Antwerp Giants

Antwerp Giants, named Telenet Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, are a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketball. The club was created from the merger of Sobabee and Racing Mechelen. Then named Racing Basket Antwerpen, it was renamed Antwerp Giants in 2005.

Telenet Giants Antwerp
LeaguesBNXT League
Founded1995 (1995)
HistoryRacing Antwerpen
1995–2006
Antwerp Giants
2006–present
ArenaLotto Arena
Capacity5,500
LocationAntwerp, Belgium
Team colorsRed, White, Black, Yellow
       
PresidentRoger Roels
Head coachLuc Smout
Team captainJean-Marc Mwema
Championships1 Belgian Championships
4 Belgian Cups
2 Belgian Supercups
Retired numbers1 (4)
Websiteantwerpgiants.be
Logo of the Antwerp Giants, without sponsor

Antwerp has won the Belgian championship once, in 2000. The team has won four Belgian Cups, in 2000, 2007, 2019 and 2020.

History

In 1995, Sobabee from Antwerp and Racing Mechelen merged into Racing Basket Antwerpen. The club made its debut on the highest stage in Belgium in the 1998–99 season. Antwerp was one of the top 3 teams till 2001. In the 1999–2000 season the club won its first national championship as Telindus Antwerpen, by beating Oostende 3–1 in the Finals. The team had a setback after the championship year and ended on the 6th, 7th or 8th place for five seasons in a row. In 2007 the club won its third trophy, by winning the Belgian Basketball Cup for the second time.

The second team of the club plays in the Belgian Second Division, while the women's team participates in the regional competition.

The team holds the attendance record for a basketball game in Belgium, with 17,135 spectators, on 31 January 2015, during their game against Spirou Charleroi, in the Sportpaleis.[1] In June 2017, it was announced that Telenet would become the main sponsor of the team for three seasons.[2] The signing of this sponsor, previously main sponsor of Oostende, made the Giants one of the favorites in Belgian basketball.

In the 2018–19 season, Antwerp had its most successful season in club history. In Europe, it qualified for the Basketball Champions League (BCL) after advancing past three qualifying rounds. Antwerp was the surprise of the BCL season, as the team beat Murcia and Nizhny Novgorod in the round of 16 and quarterfinals. It qualified for the Final Four which was hosted in the city of Antwerp in the Sportpaleis. In the semi-finals, Antwerp lost to Iberostar Tenerife, and it won the third place game over Brose Bamberg.[3] Domestically, Antwerp won the Belgian Basketball Cup for the first time in 12 years.[4] In the PBL, Antwerp lost to Filou Oostende 1–3 in the finals.

Since the 2021–22 season, Antwerp plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.[5]

Trophies
The Port of Antwerp Giants logo (used until 2017)

Domestic competitions
Champions (1): 1999–2000
Winners (4): 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2018–19, 2019–20
Winners (2): 2007, 2016

European competitions

Names

Due to sponsorship reasons, the name of the club has frequently changed:

  • Racing Basket Antwerpen (1996–1999)
  • Telindus Racing Antwerpen (1999–2004)
  • Daewoo Racing Antwerpen (2005–2006)
  • Sanex Antwerp Giants (2006–2008)
  • Antwerp Diamond Giants (2008–2011)
  • Port of Antwerp Giants (2011–2017)
  • Telenet Giants Antwerp (2017–present)

Players

Retired numbers
Antwerp Giants retired numbers
N° Nat. Player Position Tenure Retired
4Roel MoorsPG2000–2002, 2009–2015October 8, 2015[6]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Telenet Giants Antwerp roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
SG 3 Smout, Quinten 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 20 – (2002-02-15)15 February 2002
PF 5 Tiby, Matthew 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 29 – (1992-12-19)19 December 1992
PG 9 Van Den Eynde, Niels 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 21 – (2000-12-27)27 December 2000
SF 10 D'Espalier, Seppe 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 23 – (1999-03-27)27 March 1999
SF 11 De Ridder, Thijs 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 19 – (2003-01-31)31 January 2003
PF 13 De Ridder, Niels 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 21 – (2001-02-07)7 February 2001
C 14 Rogiers, Roby 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 24 – (1997-06-14)14 June 1997
PG 17 Hands, Jaylen 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 23 – (1999-02-12)12 February 1999
SG 22 Brown, Markel 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 30 – (1992-01-29)29 January 1992
C 25 Krutwig, Cameron 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 23 – (1998-12-21)21 December 1998
F 29 Mwema, Jean-Marc (C) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 32 – (1989-12-05)5 December 1989
SG 32 Donkor, Dennis 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 30 – (1991-07-15)15 July 1991
Head coach
  • Luc Smout
Assistant coach(es)
  • Randy Oveneke
Team manager
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: February 16, 2022

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Cameron Krutwig Roby Rogiers
PF Matthew Tiby Niels De Ridder Thijs De Ridder
SF Jean-Marc Mwema Seppe D'Espalier Quinten Smout
SG Markel Brown Dennis Donkor
PG Niels Van Den Eynde Jaylen Hands

Season by season
Season Tier League Pos. W–L Belgian Cup European competitions
2010–11 1 Division I 5th 18–17 Semifinalist 3 EuroChallenge L16 4–1–3
2011–12 1 Division I 3rd 23–11 Runner-up 3 EuroChallenge T16 6–6
2012–13 1 Division I 5th 17–13 Last 16 3 EuroChallenge RS 4–2
2013–14 1 Division I 4th 21–21 Runner-up 3 EuroChallenge T16 7–5
2014–15 1 Division I 6th 16–17 Semifinalist 3 EuroChallenge T16 6–6
2015–16 1 Division I 5th 14–16 Runner-up 3 FIBA Europe Cup QF 13–4
2016–17 1 Division I 3rd 25–17 Quarterfinalist 4 FIBA Europe Cup R2 8–4
2017–18 1 Division I 2nd 31–12 Quarterfinalist 3 Champions League QR3 5–1
4 FIBA Europe Cup RS 3–3
2018–19 1 Division I 2nd 35–9 Champion 3 Champions League 3rd 15–9
2019–20 1 Division I 3rd[lower-alpha 1] 11–6 Champion 3 Champions League RS 4–10
2020–21 1 Division I 3rd 20–11 Quarterfinals 2 EuroCup RS 1–9
  1. The 2019–20 PBL season was cancelled early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Head coaches
Name Nat. Tenure
Arik Shivek 2005–2007
Sven van Camp 2007–2008
Eddy Casteels 2008–2013
Paul Vervaeck 2013–2015
Roel Moors 2015–2019
Christophe Beghin 2019–2022

Former players

A list of former players of Antwerp Giants since 2000.

  • Jordan Callahan (2014)
  • Dennis Donkor (2008–14)
  • Maxime De Zeeuw (2012–14)
  • Yannick Driesen (2012–14)
  • Marko Špica (2013–14)
  • Barry Stewart (2013–14)
  • Scott Thomas (2013–14)
  • Frank Turner (2013–14)
  • Clayton Vette (2013–14)
  • Tim Black (2008–13)
  • Bryan Hopkins (2008–13)
  • Maarten Rademakers (2009–13)
  • Ralph Biggs (2010–13)
  • Jason Love (2012–13)
  • LaMarcus Reed (2012–13)
  • Gregg Thondique (2012–13)
  • Salah Mejri (2010–12)
  • Michael Roll (2010–12)
  • Darnell Wilson (2010–12)
  • Mike Morrison (2011–12)
  • Andreas Rojas Palma (2011–12)
  • Julian Vaughn (2011–12)
  • Alan Wiggins (2011–12)
  • Randy Oveneke (2008–11)
  • Graham Brown (2009–11)
  • Brecht Guillemyn (2009–11)
  • Trent Strickland (2009–11)
  • Jef Vander Jonckheyd (2001–03, 2010–11)
  • Wim Vandenweyer (2010–11)
  • Alexander Lichodzijewski (2006–10)
  • Brandon Gay (2007–10)
  • Christophe Beghin (2008–10)
  • Thomas Gardner (2009–10)
  • Thomas De Thaey (2009–10)
  • Thomas Lamot (2005–09)
  • Yves Dupont (2006–09)
  • Nick Oudendag (2007–09)
  • Lee Wouters (2007–09)
  • Brian Lynch (2008–09)
  • David Toya (2005–08)
  • Mladen Sekularac (2005–08)
  • Vincent Verbeeck (2005–08)
  • Ryan Sears (2007–08)
  • Ian Hanavan (2007–08)
  • Kris Sergeant (2007–08)
  • Ayinde Ubaka (2007–08)
  • Gabriel Mikulas (2007–08)
  • Gianni Fiermans (2007–08)
  • Frederik Biot (2007–08)
  • Ed Norvell (2003–07)
  • Len Matela (2003–07)
  • Gur Shelef (2005–07)
  • Senne Geukens (2005–07)
  • Thomas Dreesen (2005–07)
  • Bob Tshitenge (2005–07)
  • Dwayne Archbold (2006–07)
  • Kelley McClure (2006–07)
  • Pieter Loridon (2000–06)
  • Domien Loubry (2001–06)
  • Sebastien Bellin (2003–06)
  • Peter Lorant (2005–06)
  • Damir Milacic (2005–06)
  • Duke Tshomba (2003–05)
  • Sam Rotsaert (2003–05)
  • Paul Bayer (2000–02, 2004–05)
  • Ron Ellis (2004–05)
  • Piet De Bel (2004–05)
  • Jozef Casteels (2001–04)
  • David Arigbabu (2003–04)
  • Igor Starcevic (2003–04)
  • Charles Bennett (2003–04)
  • Niels Vinckx (2003–04)
  • Lennert Swaeb (2003–04)
  • Joeri Moonen (2003–04)
  • Michael Krikemans (2000–03)
  • Maarten Goethaert (2000–03)
  • Tezale Archie (2002–03)
  • Chris Young (2002–03)
  • Miroslaw Lopatka (2002–03)
  • Francisco de Miranda (2002–03)
  • Hugo Sterk (2002–03)
  • Bogdan Karebin (2002–03)
  • Vincent Krieger (2002–03)
  • Ilija Bocevski (2002–03)
  • Stefan Sappenberghs (2000–02)
  • Darius Hall (2001–02)
  • Gerben Van Dorpe (2001–02)
  • Gyasi Cline-Heard (2001–02)
  • Kostyantyn Galenkin (2001–02)
  • Joe Ingegneri (2001–02)
  • Nakiae Miller (2001–02)
  • Shaun Stonerook (2000–01)
  • Otis Hill (2000–01)
  • John O'Connell (2000–01)
  • Milos Babic (2000–01)
  • Vinny Arrendell (2000–01)
  • Dave d'Haens (2000–01)

References
  1. "Roundup: Magical 'Night of the Giants'". Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  2. Telenet komende drie jaar hoofdsponsor van Antwerp Giants
  3. "Antwerp use home support to stun Bamberg for third place". Basketball Champions League. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  4. "Antwerp Giants troeven Charleroi af in spannende bekerfinale". Sporza.be (in Dutch). 8 March 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  5. "Licenties BNXT League 2021-2022 toegekend". Basketball League (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/zaal/basketbal/1.2463616
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