In Bredene, four members of the Belgian Cats, the Belgian national basketball team, handed out free clothing on the beach yesterday. Sisters Becky and Billie Massey are from the seaside resort popular among families, but Belgian Cats Maxuella Lisowa-Mbaka and Elise Ramette also made the trip. In no time, all the clothes were gone.
There was quite a crowd on Bredene beach last night as Belgian Cats fans gathered. After winning the European championships, several basketball players are already back in the country. ‘Elise Ramette is moving house and she found a lot of Cats' clothes in her wardrobe,’ explains Becky Massey. ‘She mentioned in the group chat that she had the crazy idea of giving the clothes away.’
‘We didn't think this was such a crazy idea and wanted to take part straight away. We too dived into our cupboards and posted an announcement saying that we would give away the clothes on the beach. A few hours later, we were handing out the clothes.'
All clothes immediately gone
‘Every season we get new clothes from the Belgian Cats,’ Ramette adds. ‘After 10 years, I have collected a lot of clothes and actually I never throw them away. I have cupboards full and those clothes just lie there, without anything happening to them. Then it's better to make fans happy and give them away."
The clothes were in great demand. ‘Before we really started handing them out, everything was already gone,’ laughs Ramette. ‘I was really impressed.’ And it was also great for Becky Massey. ‘I grew up here with my sister. We had a hut on the beach and to stand here now and see a smile on all the people's faces makes me feel good.’
T-shirts and sweatpants
Sarah and Ifke were happy to be there early. ‘I'm a big fan so I'm really happy that I was able to get a couple of T-shirts and pants,’ says Sarah. ‘The Belgian Cats are my idols and I am very happy that I now have something personal from them.’
‘I also got some t-shirts and training pants,’ Ifke says proudly. ‘I play basketball in Ostend and I will wear the clothes to train and watch games. The clothes will definitely come in handy."