No more Eddy Casteels next season at Stella Artois Leuven Bears. — © Vel
Basketbal Bnxt league: Stella Artois Leuven Bears
Leuven –
No more Eddy Casteels (64) next season in the BNXT League. Leuven Bears announced that after this campaign it will say goodbye to the ex-national coach of the Belgian Lions and three-time Belgian Coach of the Year. “We are looking for a Belgian profile for the 2024-25 campaign,” says the Leuven club.
Eddy Casteels, ex-Antwerp Giants, Charleroi, Pepinster, ZZ Leiden and Ostend, worked for Stella Artois Leuven Bears in 2018. In previous seasons, he built the Leuven club into a credible sub-topper with assistant coach Jill Lorent and many Belgian youngsters.
However, this campaign is not going well. The American substitutions, including administrative problems and injuries, did not bring the desired result. The Bears ended the Belgian regular phase with a disappointing 5 out of 20 and a ninth place. The semi-finals were reached in the Belgian Cup, but Leuven was knocked out after two defeats by Limburg United.
Belgian successor
After this season, Leuven Bears will say goodbye to Eddy Casteels. He coached there for six years. The club will look for a Belgian successor. Potential candidates could be Kristof Michiels, Christophe Beghin or Daniel Goethals. Jill Lorent is still under contract as an assistant coach for two years.
“We already thank coach Eddy for the work done in recent years and look forward to the next twelve matches in Elite Silver,” says the press release from the people of Leuven. Eddy Casteels would be one of the candidates at Kortrijk Spurs next season.
Stella Artois Leuven Bears opens Elite Silver on Saturday, March 2 in the Sportoase against Circus Brussels.