The Belgian women’s basketball team lost 79-81 in the final second of last night’s match against the United States in a full Sportpaleis. It was the first game in a round of Olympic qualifiers.
The Belgian Cats national women’s basketball team lost last night to the United States in a heart-stopping final second after leading for most of the match. The match took place in front of nearly 14,000 fans in Antwerp’s Sportpaleis – the biggest crowd any Belgian women’s team has ever seen at home.
The US is considered the world’s best national basketball team, holding both the World Cup and Olympic Gold titles. At the same time, the Belgian Cats are the current European champion. While it was expected to be a strong match, the US was generally tipped to win.
So it became an extremely exciting game when the Cats led throughout, sometimes by at much as 11 points. Several three-point shots boosted their game, but a number of fouls saw the Americans dunking free throw after free throw.
The Cats star player, Emma Meesseman, was blocked by heavy defence throughout most of the action, which in fact gave many other players the chance to shine – particularly Julie Vanloo (pictured, top), who sunk three thee-pointers in the first half, becoming a crowd favourite in the game.
Seemingly surprised by the Cats offensive, the Americans pushed back heavily in the second half. But it still took them until the final second to throw the winning shot, raising their score to 81 following a 79-79 tie going into the last minute of the game. Referees had to watch a replay to see if the ball left American player Breanna Stewart’s hand before time ran out – and it did.
“It all came down to the details,” said a clearly disappointed Meesseman following the match. “They are the Olympic Champions, after all. They have such a strong core and manage to come back so easily.” Still, she continued, “we made it quite a party. We had a great time, and the crowd was fantastic.”
It was the largest crowd in women’s team sport history in Belgium, with a nearly sold out Sportpaleis roaring throughout the game. Sports fans have taken an interest in the Cats like never before since their Eurobasket win last June – a first for the team. Prime minister Alexander De Croo could be seen at courtside together with his son, and Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever and federal minister Annelies Verlinden were also spotted in the crowd.
The foot: Did the Cats really lose?
While the Cats officially lost the game, controversy quickly followed as cameras showed that the American player who assisted in the shot stepped on the sideline. That meant that the ball was technically out of bounds. Had a ref spotted it, the Cats would have gained control of the ball. The match would have then most likely gone into overtime.
While we’ll never know who might have won had the violation been caught during play, the Cats are still expected to qualify for the Olympic Games. They are expected to beat Senegal handily tonight, which will clear their way to Paris this summer.