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 Pro Basketball League (PBL), 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
LeaguesPro Basketball 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 coachChristophe Beghin
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.

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[5]

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 0 Branch, Stephaun 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 25 – (1995-11-07)7 November 1995
F 2 Jenkins, Jalen 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 26 – (1994-09-02)2 September 1994
F 8 Gibbs, Sterling 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – (1993-07-17)17 July 1993
G 9 Van Den Eynde, Niels 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 20 – (2000-12-27)27 December 2000
G 11 Khallouk, Zakaria 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 21 – (1999-12-01)1 December 1999
F 12 Bleijenbergh, Vrenz 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 20 – (2000-10-14)14 October 2000
F 13 De Ridder, Niels 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 19 – (2001-02-07)7 February 2001
C 14 Rogiers, Roby 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 23 – (1997-06-14)14 June 1997
F 22 Kesteloot, Vincent 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 25 – (1995-03-23)23 March 1995
PF 23 Dudzinski, Dave (C) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 28 – (1992-05-26)26 May 1992
C 28 Fall Faye, Ibrahima 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 24 – (1997-01-10)10 January 1997
SG 32 Donkor, Dennis 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 29 – (1991-07-15)15 July 1991
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Randy Oveneke
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: December 26, 2020

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Ibrahima Fall Faye Roby Rogiers
PF Dave Dudzinski Jalen Jenkins
SF Vincent Kesteloot Vrenz Bleijenbergh Caspar Augustijnen
SG Zakaria Khallouk Dennis Donkor Niels de Ridder
PG Niels Van den Eynde Lenny Coppens

Colours: Blue = homegrown player; Red = non–FIBA Europe player

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 League3rd15–9
2019–20 1 Division I
3rd[lower-alpha 1]
11–6
 Champion 3 Champions League
RS
4–10
2020–21 1 Division I
0–0
 2 EuroCup0-0
  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–

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.
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