© Serge Minten
Limburg United won 91-57 against Zwolle on Friday on the last matchday of the second (cross-border) phase of the BNXT League, the Belgian-Dutch basketball championship. After Charleroi’s home defeat (65-71) against ZZ Leiden, Limburg is again the third Belgian team in the final standings.
In the Elite Gold, Ostend (103-61 against Groningen) and Liège (86-70 against BAL Weert) also won on Friday, while Antwerp lost 76-77 at home against Den Bosch in a duel for honor and second place in the overall rankings.
In that ranking, Ostend (39 points) finishes first ahead of Den Bosch and Antwerp (34 points). Leiden, Limburg United and Charleroi (33 points) follow, followed by Liège (32 points), Zwolle and Groningen (28 points) and finally BAL Weert (26 points).
In the Elite Silver, Bergen won 85-70 in the top match against Leuven, while Mechelen did the same (92-77) against Leeuwarden. Kortrijk (105-65 against Yoast United) and Aalst (94-75 against Den Helder) also triumphed easily. Brussels needed overtime in its last match to beat Feyenoord 93-90.
In the final ranking of the Elite Silver, Mechelen (36 points) finishes at the top ahead of Bergen (also 36 points) based on the goal difference. This is followed by Leuven (35 points), Brussels (34 points), Aalst (32 points), Kortrijk (30 points), Leeuwarden (29 points), Yoast United and Feyenoord (28 points). Den Helder (26 points) closes the row.
The Belgian play-offs start next Wednesday. In a ‘best-of-3’, Ostend faces Leuven, Antwerp faces Bergen, Limburg United faces Mechelen and Charleroi faces Liège.
