With the World Cup preliminary round match against Great Britain on August 25 and the European Championship from September 1, the Belgian Lions are waiting a few important weeks. In any case, an interesting test was on the program with a practice match against the strong Germany.
In the Alverberg in Hasselt, the home of Limburg United, the visitors, Daniel Theis (Center with the Indiana Pacers), Dennis Schröder (Playmaker with the Houston Rockets) and Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) took with them no less than 3 NBA players.
The visitors led 19-29 after the first quarter, under the impulse of the strong Dennis Schröder, but gradually the Belgians restored the balance.
Pierre-Antoine Gillet managed 14 points before the break and Retin Obasohan gave the Lions the lead for the first time at 38-37. The second quarter was for the Lions (31-17), who were allowed to rest with a small lead (50-46).
After the rebound, however, thanks to the fantastic tandem Theis and Schröder, Germany took the lead in the third (19-20) and fourth quarter (14-21). Obasohan brought the score to 83-86 in the final minute, but the Germans did not let the victory slip away.
For the Lions, it was the third practice pot in a handful of days. Last week they played twice in and against Finland, resulting in a 71-74 win and 80-71 loss.
On Friday and Sunday, the Lions practice in Estonia and on August 17, a final preparation game will follow in and against strong France.
The friendly matches are the dress rehearsal for national coach Dario Gjergja and his troops for two World Cup preliminary round matches later this month. In it, the Belgians will play at home against Great Britain (FIBA 45) on August 25, and three days later they will face Greece (FIBA 9) while away. These are the first matches in the second qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup.
The practice matches also serve as preparation for the European Championship, which starts on September 1 in Tbilisi, Georgia. At the European Championship, the Belgian Lions will meet Spain, Montenegro, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria in group A.
