The Belgian Lions also won their last game in the group stage of the World Cup 3×3. A stiff Austria pushed the Belgian men to the limit, but Bryan De Valck and finisher Thibaut Vervoort still ensured a perfect report.
After the win against the Americans and Austria’s loss against Slovenia, the Belgians were already certain of a group win and a place in the 1/4th finals for their last group match.
So the pressure was off, but for a full house with Belgian fans you don’t want to lose. Moreover, Austria was still fighting for the qualification and so we still got a duel on the cutting edge.
Austria and Belgium kept each other in balance for a long time, the difference was only made in the absolute final phase.
The inevitable Vervoort scored two crucial two-pointers and in between the star De Valck also showed himself with some important scores and his unwavering fighting mentality.
With his second bomb, Vervoort counted out the Austrians, the audience crowed with pleasure. Belgium can go directly to the 1/4th finals with a 4 on 4 score. On Saturday at 5:30 PM, the Lions will play for a place in the semi-finals.
De Valck: “I don’t even know where I keep getting all that energy”
With 7 points and as many rebounds, Bryan De Valck was the man of the match against Austria, but he himself remained modest. “Whether it was my best match of this tournament? I don’t like to talk about myself, I leave that to others,” De Valck told Sporza.
“I don’t look at my statistics and just play for the team. Whether it’s a good match or a bad one, I just keep giving everything. Especially with such an audience, that gives extra energy. That’s fantastic.”
“Where do I keep getting all that energy? I don’t know either, but I have ADHD. Maybe it’s that. I just keep going. Although I can say today that it was thanks to the public. They kept pushing us.”
“We came here to get a group win and we wouldn’t have been happy if we had lost a match. It’s fantastic that all those people are coming here to watch. We wanted to give them 4 wins at least.”
