Donar Groningen

Douglas Konieczny Jr. made it look routine in Groningen: 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 7 rebounds, zero turnovers in 24 minutes. Val-Dieu Spirou Basket dismantled Donar 90–63 on the road, and Konieczny's efficiency — he also went 3-for-4 from three and made both his free throws — set the tone early. That kind of shooting night, combined with care with the ball, leaves little margin for a host team to build anything. The 27-point margin speaks for itself. Val-Dieu Spirou controlled the pace and didn't need to labor for it. Next up for them is a home fixture.

Val-Dieu Spirou Basket dismantled Donar Groningen 90-63 to hand the visitors their first loss of the season. A 27-point margin — and the story was set in the second quarter alone, when Spirou outscored Donar 28-11 to take a 25-point lead into half-time at 55-30. The damage only widened. Donar scraped together 13 points in the third while Spirou added 20, including an 11-0 run that pushed the lead to 35 points with 3:40 left in the quarter. By the end of three, Spirou led 75-43 — a game already decided. Donar won the fourth 20-15, a hollow consolation that left them at 2-1 and Spirou now level at 2-1 after their opening loss. Douglas Konieczny Jr. led the charge with 23 points on 9-13 shooting and 3-4 from three. Adedayo Polet added 22 points, including a sharp 5-9 from distance. Eduardo Andre controlled the glass with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks across 11 points on efficient 5-7 shooting. Michael McCalister's 20 points on 8-14 for Donar were good work in a lost cause; Aleksandre Merkviladze managed 12 points but needed 13 shots to get them. Donar travel to Partena Professional Okapi Aalst on Sunday 25 October, hoping to bounce back. Spirou stay home to face Coretec Oostende on Friday 23 October.

Kevon Godwin has been threading the offense for Donar Groningen with precision in recent weeks — 7.5 assists per game to go with 15 points, running at a 59.3 TIB efficiency rating — but he faces a scoring threat tonight that will demand constant attention. Douglas Konieczny Jr. arrives at Val-Dieu Spirou Basket as a different animal: 19 points per game on 57.5 efficiency, a pure volume scorer operating almost entirely on his own (0.3 assists). One orchestrates; one decimates. The BNXT League matchup hinges partly on whether Donar can control pace and flow through Godwin's playmaking, or whether Konieczny Jr. simply imposes his will in isolation. Spirou's reliance on a lone offensive engine versus Groningen's distributed attack sets up a classic structural tension — and both players' recent form suggests they're ready to deliver. Tip-off is in three hours. Catch it live.

Sebastian Thomas carried AB InBev Leuven Bears on the road with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals across 35 minutes, but it was not enough to overcome Donar Groningen in a 78–81 defeat. Thomas shot 9 of 19 from the floor and made 6 of 10 free throws to lead the scoring, though his team's road trip ended in a three-point loss. He also turned the ball over just once and committed only 2 fouls — a controlled performance at both ends, even in a contest that slipped away. The Bears stay in the fight within the BNXT League regular season, but this kind of night — a strong individual outing swallowed by a narrow road defeat — is the razor's edge of domestic basketball. Next time out will test whether they can build on Thomas's form and close the small margins that matter most.

Donar Groningen held off a late surge from AB InBev Leuven Bears to win 81–78, a genuine three-point finish decided in the final stretch after the visitors clawed back from a 16-point hole. The game was loose and contested from the start—nine lead changes and five ties kept it in flux through the opening half. Donar built momentum in the second quarter, stringing together a 9-0 run midway through to push the lead to 38–27, and took a commanding 40–30 halftime advantage. Early in the third, Donar extended their cushion to 50–34 with 06:41 on the clock, but Leuven Bears refused to fold. The visitors outscored Groningen 23–22 in the quarter to cut it to 62–53 heading into the fourth. The final ten minutes belonged entirely to Leuven Bears. A 25-point fourth-quarter output against Donar's 19 made it a one-possession game inside the final two minutes, but Groningen found enough to close it out. Brandon Bergsma led Donar with 19 points on efficient 6/9 shooting and five made free throws. Aleksandre Merkviladze contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds. For Leuven Bears, Sebastian Thomas finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds despite 9/19 shooting, while Carl Cleveland added 25 points on a sharp 9/15 from the field. Donar host Val-Dieu Spirou Basket on Wednesday 14 October.

Jonas Visser has been the engine of AB InBev Leuven Bears' recent run, posting a 72.5 TIB efficiency rating with 20 points per game — the kind of consistency that wins close ones in the BNXT League. Kevon Godwin brings a different profile for Donar Groningen: 60.3 efficiency, 19 points and the ball in his hands at 3.5 assists per game, a playmaker as much as a scorer. What makes this matchup sharp is the gap in approach. Visser is a finisher, high-volume and direct. Godwin has to run the offense through half-court sets and find cutters; he'll be hunting rhythm on the perimeter while also managing the tempo. Leuven Bears will want Visser to attack early and often. Groningen needs Godwin's court vision to open driving lanes and spacing. Both are in form — that's what the recent numbers tell you — and tonight one of them will have tipped the balance when the final buzzer sounds. Tip-off in roughly three hours.

Sebastian Thomas is carrying AB InBev Leuven Bears at 21 points per game this season, but he'll meet a Donar Groningen side built around Aleksandre Merkviladze—who's averaging 20 PPG himself. Two prolific scorers on a collision course in the BNXT League; the question is who gets more breathing room tonight. Merkviladze and Thomas have shaped their respective teams' offensive identity. Groningen leans on that consistency from their lead man; Leuven has built around Thomas's scoring punch. Both sides know what they do best. The detail worth tracking: can the supporting casts create enough separation to let their stars operate freely, or does the defensive pressure force them into difficult nights? Tip-off is in about six hours. Watch it unfold.

Kevon Godwin took over in Kortrijk. The Donar Groningen guard finished with 17 points, 7 assists and 4 steals across 29 minutes, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and a clean 5-of-9 from three, as the visitors held off House of Talents Spurs Kortrijk 85–76 in a BNXT League regular-season fixture. Godwin's playmaking and perimeter accuracy set the tempo for Groningen's offence. He moved the ball with minimal friction—just one turnover in his time on court—while his scoring, especially from deep, kept Kortrijk's defence honest. The four steals underscored his intensity at the other end. Groningen pulled clear by nine on the road. Godwin's efficiency on a volume night proved central to that margin.

🏀 Final: House of Talents Spurs Kortrijk 76–85 Donar Groningen. Top: Amin Adamu 13 PTS.