Biggest EuroBasket Success
The best performance of the Belgian team was of course in 2003 in Greece. Not only because it was the first time since 1985 that the team was able to qualify for the final round, but also because they managed to finish sixth. Belgium lost to France in the game for fifth place but posted wins over Hungary, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Biggest EuroBasket disaster
After the breakout performance of 2003, everybody expected Belgium to qualify again for EuroBasket Women 2005 in Turkey. The team got two chances to achieve their second consecutive qualification for the Final Round but could not get past the first step in a qualifying group that included Germany, Romania and Israel. They finished third with eight points, behind Germany and Romania. Belgium got a second chance at the additional qualifying round, but there they lost to Slovakia and Italy.

Best Individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time
With 23.8 pts and 10.5 rebounds per game in the EuroBasket Women 2007 qualifying round, Ann Wauters was the key player for the Belgian team just as she had been during the final round of EuroBasket 2003. She is one of the top Belgian female sports stars, joining the likes of tennis champions Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Like Henin and Clijsters, the National Team program is built around Wauters, who has proven at every level and in nations across the globe that she is one of the best players in the world. 

		Captain Kathy Wambe will lead by example for Belgium

Scouting report
The big stars of the Belgian team are without doubt Ann Wauters and the captain, Kathy Wambe. But during the qualifying round, another shining star was born in 19-year-old Marjorie Capréaux, who played a big role in Belgium’s qualification. She finished third on the team in scoring with 7.5 points per game to go along with six rebounds and eight assists per contest. The 1.65 meter guard has great mobility and extraordinary ball-handling skills and will be one of the players to keep an eye on in Italy.

Prediction
The failure in 2005 delayed the plans for the Belgian team on the road to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Indeed, the Belgian National Olympic Committee developed a special program with the goal to see the country represented in a team sport in the Olympic Games for the first time since 1976. The Belgian Olympic Committee developed a vast program to support five team sports: men’s field hockey, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s football at U23 level and women’s basketball. The first step for this program was the hiring of Laurent Buffard and his new staff of Jean-Luc Cornia and Arvid Diels. The second one is to set up a more professional structure to help Belgium to develop a competitive team built around Ann Wauters. When they were drawn to play in group B with Germany, Lithuania and Romania, a smile could be seen on the faces of the Belgian staff. The opportunity to get past the first round is a real one and most observers agree that this side of the bracket, while not easy, may be the less imposing of the four. The clear goal for Belgium is to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Likely Squad
The good news for this EuroBasket Women is that all of Belgium’s top professionals will be playing. Among them are Kathy Wambe, Anke De Mondt, Laurence Van Malderen, Nele Deyaert, Dana Boonen and, of course, Ann Wauters. Wauters has made qualifying for the Olympics her main goal and, as a result, will not be playing in a league this summer, giving the Belgian National Team all of her attention.

Last 10 events
Year Event Place Achievement
2006 World Championship Sao Paolo Did not qualify
2005 EuroBasket Ankara Did not qualify
2004 Olympics Athens Did not qualify
2003 EuroBasket Patras 6th
2002 World Championship Nanjing Did not qualify
2001 EuroBasket Le Mans Did not qualify
2000 Olympics Sydney Did not qualify
1999 EuroBasket Katowice Did not qualify
1998 World Championship Berlin Did not qualify
1997 EuroBasket Budapest Did not qualify


How did they qualify

Qualifying round
2ND in Group E (2 W — 2 L)

Results
Sept-9th 2006 *Latvia b. Belgium 71-67
Sept-13th 2006 *Belgium b. Slovak Republic 77-58
Sept-20th 2006 Latvia b. *Belgium 70:63
Sept-23rd 2006 Belgium b. *Slovak Republic 77-73
* Home team