MANISA (Türkiye) - It's Gameday 2 of the Youth Basketball Champions League in Manisa and Filou Oostende just steamrolled their way into Semi-Finals to claim the first spot for a chance at the podium.
If anything, a steamroller is an unsophisticated analogy for the way that Oostende have played thus far in Season 3 of the YBCL. They are more like a steamroller with a Rolls Royce engine.
Game 1 saw them shoot the lights out on the way to a 95-88 win over Telekom Baskets Bonn, and on Wednesday, in the second part of their double-header to open the tournament, they used the space opened up from the threat of their shooting to shoot 70 percent in the paint and 50 percent overall on their way to a dominant 90-68 win over last year's silver-medalists, Galatasaray.
The spacing, ball movement, and movement without the ball have been the hallmarks for Oostende in both wins and for head coach Maarten Caron, the way his team is playing is not only rewarding to watch but also a reward in itself for the sacrifices his team has made to get better this season.
"I love it that they play together," he said before expanding.
"They're playing together, they're sharing the ball and if we do this, they can find each other and there's more space to attack."
"It took us a little while during the season to make them understand that we are better as a team than we are individually and they are doing it," Caron explained.
Oostende have been in a nice groove since a Christmas international tournament and as a result, have an U18 Belgian Cup Final to look forward to directly after this tournament.
Whilst it's certainly team basketball that has enabled Oostende to claim the first spot in the Semi-Finals, it's also undeniable that four of their players have had the finesse and clinical execution to get that Rolls Royce engine purring.
2008-born, Belgian international Tim Waerniers has already looked like one of the standout candidates to claim the MVP award should Oostende make it all the way to the Final and beyond.
Against Bonn he put up 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, on 70 percent shooting overall and 50 percent from deep.
He followed that up with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, on 73 percent shooting overall and 40 percent shooting from deep against Galatasaray.
The 2.01m/6ft 7in swing man already plays with such an efficient, no fuss style. There's no fuss, no wasted movements, no noise.
"He's the non-verbal leader of the team, he's leading by action and this is really positive," Caron explained.
"He's reading well the game, he's basketball smart, and he's moving really well. We can improve on a lot of other parts of the game, but he has a feel for the game and he has a mind for the game that's really good."
Point guard Vince T'Joncke has flirted with a triple double in both games so far.
The 2007-born six-footer put up 14 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds against Bonn, and then followed that up with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists vs Galatasaray today. He's also shooting 50 percent from for the tournament so far.
Those rebounding numbers are outrageous for a point guard, but it's the way he sets the tempo and orchestrates the game for his team that has head coach singing his praises.
"He's like the engine of the team," Caron stated.
"He can also create for himself because he's really skilled, but most importantly he can play for the team and create for others as well. If he's doing this, we can win like we did these two days," Caron remarked.
2007-born combo guard Daan Pieters has been all over the box score and making the highlight reel with dunks and acrobatic plays across both games.
His averages of 18.0 points, 7.5 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 25 efficiency points will likely only be bettered by his teammate Waerniers at this stage of the tournament.
"He's a very athletic, physical force in his position. He has the quickness, a bit of size on the one-two position and he has a really good connection with his teammates," was the description of Pieters from his coach.
The final member of the Finesse Four for Oostende so far has been 2007-born, swing-man, Lars Coppejans.
The 1.97 meter former Belgian U16 international brings the heart and fire to this team. He also brings the offensive output.
He's putting up 20.0 points and 2.5 rebounds on 42 percent shooting overall and 43 percent shooting from deep. According to his coach, it's that chip on his shoulder that helps him to give this Oostende team that bit of edge and versatility that they need.
"He's a big competitor, he's an emotional guy that tries to play for the team and tries to prove himself," said Caron.
For an undersized team like Oostende, that competitive spirit has also helped them navigate size mismatches at times.
"He's capable of defending through a lot of positions and he's capable to play different positions on offense as well," Caron pointed out.
Whilst Oostende have been able to lean heavily on massive contributions from four players in the first two games, it's clearly visible that this is still a team with more weapons they can still call on.
Caron was quick to make this point that although six of his twelve have played the lions share of the minutes so far, any member of his roster will be ready when called on. And of those six, there are still more to come from two of them.
"There are two other guys who also make a lot of stuff happen, which isn't in the statistics scores wise," he said.
The players he's talking about are 2007-born shooter Edo Bruins who has been lethal if left open and opened the paint for his teammates with his spacing in the corner, and prodigious point guard talent, Jules Rotsaert.
The 2009-born is one of the top talents of his generation in Belgium and has used his IQ to make an impact plays despite playing against players two years his senior.
It may have been smooth sailing for Oostende so far, but it only gets tougher when you reach the Semi-Finals of the YBCL.
Up next is the winner of Group A on Saturday, April 26, which is now confirmed as Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg after they confirmed their position at the top of Group A with a win over Igokea m:tel.
Maarten Caron is under no illusions of the challenges that await.
"I think the physicality from some teams is amazing," he said.
"If you see them come by in the dining room, you see some big fellas there but okay, it's still basketball and you have to find a way to attack their weakness and to protect your own weakness. So I think this is the idea and we cannot give up."