After weak brother Puerto Rico, the Belgian cats faced a tough fight with the United States on Friday, arguably the strongest basketball nation in the world.
The American women are the current world champions, having won gold at the Olympics last summer and have not lost an official competition since 2006.
However, Belgium was not without a chance in advance because the United States did not come with its strong squad. The team that won Olympic gold in Tokyo still had 3 more players on the field in Washington on Friday, although the rest of the team still had clasps creating beautiful weather in the WNBA.
Initially it was a struggle with the renewed United States and Belgium could use it to keep pace in the 1st quarter. But then in the 2nd and 3rd quarters Team USA shifted a gear, aided by several ball losses for the Belgium side.
The United States had a total of 21 points after Belgium lost the ball, and the difference in fast-break points was significant: 2 for Belgium, 16 for the American women. Maximum lead of the world champion: 23 points.
National coach Demori, who spun a lot, asked for more aggression and worked on his peck and call in the last 10 minutes of the game. Relying on a strong tandem Ben Abdelkader-Meissman with the help of a strong Lisov, Gates finished with less than 10 points: 75-84.
After the big win against Puerto Rico, that defeat will have no effect on the Belgians’ World Cup chances. Despite the defeat against Russia on Sunday, miracles must happen for the Belgian cats to stay away from the 2nd World Cup in a row.
Belgium: Ben Abdelkader 17, Meissseman 15, Linskans 9, Lisova Embaco 9, Masi 8, Almond 6, Resimond 5, Taylor 4, Geltoff 2
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