(French Club Orleans had front row seats to the Ron Lewis show on December 7th: Eurochallenge)
(2010/2011 FIBA EuroChallenge Group Stage)
12.7.2010 - Dexia Mons (Belgium) 68 vs Orleans Loiret 61 (France) Group H Game 4) W
- Ron Lewis: 18 points, 4 assists, 3 steals!
12.14.2010 - Dexia Mons 82 (Belgium) at SLUC Nancy 79 (France) Group H Game 5) W
-Ron Lewis: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists!
A December to Remember: The last month of 2010 has resembled that of March Basketball for Buckeye Ron Lewis & the Dexia Mons Foxes. Big game after big game, must win situations, fourth quarter thrillers...this is what it has been like for Mons.Ron Lewis (pictured left: getting ready to throw the hammer down late vs Orleans: 12.7.2010) & the other Buckeyes in Europe play 'big' games in November and December because every contest is important when you play in only one league game a week (comparable to an NCAA conference game). And in Mons' case, they also play in the separate FIBA Euro-Challenge competition, in addition to their Belgian league schedule.
FIBA Europe competitions like the Euro-Challenge (also the Euroleague & Eurocup) are modeled after the familiar national team tournaments like the Olympics or World Championships.
-This is the standard FIBA format-
1. A variety of countries qualify for the competition
2. The total pool of teams are divided into groups.
3. The advancing teams out of the group stage will next either play in a single elimination style tournament, or (depending on the number of teams) be matched with one other team for a short series before the do or die/single elimination games.
The club level is not much different from the national team competitions. Instead of say Belgium vs France (a game you would see in a FIBA National team competition), the Euro-Challenge, for example, will feature Mons vs Orleans, a club form the Belgian League versus a club from the French League.
These contests are fun to watch because almost every game is accompanied with a pressure filled, tournament like atmosphere. Every possession counts, every game counts..winning earns much acclaim..and big time success in these competitions can help in moving your club or league up in the European basketball totem pole
(prestige obviosuly doesn't matter to the players as much as the fans in the Euro basketball community..the fans hold these tournaments in high regard because of the big time bragging rights..fans in the Greek League want to be able to say their league is better than the Italian League when Greek teams play Italian teams..it's just like College Football Bowl season).
Dexia Mons did not begin the 2010/2011 Euro-Challenge Group Stage the way they wanted to. They played well in in the opening game (11.16.) at Orleans Loiret, but could not hold off the French Club in the 4th quarter. (fell 82-76)Game two was a home date against another team from France, SLUC Nancy. Ron Lewis & teammate Ronell Taylor led a furious comeback attempt late in the game, but Mons would fall in another disappointing game (78-76).
The 0-2 start created must win situations for the Foxes in every remaining group contest. In a game they absolutely had to have, Mons took care of business in week three action vs Oostende, a familiar team from Belgium (71-68).
Then there was the first game of December, the big rematch with Orleans on the 7th. Things seemed to be going in Mons' favor. They were at home, they knew they could play with Orleans from game one, plus the French team would be without their leading scorer Troy Bell. The good guys were on top by 4 after the first period, but Orleans stunned Mons Arena with 24 2nd quarter points to take a 37-28 lead into halftime.
A comeback & win required a great amount of effort, and that is exactly what Mons gave in what was perhaps an early season defining 2nd half. Mons knew it was all about stops, so they fed off their hot home crowd, kicked up the team defense a few notches, and were able to split Orleans' 24 points in the 2nd to 12 in the 3rd, and only 12 in the 4th. Columbus' Ron Lewis led the charge on offense whether it was converting at the rim, drawing fouls, or setting up teammates (he finished with 18). The highlight of the game was a game sealing dunk by Lewis (pictured below) with less than a remaining to complete amazing comeback (68-61 final)
(Lewis seals the deal vs Orleans: 12.7.2010)
This game was one of the toughest challenges of the season so far. On the road in France, in a must win situation. It was a back & fourth affair all game long, but in the end Mons would display a late game poise that they lacked in the first 2 Euro-challenge games to overcome Nancy in the 4th quarter and celebrate a huge 82-79 W.
(Clip -Just like in the Orleans game, Ron Lewis had another late 4th quarter dunk in France vs Nancy)
Ron Lewis Dunk vs SLUC Nancy in Eurochallenge 12.14.2010
Uploaded by BuckeyeBallersTV. -
The Interesting Dynamic of Oostende - The win over SLUC Nancy moved Mons to the top of Group H with a 3-2 record. They enter the last week (12.21) of the Group Stage with their destiny in their own hands. Nancy (3-2) plays at Orleans (1-4)..if Orleans wins, then Mons automatically advances to the next stage, but they won't have to even worry about that if they just win at Base Oostende (3-2) today.
The crazy dynamic about Oostende is that Mons just defeated these guys a couple days ago in the Belgian League! In what would become yet another close game in December, Mons Barely slipped past Oostende on December 18th (88-86), and now both teams are set to play again just a few nights later for a spot in the Euro-Challenge Last 16!
Mons has beaten Oostende three times now this season. They got them on the road by 13 on October 16th. And won at home by 3 in European play on November 30th before the aforementioned two point victory at home on Decemberr 18th. Each game got tougher and tougher, and now Mons must try to take these guys out for the fourth time in a row, on the road..yeah..it's going to be tough!
12.21.2010 - Dexia Mons (3-2) at Base Oostende (3-2) (Euro-Challenge Group H Game Six) - Winner advances to the Euro-Challenge Last 16 -Tipoff is around 2:00 EST time in the U.S
The crazy dynamic about Oostende is that Mons just defeated these guys a couple days ago in the Belgian League! In what would become yet another close game in December, Mons Barely slipped past Oostende on December 18th (88-86), and now both teams are set to play again just a few nights later for a spot in the Euro-Challenge Last 16!
Mons has beaten Oostende three times now this season. They got them on the road by 13 on October 16th. And won at home by 3 in European play on November 30th before the aforementioned two point victory at home on Decemberr 18th. Each game got tougher and tougher, and now Mons must try to take these guys out for the fourth time in a row, on the road..yeah..it's going to be tough!
12.21.2010 - Dexia Mons (3-2) at Base Oostende (3-2) (Euro-Challenge Group H Game Six) - Winner advances to the Euro-Challenge Last 16 -Tipoff is around 2:00 EST time in the U.S
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