Heroes Den Bosch first team to beat Oostende
Den Bosch have not been in great form of late, beginning this second phase of the BNXT competition with three losses from four games. Oostende, on the other hand, were still undefeated.
Both teams began with a great defensive display in the first quarter, leading to a low-scoring affair: 14-12. In the second quarter, Den Bosch picked up their FG%, going from 25% to 63% from inside the arc. Oostende were not as quick to improve, they remained at 33% in two-point shooting. This gave Den Bosch a surprisingly comfortable lead at half-time – 40-28. Austin Price headed into half-time as the game’s top scorer with 12 points.
Oostende were not able to penetrate the defense of Den Bosch after the break, forcing a frustrating number of turnovers and drives in Q3. They managed just 13 points across the third quarter and headed into the final period with a deficit of 15 points (56-41).
Needing a miraculous turnaround in form, Oostende picked up their form, cutting the lead to as small as just three points at its narrowest. But a 5-0 run in the final minutes from Den Bosch put Oostende out of sight and sealed an important 75-66 win.
You can follow the highlights here:
🏀😍 | 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐏 – 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐯𝐬. 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐮 𝐎𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞!
Een avond topbasketball 𝘃𝗼𝗹 met highlights in een 𝒇𝒂𝒏-𝒕𝒂𝒔-𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆 Maaspoort! 🙌#BNXTLeague pic.twitter.com/4TxzX5MZ1g
— Heroes Den Bosch 🏀 (@HeroesDenBosch) April 2, 2022
Overtime again for Antwerp
For the second consecutive game, Antwerp Giants had to endure overtime. Last time out, they faced 10 minutes of OT against Donar and eventually lost. This week, just five minutes were needed against ZZ Leiden.
Leiden began the game on a high, scoring six 3-pointer’s in the first quarter alone, and shooting 83% on 2-pointers. Despite their impressive accuracy from the field, they held a lead of just seven points in a high scoring Q1 (28-21).
In Q2, the Giants were clearly the better team. They outrebounded Leiden 8-3 and were strong in the paint. Leiden made 7 fouls and Antwerp were able to focus on free throws and increasing their dominance around the rim. They took a lead of 42-46 into half-time.
The Giants emerged from the break and capitalised on some missed Leiden free throws to win Q3 20-22.
In the final quarter, Leiden worked hard to close the gap. It was 78-78 with just three minutes to go. An Antwerp three-pointer was cancelled out by three free-throws from Leiden, sending the game into overtime. Giants were able to use their dissappointment of last week’s OT loss to push for a win this time around, with the final score ending 92-96. Player of the game was Matt Tiby, who picked up 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Nice road win vs @ZZLEIDENBASKETB after OT (81-81 Q4). Good job, guys! 👊
Next Saturday we play the return game at home. Tickets are on sale at https://t.co/Hy0LUhsNFt. See you then!
📷: G.MAX Agency pic.twitter.com/d3qHRnEV52
— TELENET GIANTS 🅰️ (@antwerpgiants) April 2, 2022
Shot clock trouble in Rotterdam
Kangoeroes Mechelen is the only team that remain undefeated in this second phase of the season.
In Q1, Mechelen outperformed Feyenoord in all aspects and took a comfortable 14-21 lead into Q2. In the middle two quarters, nothing changed. Mechelen continued to increase their lead, growing it to 12 points heading into Q4.
With nine minutes remaining in the game, the shot clock stopped working. After a break in play to resolve the issue, the players took to a short warm up and resumed the final quarter. Feyenoord were able to cut the lead from 20 points to just 10, and with Jeroen van der List scoring 23 points, the hope for a comeback was on the cards. With four minutes remaining, the shot clock intervened again, forcing the referees to end the match. Currently, it is still unclear as to whether the score of 61-71 will be determined as the final score, or whether a forfeit for the home side will be handed down.
