Belgium’s Katz lost to China and finished third in her group

And so the Cats finished third in their group, but had a ticket to the quarter-finals for a while.

World number five Belgium, who had to dispense with a calf injury Emma Messmann, faced off against China’s second-placed China with an easier quarter-final tie on paper.

In an even game at Olympic Park Center, under the direction of Wut van Aert, among others, China led 17-14 after the first quarter. In the first half, it was between 35 and 28 for the Chinese, and China also led after the third quarter (54-45). In the last quarter, the Cats’ spring was broken, and they only scored ten points and eventually lost with a heavy 81-55 final numbers. Among the Belgians, Chiara Linskins (14 points) was the best in shooting, and Julie Vanlow had 13.

Earlier in the World Cup, Belgium lost its opening match in Group A against the United States (87-72), but then beat South Korea (84-61), Puerto Rico (68-65) and Bosnia (85-65). 55). They took third place in their group, after the group winners the United States and China. On Thursday, they will face the number one or two jersey holder of Group B in the quarter-finals, which will be decided on Tuesday afternoon (3:00 Belgium time) after the draw. Before the start of the last day, Canada leads Group B ahead of France, Australia and Serbia.

For the cats, this is the World Cup finals for the second time in a row. Four years ago they finished fourth in Tenerife, Spain.