United could not call on De Zeeuw in Leuven, who is still struggling with his hamstrings. The visitors could count on the support of around two hundred supporters in the semi-final.
Compared to the first leg, Penn started on the bench in favor of Hammonds. The Bears started strongly after a few losses by Limburg: 6-2 (3′). Thanks to a bomb from Hammonds and Cale, United posted a 2-11 intermediate sprint (8-13 after 8′). Leuven softened to 12-13 (Q1).
© Karel Hemerijckx
“We only had some momentum in the initial phase,” said Leuven coach Casteels. “But once Limburg’s machine got going, there was no stopping it. You can also see the signature of their coach there. The continuity they managed to demonstrate spoke volumes. When you see how a player like Osunniyi has evolved since our first match against Limburg this season. That is also the coach’s merit. By the way, behind the scenes I am working on signing Hammonds for next season,” Casteels winked.
Rock-solid defense
However, it was United that again ran out to 13-22. Davies gave Leuven some hope again at 25-31 (17′), but Limburg kept the match perfectly under control before half time through a strong defense. The 13 point bonus from the first leg was expanded to a gap of 23 points under the impetus of the Penn-Cale tandem: 27-37 (halftime).
Leuven started the second half with four minutes without a score, which allowed Limburg to lead to 27-45 (24′). United managed to limit Leuven to 9 points in the third quarter. This allowed us to take our foot off the accelerator and make the third cup final in the ten-year history a reality.
© Karel Hemerijckx
“My team did its job defensively for 80 minutes,” said United coach Westphalen. “We had a difficult third quarter in the first leg. But outside of that we managed to create stops at the right moments and showed ourselves to be patient. We secured the final ticket in a mature manner. The way De Zeeuw and Serron sacrificed their bodies for the sake of the team in these semi-finals is the mentality I like to see. Toon Ceyssens also indicated on Friday that he absolutely wanted to sit on the bench today to fill in in an emergency. As a coach it is a dream to be able to count on those types of players.”
QUARTERS: 12-13, 15-24 (27-37), 9-18 (36-55), 11-16.
LEUVEN BEARS: TATE 7+3, KEY 6+3, VANDERHAEGEN 0+7, RILEY 5+3, JR DAVIS 7+0, Huurman 2+0, Bucumi 0+0, Meeusen 0+2.
LIMBURG UNITED: CALE 11+2, LESUISSE 0+7, DELALIEUX 4+4, OSUNNIYI 4+4, HAMMONDS 5+3, Serron 2+0, Van Ounsem 0+3, Penn 11+5, Leemans 0+2, Lambot 0+2, Forward 0+2