2017–18 Pro Basketball League

The 2017–18 Pro Basketball League, for sponsorship reasons the EuroMillions Basketball League, was the 91st season of the Belgian Basketball League, first tier of basketball in Belgium. The defending champion was Oostende. The season started on 23 September 2017 and ended 14 June 2018.

Pro Basketball League
Season	2017–18
Dates	23 September 2017 – 13 June 2018
Teams	10
Regular season
Season MVP	Jean Salumu
Finals
Champions	Oostende (19th title)
Runners-up	Telenet Giants Antwerp
Semifinalists	Proximus Spirou Okapi Aalstar
Finals MVP	Tonye Jekiri
Statistical leaders
Points Miloš Bojović 18.3 Rebounds Tonye Jekiri 7.3 Assists Joe Rahon 5.6 Index Rating Seth Tuttle 17.3
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

Teams

Antwerp Giants changed its name to Telenet Giants Antwerp, following a sponsorship agreement with Telenet.^[1] Meanwhile, Telenet left Oostende which meant the sponsored club name disappeared after seven years.

Arenas and locations

Spirou

Liège

Leuven

Oostende

Giants

Okapi

Willebroek

Mons

Limburg

Brussels

Location of the 2017–18 Belgian Basketball League teams

Club	City	Arena	Capacity
Basic-Fit Brussels	Brussels	Piscine de Neder-Over-Hembeek	1,200
Belfius Mons-Hainaut	Mons	Mons.Arena	4,000
VOO Liège[a]	Liège	Country Hall	5,000
Crelan Okapi Aalstar	Aalst	Okapi Forum	2,800
Hubo Limburg United	Hasselt	Alverberg Sporthal	1,730
Kangoeroes Willebroek	Willebroek	Sporthal de Schalk	1,000
Oostende	Ostend	Versluys Dôme	5,000
Proximus Spirou	Charleroi	Spiroudome	6,200
Stella Artois Leuven Bears	Leuven	Sportoase	3,400
Telenet Giants Antwerp	Antwerp	Lotto Arena	5,218

1. Liège Basket started the season as "BetFirst Liège Basket", however it changed its name into "VOO Liège Basket" in February 2018.

Personnel and kits

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

Team	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Basic-Fit Brussels	Serge Crèvecoeur	Spalding	Basic-Fit Fitness
Belfius Mons-Hainaut	Daniel Goethals	Jako	Belfius
VOO Liège	Laurent Constantiello	Jako	BetFirst
Crelan Okapi Aalstar	Jean-Marc Jaumin	Jartazi	Crelan
Hubo Limburg United	Ronnie McCollum	K1X	Hubo
Kangoeroes Willebroek	Damir Milačić	Jako
Oostende	Dario Gjergja	Spalding
Proximus Spirou	Brian Lynch	Spalding	Proximus
Stella Artois Leuven Bears	Ferried Naciri		Stella Artois
Telenet Giants Antwerp	Roel Moors	Spalding	Telenet

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Hubo Limburg United	Brian Lynch	Signed with Proximus Spirou	31 June 2017[2]	Pre-season	Ronnie McCollum	9 April 2017[3]
Proximus Spirou	Fluvio Bastianini	Mutual consent	19 March 2017[4]		Brian Lynch	9 April 2017[2]
Hubo Limburg United	Ronnie McCollum	Fired	17 November 2017 [5]	8th (2–6)	Pascal Angillis	17 November 2017[5]

Regular season

In the regular season, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The eight highest placed teams advance to the playoffs. The first games are played on 23 September 2017 and the regular season finishes on 20 May 2018.^[6]

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Oostende	36	29	7	2969	2470	+499	65	Qualification for playoffs
2	Telenet Giants Antwerp	36	27	9	2911	2618	+293	63
3	Proximus Spirou	36	25	11	2954	2783	+171	61
4	Crelan Okapi Aalstar	36	23	13	2898	2708	+190	59
5	Belfius Mons-Hainaut	36	20	16	2870	2886	−16	56
6	Hubo Limburg United	36	16	20	2889	2903	−14	52
7	Kangoeroes Willebroek	36	13	23	2826	3111	−285	49
8	Basic-Fit Brussels	36	12	24	2637	2812	−175	48
9	VOO Liège	36	8	28	2970	3217	−247	44
10	Stella Artois Leuven Bears	36	7	29	2628	3044	−416	43

Source: EuroMillions League

Playoffs

The playoffs start on 26 May and end on 13, 15 or 17 June 2017. The winner of the playoffs is crowned Belgian national champion. In the quarterfinals and semifinals a best-of-three format is used, while the finals are played in a best-of-five format. The higher seeded team had home advantage and played games one, three and five (if possible) at home. Small bold numbers indicate team seeding.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
	1 Oostende	2
	8 Basic-Fit Brussels	0
					1 Oostende	2
					4 Okapi Aalstar	0
	4 Okapi Aalstar	2
	5 Belfius Mons-Hainaut	1
									1 Oostende	3
									2 Telenet Giants Antwerp	0
	2 Telenet Giants Antwerp	2
	7 Kangoeroes Willebroek	0
					2 Telenet Giants Antwerp	2
					3 Proximus Spirou	0
	3 Proximus Spirou	2
	6 Hubo Limburg United	0

Quarterfinals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Oostende	2–0	Basic-Fit Brussels	103–62	84–63
Okapi Aalstar	2–1	Belfius Mons-Hainaut	79–81	82–80	81–71
Telenet Giants Antwerp	2–0	Kangoeroes Willebroek	76–62	95–65
Proximus Spirou	2–0	Hubo Limburg United	89–62	80–73

Semifinals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Oostende	2–0	Okapi Aalstar	82–60	80–64
Telenet Giants Antwerp	2–0	Proximus Spirou	90–80	83–82

Finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5
Oostende	3–0	Telenet Giants Antwerp	75–67	74–66	78–67

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Qualification or relegation
1	Oostende (C)	43	36	7	Qualification for Champions League regular season
2	Telenet Giants Antwerp	43	31	12	Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
3	Proximus Spirou	40	27	13
4	Crelan Okapi Aalstar	41	25	16
5	Belfius Mons-Hainaut	39	21	18	Qualification for FIBA Europe Cup
6	Hubo Limburg United	38	16	22
7	Kangoeroes Willebroek	38	13	25
8	Basic-Fit Brussels	38	12	26
9	VOO Liège	36	8	28
10	Stella Artois Leuven Bears	36	7	29

Source: EuroMillions League
(C) Champions

Awards

Individual honours

Award	Player	Club	Ref.
Most Valuable Player	Jean Salumu	Oostende	[7]
Belgian Player of the Year	Jean Salumu	Oostende
Most Promising Player	Thomas Akyazili	Telenet Giants Antwerp
Coach of the Year	Dario Gjergja	Oostende

All-League Teams

All-Offensive Team		All-Defensive Team
Dušan Đorđević	Oostende	Paris Lee	Telenet Giants Antwerp
Garlon Green	Belfius Mons-Hainaut	Bill Amis	Okapi Aalstar
Jean Salumu	Oostende	Jean Salumu	Oostende
Chase Fieler	Oostende	Jean-Marc Mwema	Oostende
Seth Tuttle	Proximus Spirou	Tonye Jekiri	Oostende

In European competitions

Team	Competition	Progress	Ref
Oostende	Champions League	Regular season	[8]
Telenet Giants Antwerp		Regular season
Proximus Spirou	FIBA Europe Cup	Regular season
Belfius Mons-Hainaut		Second round