One game day to go in #TDM1… what’s still at stake?

In what has been a very enjoyable Top Division Men One season, we’ve now reached the final game day. So what is still on the line? And what has already been decided?

As every year, the Top Division Men One Playoffs are played with the top 8 teams.

The team that has been in pole position almost all season—and has already secured first place—is the in-form CB Liège. The star-studded roster featuring players like Olivier Troisfontaines, Maxime De Zeeuw, and Ioann Iarochevitch lost only three times and now awaits its opponent.

The teams in 2nd, 3rd, and 6th place are also already confirmed. Guco Lier was Liège’s closest challenger throughout the season and will finish second in the regular season. Floréal Neufchâteau enjoyed a very strong campaign and is rewarded with third place. They will face the young Antwerp Giants B, who have secured sixth place, in the first round.

After that, things get more exciting.

Will Lommel or LDP Donza get home-court advantage?

Croonen Lommel and two-time defending champion LDP Donza are already set to face each other. The question is: who will finish fourth and thus gain home-court advantage in a potential Game 3?

In their head-to-head matchups, Lommel won 77–65 at home, while Donza won 93–87 at home. So Lommel holds the advantage.

On the final game day, LDP Donza travels to United Woluwé, while Lommel hosts Basket Willebroek.

Who takes Playoff spots 7 and 8?

Just like the relegation battle, the fight for the final Playoff spots remains very tight heading into the last game day. The contenders are Falco Ghent, Basket Waregem, SKT Ieper, Kontich Wolves, and Basket Willebroek. Notably, there are no direct matchups between these teams on the final day.

For Falco Ghent and Basket Waregem, it’s simple: win and you’re in the Playoffs. Falco has the head-to-head advantage over Waregem (two wins) and currently sits 7th, with Waregem in 8th. Both teams have a (12–15) record, slightly ahead of the three chasing teams (11–16).

But what happens if more than two teams are tied? In that case, FIBA rules apply, and a “mini-standings” is created among the tied teams, considering only their head-to-head results.

Hypothetically, all five teams could finish with a 12–16 record (if Falco and Waregem lose and the other three teams win). In that mini-table, only the games between those five teams are considered. In such a scenario, Willebroek would come out on top with a 5–3 record, while Waregem would be last at 3–5.

Ieper, Kontich, and Falco would all be tied at 4–4, requiring a deeper tiebreaker based on point differential in their mutual games. Falco would rank lowest with a -4 differential, while Ieper and Kontich would remain tied at +2.

Looking at their direct matchups, Ieper holds the edge over Kontich with a +8 point differential. So in this hypothetical scenario where all teams finish 12–16, the standings would be:

7. Basket Willebroek

8. SKT Ieper

9. Kontich Wolves

10. Falco Ghent

11. Basket Waregem

What about the relegation battle?

At the very bottom, Spirou Basket B finishes last (15th) with a 6–22 record and is relegated to TDM2.

The fight for 14th place—and the second relegation spot—remains open between Avanti Brugge and Gembo Borgerhout. Currently, Gembo (9–18) has the edge over Avanti (8–19), meaning Avanti would be relegated as it stands today.

However, Avanti holds the head-to-head advantage. So if Gembo loses and Avanti wins, Avanti would move up to 13th place and Gembo would drop to 14th—and be relegated.

Much also depends on who becomes champion and earns promotion to the BNXT League. CB Liège has applied for a license but must first win the title to move up. If they do get promoted, there will be one fewer relegation spot, and the team finishing 13th will stay in TDM1. If Liège does not become champion, the 13th-placed team will also be relegated.

United Woluwé is safe and will finish no lower than 12th, as it defeated Gembo Borgerhout twice during the regular season.