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31 August, 2017
17 September
4 Lionel BOSCO (Belgium); 8 Jean Marc MWEMA (Belgium)
10/05/2017
News
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Mwema hoping to be part of Belgian Lions pride in FIBA EuroBasket 2017

OSTEND (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - After a memorable FIBA EuroBasket 2015 campaign, which saw the Eddy Casteels-coached Belgium register, their best-winning ratio at the Final Round in 50 years with three wins in six games, the Lions will be hungry for more at the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 in Istanbul.

Heading into their fourth consecutive EuroBasket appearance, the Belgians are locked and loaded with versatile talent in all positions. Not only that — they will also seemingly have three of their stars, Sam Van Rossom, Matt Lojeski and Axel Hervelle, back after sitting out the Qualifying Round last summer.

With [Van Rossom, Lojeski and Hervelle] hopefully coming back, and the couple of young guys who were able to add some experience, we'll have a nice mixture of young talent and some experienced guys. I hope we can mesh well to get a good result.Jean-Marc MwemaJean-Marc Mwema

In the absence of the the big-name trio, however, it was players like Jean-Marc Mwema who gave the Belgian Lions a major helping hand in qualifying for the Final Round. Having been part of the Belgian squad since 2012, the Telenet Oostende forward is hoping to be a part of the pride in what would be his third EuroBasket Final Round campaign.

"I definitely want to play. We've got a really interesting group for the championship, so I definitely want to be part of that team. We'll be playing against some really big countries, so I'm really excited for that," said Mwema, who was selected to the country's preliminary 24-man roster for FIBA EuroBasket 2017. "I'll just take a couple of weeks off after the season and then start preparing for the EuroBasket right away."

Belgium have been dealt a tough, yet exciting, hand in Group D, where they will come up against Great Britain, Latvia, Russia, Serbia and the hosts Turkey.

"It's going to be tough. It's going to be very, very tough," admitted Mwema exhaling slowly, thinking about the tough task in front of them in Istanbul. "I wouldn't say we had an easy group in the last championship two years ago, but easier than this, I think. It's going to be really interesting to play Turkey in Turkey. With the way fans are there, it will be an alive atmosphere. And then, Serbia, Russia, Latvia – these are big basketball countries. It's going to be a huge challenge for us."

Belgium reached the knockout stages in FIBA EuroBasket 2015 after posting victories against Estonia, Ukraine and Lithuania in their Riga-based group and they will certainly be in the running for a place in the Final Phase once again, but their task might prove more difficult than two years ago, given the star-studded cast of their opponents.

However, Belgium might have a couple of cards up their sleeve as well.

"Especially last summer for the Qualifiers, we were able to integrate a couple of young guys into the squad. We didn't have the likes of Sam Van Rossom or Axel Hervelle on the team. So with those guys hopefully coming back and the couple of young guys who were able to add some experience, we'll have a nice mixture of young talent and some experienced guys. I hope we can mesh well to get a good result," Mwema looked ahead.

I think we'll be pretty deep in all the positions as well, except maybe for the center spot. We don't really have a huge guy in the middle. We have a couple of good big men, but not in terms of the huge names in other European teams. I think we've had a pretty good defensive team. We have perimeter players, who can guard players in multiple positions pretty well, so I think we'll rely on that."


The Lions qualified for FIBA EuroBasket 2017 after taking care of business against Cyprus, Iceland and Switzerland, and finishing Group A play with a 5-1 record. Their lone loss came in their last game of the Qualifiers against Iceland in Reikjavik, having already guaranteed a place in the Final Round previously.

Although the qualification process wasn't made any easier by the fact that Belgium had to do without the big names, Mwema saw the silver lining in the situation. According to him, the fact that players like Vincent Kesteloot, Hans Vanwijn and Retin Obasohan got a good run will benefit the national team down the road.

"I understand that some of the bigger names on our team needed a summer off. They struggled with some injuries, so they didn't want to take that chance or their clubs didn't want them to take that chance. I think it was a perfect occasion for us to integrate some young guys and they fit in very well. We had a couple of guys that stepped up big this past summer," Mwema said.

In that regard, it was positive. It gave the coach a chance to see what everyone can do, with some new guys stepping into the spotlight and doing more than they would usually with a complete squad. It was good to get an idea of what everyone can bring to the table. It's now up to the coaching staff to make the best list and see who fits together the best. I hope I'll be a part of that."

FIBA