Sam Huurman puts the ball in the basket. “Qualifying for the play-offs would be the icing on the cake.” — © Vel
Basketbal BNXT League – Elite Silver Leuven Bears – LWD Basket 81-60
Leuven –
Despite a series of injuries, Leuven Bears remains in the race for the play-offs after a win against LWD Basket from Leeuwarden. “Qualifying for that final round would be the icing on the cake,” said Sam Huurman, the Bears’ Dutch center.
No Remco Nunes, Thibault Vanderhaegen and Codi Riley. This trio is out of action due to injuries, which makes the core of outgoing coach Eddy Casteels very thin. Despite those injury concerns, Leuven Bears continues to win. Against LWD Basket it went from a 39-32 bonus after the first half to a big victory: 81-60. Jalen Tate (19 points, 6 assists), Antonio JR Davis (18 points, 6 rebounds) and Tyreke Key (22 points, 5 rebounds) led the Bears to this nice win.
Tyreke Key was voted MVP of the Year by the supporters. — © Vel
Due to the absence of the duo Codi Riley and Thibault Vanderhaegen in the paint, Sam Huurman got his chance again. The 22-year-old, 2m05 tall Dutch center took it and confirmed his excellent performance from last week with 6 points and 7 rebounds. “If players drop out, others have to step up. Yes, it feels good that I was able to contribute in recent weeks. After all, the first match without Codi and in Kangaroos Mechelen was not good. So the last two matches. However, the most important thing is that we win. After a difficult season, we are one win from the play-offs,” says Sam Huurman. “On Wednesday we have to go to Yoast United Nijmegen and on Friday we conclude Elite Silver at Bergen. We want to finish it on Wednesday. If we qualify for the play-offs (top 8, ed.), that would be the icing on the cake. Then on Friday we will play in Bergen for the seventh or eighth Belgian place. We want to finish as high as possible and aim for a 2 on 2.”
Educated at Ostend
Sam Huurman comes from Hoofddorp in the Netherlands. “Not far from Amsterdam and I played there until I was 15 years old. Then I joined the Ostend training team and after three years on the Belgian coast I made my professional debut at Limburg United in 2020. The past two seasons I returned to Den Helder Suns. Now I am with Leuven Bears and have one season left on my contract. Yes, I already had a conversation with the new coach Kristof Michiels. However, let us focus on this campaign for a while and fulfill our play-off dream,” said Sam Huurman of Leuven Bears.
Leuven Bears – LWD Basket 81-60
Quarter scores: 19-18, 20-14, 25-17, 17-11.
Leuven Bears: Key 22, Davis 18, Huurman 6, Tate 19, T. Nunes 6, Bucumi 0, Meeusen 6, Schrevens 2S, Solie 2, Vermeulen 0.
LWD Basket: Warner 3, Delph 6, Maconda 2, Brandsam 5, Doorson 2, Moors 20, Burnett 3Douwes 2, Gunn 16, Van Der Geijn 0, Peters 0.