Basic-Fit Brussels Basketball with Brandon Ubel ready to start a new season in Belgium's pro league

The Town Hall of the City of Brussels was the hosting facility for the Basic-Fit Brussels Basketball annual press conference which was held last Wednesday evening. The event took place in the Town Hall's Gothic Room with an amazing view on the famous Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium. It was a real pleasure for partners, local authorities, representatives of the basketball federation, journalists, reporters and correspondents as well as basketball personalities to walk across one of the world's most beautiful market squares and gather in the splendid hall done in a pure neogothic style. The press conference started right on time at 19:00.
 
During the well-organized press conference held in a very friendly atmosphere, Coach Serge Crevecoeur announced that Brandon Ubel (center, born in 1991, ex-Nebraska) signed with Basic-Fit Brussels for the 2015-16 season. The American center has just left Port of Antwerp Giants and will head back the European capital next summer. He had already played for the Brussels team in 2013-14. He was then the fourth best scorer in the top Belgian league with an impressive average of 16.5 points and had 7.3 rebounds (third in the league), 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Brandon Ubel recorded less impressive stats with Port of Antwerp Giants last season: 8.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Ubel also played 12 games in FIBA EuroChallenge where he averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Two weeks ago, it was also announced in the local press that Belgian international guard Guy Muya (born in 1983) had signed a three-year contract with Basic-Fit Brussels. Belgian Lion Guy Muya, who will most probably take part in the next EuroBasket 2015 for which Belgium's national team has qualified, arrives from Telenet BC Oostende where he averaged 4.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per Scooore! League appearance and should become the true leader of the Basic-Fit Brussels squad next season. The Belgian international guard also averaged 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per EuroCup game last season. Brandon Ubel and Guy Muya should be nice additions to the Basic-Fit Brussels roster made up of 13 players so far: Guy Muya, Aleksander Lichodzijewski, Domien Loubry (point guard, born in 1985), Maxime Depuydt (guard/forward, born in 1992), Brandon Ubel, Donald Sims (point guard, born in 1987, ex-Appalachian State), Julian Gamble (center, bron in 1989, ex-Miami, FL), Mitchel Gorremans (forward, born in 1985), Rion Brown (shooting guard, born in 1991, ex-Miami, FL, buy-out option) and young Belgian talents Jonas Foerts (small forward, born in 1996), Niels Foerts (point guard, born in 1997), Thomas Madoki (guard, born in 1997) and Rik Van den Berghe (center, born in 1993). Aleksander Lichodzijewski (power forward, born in 1984), who was already in the Basic-Fit Brussels roster in the last two seasons, has extended his contract with the Belgian capital's basketball club.

Serge Crevecoeur and the club's President Andre De Kandelaer also summarized the 2014-15 season, the second one in Belgium's professional league. Results were encouraging with nice wins over teams like Okapi Aalst and Belfius Mons-Hainaut. Basic-Fit Brussels eventually missed the play-offs by an inch last season. The goals of the Basic-Fit Brussels staff and team are to record great results in 2015-16 and hopefully reach the Scooore! League play-offs next season. There is also much talk about the possible construction of a basketball arena to seat 4,000 fans in the Belgian capital in the next few years. The Brussels City Councillor for Sports, Alain Courtois, spoke about such a modern basketball arena possibly built by 2018 (?). Of course, the club will keep focusing on youth programs, local players development and financial stability over the next seasons. Although it is not always easy because the team has a smaller budget than most of the other ones around, we can feel that Coach Serge Crevecoeur wants always to contribute in making Basic-Fit Brussels a top team in the country and is consistently working on that over the years. One of the club's catchy slogans has never been so true: Basic-Fit Brussels is definitely 'One Team, No Limits!'.
The first Basic-Fit Basket Brussels' game of the 2015-16 Scooore! League season is not yet scheduled. Basic-Fit Brussels Basket will keep playing in their facility of Neder-Over-Heembeek next season. The press conference of Wednesday was also a chance for the club's staff to announce a special offer for season passes/tickets at a price of 120.00 EUR (for all regular Scooore! League season games played home as well as scrimmage games). This offer is valid only until Sep. 1st, 2015. After this date, it will cost you 160.00 EUR to buy a season pass at Basic-Fit Brussels. Belgian Cup games and possible play-off games are not included in the season pass. More information on conditions of payment can be obtained from the club (see contacts on http://www.brusselsbasketball.be/tickets/season-tickets/).
 
Basic-Fit Brussels will start its preparation campaign with a basketball camp to be held in Calais, Northern France from Aug. 19th to 23rd, 2015.
Just like in the last two years, Basic-Fit Brussels players will get into pre-season action in Calais and will play their first scrimmage games there. After several training and practice sessions in Brussels, an exhibition game will be played against top opponent of JSF Nanterre of France at the Linthout/Poseidon in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on Aug. 29th. An international pre-season tournament with the 2015 Scooore! League champion Telenet BC Oostende, Strasbourg IG of France, Telekom Baskets Bonn of Germany and the Brussels team will take place in Neder-Over-Heembeek from Sep. 12th to 13th. The Basic-Fit Brussels' Fan Day is scheduled on Sep. 18th. The local squad will face the Dutch team of SPM Shoeters Den Bosch at 19:00 on that occasion. The team of Coach Serge Crevecoeur will then play a last scrimmage game against Eisbären Bremerhaven (also involved in Bundesliga) in Neder-Over-Heembeek.
 
To know more about Basic-Fit Brussels and the club's game schedule, go to www.brusselsbasketball.be.
 

(Pictures: Basic Fit Brussels Basketball and huskers.com)

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