A snack just before the rest day. That had to be Puerto Rico for the Belgian Cats. In their last 3 encounters, Belgium had invariably treated the Puerto Rican women to a firm bulge. Earlier this year, the difference was still more than 30 points in the World Cup qualifiers.
But Puerto Rico is playing complex free at this World Cup and already surprised in its opening match by winning by a wide margin against Bosnia. Belgium was therefore warned, although it did not immediately appear on the field.
The Belgian Cats played sloppy and were constantly looking for their own identity in a substandard 1st half. Allemand had a hard time determining the rhythm and Meesseman did not come out well either, only the very strong Linskens rose (far) above average. At halftime it was actually even: 31-31.
The belief in their own abilities grew with Puerto Rico, which went looking for a second stunt in the 2nd half. The elusive Guirantes was a scourge for the Belgian defence, which was far too lax at times.
Fortunately for the Cats, there was this ever-reliable Linskens, who scored at the important moments and also acted very well in the rebound. When Allemand and Delaere were also able to strike at the right moments, the Belgian side finally fell: 68-65.
So Belgium is doing what it had to do, but the performance against this Puerto Rico will rather raise more question marks than give an extra boost of confidence. The Cats can use the rest day to sort everything out.
In the night from Sunday to Monday (Belgian time) they have to work again. Then Bosnia is the opponent. The team of naturalized WNBA clapper Jonquel Jones has surprisingly lost all its matches so far and will undoubtedly be on edge for the confrontation with the Belgian Cats.
Belgium: Linskens 24, Delaere 13, Allemand 9, Vanloo 8, Meesseman 6, Lisowa 4, Billie Massey 4, Ben Abdelkader 0, Becky Massey 0. Joris, Ramette and Resimont did not play.
