
QUARTZ: 18-27, 18-20, 17-15, 19-20