Telenet Ostend took a crucial step forwards towards reaching the Eurocup Last 32 in Group A by edging previously undefeated FoxTown Cantu 77-75 at home on Wednesday. Ostend improved to 6-2 and will qualify with another win or if either CEZ Basketball Nymburk or Le Mans Sarthe Basket lose one game. Cantu dropped to 7-1 but will finish first if it beats Nymburk next week or if Ostend loses against Cibona Zagreb. Jared Berggren paced the winners with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Ryan Thompson and Mateusz Ponitka each added 11 points for Ostend. Michael Jenkins led Cantu with 20 points. Joe Ragland added 18 for the guests, which trailed 46-40 at the break. An unstoppable Berggren allowed Ostend to get a 55-44 lead. The hosts still led 75-68 with less than 2 minutes left but a 0-7 run which Jenkins capped with a three-pointer allowed Cantu to tie the game, 75-75, with 26 seconds left. It all came down to the final seconds, in which Dusan Djordjevic stepped up with the go-ahead layup and Adrian Uter missed a shot that would have sent the game to overtime.

A dunk by Marco Cusin and a three-pointer by Ragland gave Cantu an early 2-5 lead. It didn't last long, however, as Thompson had 5 points in a 10-0 run which gave Ostend a 15-7 margin. Marcel Jones and Pietro Aradori stepped up for Cantu but only brought the guests within 22-16 after 10 minutes. Ostend found a new go-to guy in Niels Marnegrave, who followed a triple with a layup to keep the hosts ahead, 27-21. Khalid Boukichou hit free throws and a three-pointer by Ponitka boosted the hosts' lead to 32-23. A three-point play by Veselin Petrovic soon made it a double-digit game, 37-27. Jenkins had 6 points in a 0-8 Cantu run but Quentin Serron and Thompson restored a 46-40 Ostend lead at the break. An outstanding Berggren gave Ostend a 51-41 margin right after the break. Leunen hit a three-pointer but Berggren kept pacing the hosts, 55-44. Ragland and Jenkins joined the three-point shootout for a 57-53 Cantu deficit. Free throws by Ponitka fixed the score at 59-53 after 30 minutes. Uter made free throws, Jenkins dunked and a triple by Ragland made it a one-point game, 61-60. Ponitka stepped up with consecutive baskets and Petrovic gave Ostend a 68-62 lead with 6 minutes left. Ragland kept pacing Cantu but he didn't find much help around. Meanwhile, a layup by Thompson seemed to seal the outcome, 75-68. Ragland scored and Jenkins followed free throws with a triple to tie it at 75-75 with 26 seconds left. Djordjevic hit the game-winning layup with 4 seconds left, as Uter missed at the other end.