CHALON-SUR-SAONE (FIBA Europe Cup) - Telenet Oostende dominated the first leg of the FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Final duel against Elan Chalon in more ways than one, but the final score of the clash in Belgium ultimately wasn't among them.

They did not come away from the first meeting completely empty-handed, but an 85-80 victory will not have been the return Oostende coach Dario Gjergja and his side were expecting after spending a lot of time leading by double figures.

A late push by the explosive duo of Cameron Clark and John Roberson allowed Elan Chalon to slipstream their way back into the game after trailing by as many as 16 points in the game.

"Five points isn't much, but it's more than we started the game with. Elan Chalon are a top team, but we showed we could compete against them and we'll do so in the next game in France," the 41-year-old Croatian specialist Gjergja said while pondering on whether the gap could have been bigger.

We had a 14-point lead in the second half, but we made some crucial mistakes and lost some of our concentration on defense, allowing Clark and Roberson to score almost all of their points in the final quarter."

Clark led the game in scoring with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Roberson chipped in with 18 points and 5 assists. Axel Bouteille and Abdoulaye Loum, the only other Elan Chalon players in double figures, collected 10 points apiece.

However, Elan Chalon did have their fair share of problems on the defensive end. Especially inside the paint, with Rasko Katic and Khalid Boukichou proving unstoppable for the French side's front line.

The 36-year-old Rasko Katic scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, finishing the game with a team-high 23 points and 7 rebounds. Meanwhile, his back-up Boukichou added 12 points off the bench in just 10 minutes of action, while Katic was getting some rest.

"It is going to be a tough return game at home, as Oostende are a good team. Katic played a great game and I am looking for a good reaction from Moustapha Fall in the next meeting. That being said, I am happy with what my players showed – we can be happy about the first game. It is better to come home with a 5-point deficit, rather than down by 15," said Elan Chalon coach Jean-Denys Choulet.

It is not a secret that there is some history between the sides, with Elan Chalon knocking out the Belgians in the Round of 16 of last season's FIBA Europe Cup campaign. Can they overcome the loss by 5 points in Ostend and come out on top again?

The second game of the tie will tip-off at 19:30 CET and the live stream from Chalon-sur-Saone will be available LIVE on livebasketball.tv, as well as YouTube.com/FIBA.

FIBA