Ostend loses to Leiden, first BNXT League gets Dutch final

The Belgian champion suffered a defeat at home for the first time this season on Tuesday: 78-88 against the Dutch vice champion Leiden. Ostend had already lost the first leg 84-82 on Sunday.

Ostend did not succeed in clearing that small backlog for its own audience. The first quarter was for Leiden (27-30), at halftime it was 46-46 equal. In the beginning of the third quarter, Ostend put in a solid intermediate sprint and in the third quarter, with a 59-46 and 61-48 lead, it seemed to have its sheep on dry land. At the end of the quarter, however, the coastal team again faced a 64-66 deficit. In the final quarter, the Dutch, with Worthy De Jong as the star (31 points, 4 rbds, 4 assists), further deepened the lead. For Ostend, Demitrius Conger returned the most with 27 points.

In the final of the first cross-border competition of the Low Countries, Leiden will face Groningen. That is also a surprise, because Groningen eliminated the Dutch champion Den Bosch. It won 100-101 on Tuesday, the first leg had ended in a 68-68 draw. In the semi-finals for the Dutch title, Den Bosch had set Groningen 3-0 aside.

The first leg of the final will be played in Groningen on Thursday, the return leg will follow on Saturday in Leiden.