Etixx confirmed today their sponsorship in the 2011 edition of the Altia Belgacom X-Mas Tournament. This year they will be the cup sponsor of the Girls U18 competition. The organizers are very happy with this new commitment, and we advise everybody to have a look at their website: www.etixx.be

Just back from his trip with the fanion team in Siberia for a Euro Cup game, the coach of the Antwerp Giants MY18 confirmed their registration for the Altia Belgacom X-Mas Tournament. This team might be the strongest Belgium U18 team, and is showing their potential with impressing results in the national competitions. They will be one of the likely candidates for the finals in the floralux MU18 Cup. Visit their website at www.antwerpgiants.be

A new confirmation for the girls tournament during the Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament: CBV Binnenland, the club from Barendrecht, one of the leading programs in the Netherlands, confirmed tonight their participation in the event. We are very happy having them on board, and we hope to complete the roster in the coming days !

We are glad to announce that, for the first time, an Israelian club will be on the roster. Maccabi Ramat Gan, one of the leading youth programs in the country, will indeed participate in the BELGACOM U18 Invitational. The famous Israelian basketball is wel known in Belgium, mainly thanks to Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the leading clubs in European basketball. Many other teams in the country are however also at a very high level, and we are convinced that the team from Ramat Gan will be one of the main attractions in the tournament.

Alba Berlin participated last year in the U14 age group, and obviously the were satisfied about their participation. The German top club, who played last year with a very young team, will be competing again in U14. Alba is yet another big name in European basketball that will represented in the X-Mas Tournament. We are looking forward to meet the team from Berlin on December 26th. Visit their website: www.albaberlin.de

We might have a Swedish participant in the Belgacom U18 Invitational. viking Solna showed indeed their interest in the last remaining spot in this competition. We would, of course, be happy with this Scandinavian participation, and we hope to be able to confirm their presence in a couple of days.
Website: www.solnavikings.se.

Union Rennes Basket, a cooperation between 2 clubs from the city of Rennes (Avenir de Rennes and Rennes Pôle Association) registered today in the Men U18 age group. This team, competing in “cadets France” in their homecountry is in the lead in their series. “Bienvenue” at this French team, that will be a tough challenger for the other registered teams.
website: rennespabasket.free.fr

Blue Cats Ieper, one of the main youth programs in Belgian girls basketball will participate in the Girls U18 age group. As the girls compete in Ieper, they will benefit of a certain home advantage, but we are well aware that, even without this, they are for sure one of the top teams.
Website: www.bluecatsieper.be

We are happy to announce that Telekom Baskets Bonn, the well known German Bundesliga Team, will send their Men U16 team to the Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament. They will be the fourth team in this competition and might be one of the challengers for the victory. We warmly welcome this new participant at the X-Mas Tournament. Visit their website: http://www.telekom-baskets-bonn.de/

Spartak Bertrange is no longer the only club from Luxemburg to participate in the  Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament. This year, we can welcome for the first time the team of BBC Amicale Steinsel, registered in Men U16. In the past, we had cery good experiences with Sparta Bertrange, and we are sure that with Amicale Steinsel, the other high level club in the country, the experiences will be the same. We wrmly welcome this team.

visit their website www.amicale.lu

The organizers are very happy to announce that a top level Lithuanian team registered today for the main competition of the Altia Belgacom X-Mas Tournament. LKKA-Atletas Kaunas will indeed participate in the Invitational. They will compete with the national teams of Belgium, England and Switzerland, and the club teams BCM Gravelines, IBBA Berlin and Canarias Basketball Academy. Knowing the level of Lithuanian basketball, and the great players that were born in that country, we are sure to have another top level team in this competition.
 
Even more: they intend to bring also their professional main team, for playing some friendly games during the tournament, against division 1 teams. More news to follow soon !
 
We are sure that everyone is looking forward to see these teams in action !

Today we received the confirmation that USK Prague could be one of the participants in the U18 age group. This Czech team participated in the same competition in 2010 and finished 6th, but showed potential to be one of the competitors for the first place. The final confirmation depends upon the possible selection of the team for one of the qualification groups for the Nike Junior Euroleague, which could take place in the same period as the Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament. Their final decision will be communicated very soon, and we will of course inform as soon as possible. Website: www.futurestars.cz

Bavi Vilvoorde is for sure one of the best represented clubs in the history of the Mas Tournament. This year again, their U18 and U16 teams will be present at the event. Bavi was successfull in the U14 competition during the last editions: 3rd in 2009 and 2nd in 2010. Traditionaly, several of their players are playing in the Flemish selections U14, U16 and U18. As these selections won the most recent editions of the U16 and U14 competitions, we can conclude that this club’s youth program is amongst the strongest in the country. We are, of course, very happy to have them participating again, and we are very curious if they will be able to celebrate their first victory in 2011. The participation of their U14 will be decided upon in the coming days. Visit their website on www.new-bavi.be

In the U16 group, we can announce the confirmed participation of Castors Braine. This Belgian club has been very present in the last editions of the Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament. In 2009, their U16 team was runner-up, and last year the ended on a very satisfying 3rd place in the U14 age group. This year again, they will be for sure a tough competitor and aiming at a first victory. Most probably, their U14 team will register for the tournament in the coming days. Visit their website on www.castorsbraine.be

We are glad to announce that the famous Canarias Basketball Acacdemy confirmed yesterday their participation in the 2011 Belgacom Altia X-Mas Tournament. They will compete in the Belgacom U18 cup.
Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA)is most likely the most famous youth basketball program in Europe. The goal at The CBA is simple: to develop the best basketball players in the world, at all levels.
The participation of this European top level team will most probably be the necessary trigger for attracting other high level European teams for the Belgacom U18 cup.
For more information about CBA, visit their website: http://www.cbacademy.org/

As in 2010, Floralux (www.floralux.be) agreed upon being the name sponsor of the U18 men’s tournament. We thank this well know provider of garden products for it’s confidence in our organisation and are looking forward towards this new partnership !

The German Pro A Team from Nürnberg expressed their intention to participate in Men U18, U16 and U14 categories. This growing club has youth teams in the famous NBBL and JBBL, the highest categories in Germany, and could be another strong team on the X-Mas Tournament's roster. We warmly welcome them ! You can visit their website at www.n-bc.de

An Wauters, multiple European player of the year and leading lady in women's basketball, accepted to lend her name to the MVP Award handed over to the best player in the 2011 Girls U18 competition. The organizers of the Altia X-Mas Tournament are thanking this famous player for her very important support to their event, and we are sure that this reward will be an addittional motivator for all participating players.

The organizers of the Altia X-Mas Tournament are happy to announce that Betafence will be, this year again, the cup sponsor in the Under 16 age group. We thank this international company for their third commitment in a row.

We are very happy to announce that BELGACOM accepted to sponsor the competition for national teams. This leader in mobile phone networks in Belgium will lend its name to the tournament that will become the "Belgacom U18 Cup" for the coming years.  We thank this very important partner for its investment and we are looking forward to a long term cooperation !

The Boys Under 18 team of Berlin Süd was one of the big surprises last year, as they finished 4th in the very strong U18 age group. They announced earlier this week that they will be participating again this year. We gladly welcome them for the 3rd time on the X-Mas Tournament.

Leuven Bears, one of the prominent Belgian youth programs confirmed their participation in Boys Under 18. This club has been on the participants list since the first edition, and the organizers are very happy to have this Ethias League team participating again.

The organizers of the Altia X-Mas tournament decided to add a brand new category. For the first time, girls teams will be present at the tournament.

>From 26 till 28 December 2011, eight, twelve or sixteen girls teams Under 18 will compete. Although no formal recruitement has been done, we can announce at this stage that several teams announced their possible intent to participate: the Belgian or Flemish selection Under 18, the Dutch selection Under 17, several Dutch club teams, and even the East Coast Dunkeroos from.... Australia. More news about the tournament for girls to follow soon !

IBBA Berlin was last year one of the stronger teams in the U16 age group, and was ranked fourth after thrilling semi final and final games. In the German JBBL competition, the team reached this season the final Four !
The German club will announced some days ago their intention to participate this year in three age groups: U18, U16 and U14. We are sure that this club will be a huge challenger in every age group !
We are glad having them on the roster once again !

The Dutch team Basketball Stars Weert participated in our 2010 tournament with their U14 team (7th place, after being second in their qualification group, won by the team that later won the tournament). This year, Weert will participate with three teams: U18, U16 and U14.
We warmly welcome our first registrzted Dutch teams in the 2011 Altia X-Mas Tournament !

Altia Hotel, in Neuville en Ferrain, will be the X-Mas Tournament's main sponsor in 2011. Thanks to the excellent cooperation in 2009 and 2010, the tournament was able to host several teams in the outstanding accommodation of the Altia Hotel. This year again, Altia Hotel will be the central point for accommodation. We thank Mrs Els Delaere, the hotel director, for the trust she is showing in the organization of the Altia X-Mas Tournament 2011