Belgian Cats defeat Serbia and head to European Championship semi-finals

The Belgian Cats basketball team qualified for the semi-finals of the European Championship on Thursday afternoon in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The team beat defending champions Serbia 93-53 in the quarter-finals. They now also advance to the pre-Olympic qualifying tournaments with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in sight.

The Cats ended the first quarter strongly with a lead of 28-8, but the Serbian team fought back at the start of the second quarter. Halfway through the game, the Belgian team again took the lead with a score of 49-31. The third quarter ended with Belgium ​ 22-14 ahead, and the final quarter cinched their win with 22-8.

Belgians Emma Meesseman and Julie Allemand each scored 15 points, and Kyara Linskens and Julie Vanloo 14.

For a place in the final, Belgium will compete against the quarter-final winner between France and Montenegro on Saturday. In the other semi-final, Hungary, who narrowly beat the Czech Republic 62-61, will face Spain or Germany.

It is the third time in history, after finishing third in 2017 and 2021, that the Cats have reached the final four.

^{© BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR}