Brussels Basketball

Last updated
Brussels Basketball
Brussels Basketball logo.png
Leagues BNXT League
Founded1957;68 years ago (1957)
HistoryExcelsior Brussels
(1999–2013)
Brussels Basketball
(2013–present)
ArenaSports Complex Neder-Over-Heembeek
Capacity1,200
Location Brussels, Belgium
Team colorsRed, Black
  
Main sponsorCircus
PresidentAndré De Kandelaer
Head coachSerge Crèvecoeur
Website www.brusselsbasketball.be

Brussels Basketball is a professional basketball club based in Neder-Over-Heembeek (Brussels), Belgium. The team plays in the BNXT League. Home games are played at the Sports Complex Neder-Over-Heembeek.

Contents

History

The club was founded in 1957. In 1999 Excelsior merged with AERA Castor and renamed itself AERA Excelsior Brussel VZW. After 7 years in the 3e Nationale, the Belgian third division, Excelsior promoted to the 2e Nationale in 2009. In the first two years, Excelsior finished 4th and 5th and was defeated in the quarterfinals. In the 2011–12 season Excelsior reached the semifinals and in the 2012–13 season, it finished 10th while missing the Playoffs.

The club moved to the professional Scooore League, the first tier in Belgium, for the 2013–14 season. Excelsior received a C-licence, which allowed them to play with a lower budget in the league. [1] The club also got a new main sponsor in Basic-Fit, and was renamed Basic-Fit Brussels.

During the 2016–17 season, Brussels participated in a European competition for the first time by entering the 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup season. [2] Brussels finished fourth and last in Group A, winning one out of six games. Along with this, the club finished in the third place in the Belgian League and reached the Finals for the first time in club history by beating Antwerp Giants in the semi-finals. [3]

In July 2019, the club announced it changed its name to Phoenix Brussels. [4] From December 2020 to March 2021, Phoenix played its home games in the Palais 12. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no people in attendance. [5]

Since the 2021–22 season, Brussels plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged. [6] On 17 June 2022 the club signed a sponsor agreement with Circus, leading to a name change; the club colours were also changed to red. [7] The team also signed Belgian national team player Kevin Tumba. [8]

In march 2023 Brussels announced that head coach Jaumin would be replaced by Serge Crèvecoeur for the 2023-2024 season. [9]

In early 2023, Belgium adopted a new law prohibiting the promotion of gambling. Consequently, the club had to remove their sponsor "Circus" from their name during the summer of the same year. [10]

Arenas

Upon the club's establishment in 1957, the team played outdoors on the field of the King Baudoin/Boudewijn Stadium (then the Heysel/Heizel Stadium). The current home arena of Brussels is the Sports Complex Neder-Over-Heembeek, a municipal multi-purpose sports hall with retractable seating, accommodating approximately 1,000 people. Owned by the municipality rather than the club, this has historically led to scheduling conflicts, affecting the teams' training sessions.

Since 2017 the team regularly plays gala matches in Palais/Paleis 12. In the 2020–2021 season, the team made a temporary move to the venue for all games from December 2020 to April 2021. [11]

The club recognized early the necessity of upgrading its infrastructure. In 2013, upon entering the first division, the president André De Kandelaer stated, "Our hall is not designed for the first division" and "If a serious project develops, it will certainly not be at Neder-Over-Heembeek". [12] In 2017, a plan was unveiled for a 3,000-seat arena on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau, but it failed to materialize. [13] In 2021, a more ambitious proposal for a 4,000-seat arena at the same location was introduced, though this project did not progress either. [14]

Honours

Runners-up (1): 2016–17
Champion (1): 2008-09

Names

Due to sponsorships and other reasons, the name of the club has frequently changed:

Season by season

SeasonTierLeaguePos.BNXTW–L Belgian Cup European competitions
2008–0933e Nationale2nd
2009–1022e Nationale5th
2010–1122e Nationale5th
2011–1222e Nationale4th
2012–1322e Nationale10th
2013–14 1 Division I 8th8–28 Round of 16
2014–15 1 Division I 10th10–18 Round of 16
2015–16 1 Division I 4th21–16 Round of 16
2016–17 1 Division I 2nd28–19 Semifinalist 4 FIBA Europe Cup RS1–5
2017–18 1 Division I 8th12–26 Quarterfinalist 3 Champions League QR30–2
4 FIBA Europe Cup RS2–4
2018–19 1 PBL 3rd23–17 Semifinalist
2019–20 1 PBL 9th6–11Quarterfinalist4 FIBA Europe Cup RS2–4
2020–21 1 PBL 10th4–22 Play-in Round
2021–22 1 BNXT 9th16th9-19Quarterfinalist
2022–23 1 BNXT 10th16th9-19Quarterfinalist
2023-24 1 BNXT 6th14th17-15 Quarterfinalist
2024-25 1 BNXT Round of 16

    Players

    Current roster

    Brussels Basketball roster
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
    G 0 Flag of the United States.svg Finch, Jalen 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)25 – (1999-06-25)25 June 1999
    C 3 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Agu, Onyeka Joe 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in)20 – (2004-04-26)26 April 2004
    G 4 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Deroover, Terry 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)33 – (1991-06-11)11 June 1991
    G 5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Libert, Alexandre  (C)1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)35 – (1990-01-25)25 January 1990
    F 7 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Djogo, Nikola 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)27 – (1997-06-04)4 June 1997
    G 8 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Ntesa, Douglas 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)21 – (2003-08-02)2 August 2003
    F 10 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Hazard, Louis 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)27 – (1998-01-13)13 January 1998
    C 13 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Desiron, Yannick 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)32 – (1992-06-04)4 June 1992
    F 15 Flag of the United States.svg Richardson, Tucker 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)25 – (1999-08-15)15 August 1999
    F/C 24 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Tshimanga, Godwin 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)24 – (2001-01-25)25 January 2001
    F/C 44 Flag of France.svg Ambrose, Jared 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)24 – (2001-01-22)22 January 2001
    G/F 50 Flag of the United States.svg Kelly, Raijon 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)31 – (1993-03-15)15 March 1993
    Head coach
    • Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Serge Crèvecoeur
    Assistant coach(es)
    • Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Randy Oveneke
    • Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Laurent Kröner
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
    Updated: December 20, 2024

    Depth chart

    Pos.Starting 5Bench 1Bench 2
    C Jared Ambrose Yannick Desiron Onyeka Joe Agu
    PF Nikola Djogo Godwin Tshimanga
    SF Tucker Richardson Louis Hazard Raijon Kelly
    SG Alexandre Libert Terry Deroover Mehdi Mbawa
    PG Jalen Finch Douglas Ntesa Junior Bonsenge

    Notable players

    Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

    Criteria

    To appear in this section a player must have either:

    • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
    • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
    • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

    Head coaches

    References

    1. ↑ "Basketclub Excelsior Brussels krijgt licentie". Nieuwsblad.be. 22 April 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
    2. ↑ "Excelsior Brussel speelt Europees". Nieuwsblad.be. September 17, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
    3. ↑ "1/2F EMBL playoffs: Basic-Fit Brussels advances to first finals appearance in club's history". Euromillionsbasketball.be. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
    4. ↑ "Le Basic-Fit Brussels devient le Phoenix Brussels et reste à Neder-over-Heembeek". July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
    5. ↑ "Phoenix Brussels Basket speelt zijn matchen tot half maart in Paleis 12". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 22 December 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
    6. ↑ "Licenties BNXT League 2021-2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved July 10, 2021.
    7. ↑ "Basket: nouveau sponsor, nouveau logo, nouveaux joueurs… le Circus Brussels est né !". Édition digitale de Bruxelles (in French). June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
    8. ↑ "Basket: Kevin Tumba de retour au Brussels qui change de nom et qui attire trois renforts étrangers". DH Les Sports + (in French). June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
    9. ↑ "Serge Crevecoeur de retour au Brussels:"L'amour pour ce club ne m'a jamais quitté"". DH (in French). March 3, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
    10. ↑ "Yannick Desiron et Luka Kotrulja rejoignent le Brussels". Inforbasket (in French). June 19, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
    11. ↑ "Basket-ball : le Phoenix Brussels va déménager au Palais 12 jusqu'en mars 2021". BX1 (in French). December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
    12. ↑ ""Notre salle n'est pas conçue pour la D1"". La DH (in French). October 6, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
    13. ↑ "Un nouveau stade de basket pour le Brussels". L'Écho (in French). June 6, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
    14. ↑ "A l'ombre de l'Atomium, un projet de dôme de basket-ball à l'américaine : trop ambitieux et trop cher ?". RTBF (in French). April 21, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
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