2024 FIBA Women's Basketball Olympic Qualifier Tournaments: Belgium beat Senegal to secure Paris 2024 quota spot
Emma Meesseman scored 32 points as Belgium's Cats won 97-66 to delight the home crowd in Antwerp.
Basketball
Belgium thrilled the home crowd with a 97-66 victory over Senegal at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp on Friday (9 February).
Emma Meesseman showed again why she is one of the best players in the world, scoring 32 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the Sportpaleis.
With the win, Belgium secured a women's basketball quota spot* for Paris 2024. Senegal's defeat meant Nigeria also obtained a quota berth for the Games.
Belgium’s Antonia Delaere said after the game, “In the third quarter, there was at one moment, our defense was much better. We could run, we had our open shots, we made them, and this is how we qualified for Paris 2024.
“We never believed we could do this twice. For such a little country. It's super special to do this with this group. And I think we can still evolve. I think we can dream big for Paris.”
The Belgian Cats made it to the Olympics for the first time at Tokyo 2020, and have since established themselves further in international basketball. They were fifth at the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup, and then won the 2023 EuroBasket title.
On Thursday, they looked like forcing overtime against seven-time reigning Olympic champions United States but Breanna Stewart tipped in a rebound on the buzzer for an 81-79 win.
That narrow defeat was witnessed by a Belgian record attendance for a women's sporting event of 13,700 with another big crowd, bedecked in the colours of the Belgian flag, present on Friday.
“They are amazing. 10 years ago, we played for maybe 50 people and now yesterday was sold out," Delaere said. "To do this in Antwerp, it's my home city so it's even more special. But they are amazing. They were there from the first day and to do this together with them makes it even more special,”
The teams in Antwerp get the day off on Saturday. Belgium will play Nigeria on Sunday, while Senegal will face the U.S.
*National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.