Olivier Troisfontaines won four national titles with Filou Oostende. — © BELGA
Basketball BNXT League: FILOU OSTEND – Liège
OSTEND –
On the penultimate matchday of the national phase of the BNXT League, Filou Oostende hosts Liège. This means a reunion with Olivier Troisfontaines, four-time national champion with Ostend. Supporters also enjoy a favorable rate on Wednesday.
The story of Olivier Troisfontaines is only partly known. The Liège native met coach Dario Gjergja at Liège. A few seasons later he received the ‘Player of the Year’ award at Okapi Aalst. He then left our country for the French Cholet. That club did not start the season well and a coaching change followed. A former coach of Cholet returned to the familiar stable. He did not know Troisfontaines and gave him a varying number of minutes from the bench. “I learned that you can have an impact when you come off the bench,” Troisfontaines says.
Gjergja en Djordjevic
After that season, the Liège native was without a club for several months, until Dario Gjergja contacted him at the end of 2019. “As soon as I arrived in Ostend, I felt very good. The organization and atmosphere at Ostend are top notch. I played well there. After that half-season, a three-year contract followed. Perhaps I had my best years at Ostend. I now understand how Ostend built such a trophy cabinet. BCO feels like a small family, but there is strictness and high standards. You could laugh there, you could have a lot of fun, you could talk about everything with the coach… But as soon as we were on the pitch, only one thing mattered: winning. Dario Gjergja encouraged us perfectly. He is the ultimate winner. Dusan Djordjevic gave me a lot of advice to be active in the sport for as long as possible. You also have to stay in shape in the low season and you can do that by practicing other sports,” says Troisfontaines, who unfortunately did not get a new contract with Ostend last summer. Now he shares his experience with young teammates in Liège.
Valentine’s gift
Supporters can buy tickets for the Ostend – Liège match at a favorable rate. If you order two tickets, you only pay 14 euros for that package. This rate applies both online and at the counter. 14 euros on the 14th day of February: that is a Valentine’s Day gift from the country’s most acclaimed club. Ostend – Liège is therefore considered ‘Valentine’s game’.