Former national coach Philip Mestdagh makes the switch to Polish Arka Gdynia

Mestdagh coached the Kortrijk Spurs this season, but the pilot project in West Flanders is coming to an end. Sixty-year-old Mestdagh did not give up and found a new challenge.

Second foreign adventure

Arka Gdynia is the number five in Poland and played in the EuroCup this season, having previously played several seasons in the EuroLeague. It is Mestdagh’s second foreign adventure. His passage in France in 2021 at Saint-Amand les Eaux was short-lived due to health problems.

Belgian cats

Shortly before, he played the quarterfinals at the Olympic basketball tournament in Tokyo with the Belgian Cats. Mestdagh was at the helm of the Belgian national women’s basketball team for six years between 2015 and 2021. Under his leadership, the Cats won two bronze European Championship medals, in 2017 in Prague and in 2021 in Valencia.

Mestdagh is in Prague to support his daughter Kim. She and her Italian team Schio will play in the semifinals of the Final Four on Friday against Emma Meesseman’s Fenerbahçe.