By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Andre Gustavson has penned a contract with Filou Oostende, the team announced on Wednesday.
With Jordan Schakel parting ways with the Belgian champions upon mutual agreement, the 26-year-old Finnish combo guard signed up for the Basketball Champions League and BNXT League.
The situation in Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, is far from ideal for the team coached by Giorgos Dedas. At 0-4 in Group G of the Regular Season, Oostende needs to beat back-to-back champion Unicaja in COREtec Dome on Tuesday and Mersin Spor in Servet Tazegul Arena on December 17 to preserve any chance of qualifying for a best-of-three Play-In series and a second opportunity to advance to the Round of 16. At the regional level, an 8-1 record is tied with Windrose Giants Antwerp in first place of the BNXT standings.
Following the recent addition of Alex Merkviladze, roster moves extended to Gustavson, replacing Schakel. The 27-year-old American winger, a former Washington Wizards player in the NBA, took his talents to Europe for the first time in his career at the top of the season, but was limited to 5.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest in the Champions League over four appearances, and added 10.0 points per BNXT game over nine appearances.
On the opposite direction, Gustavson returned to his home country after his college experience in the United States with Richmond, playing for Kauhajoki Karhu in the Korisliiga since 2024. After 41 games in the 2024-25 journey en route to the Finals of the Playoffs, he was featured in three more games this season, tallying 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.7 assists, and 0.3 blocks per contest.
At the international level, the Helsinki native debuted in a major tournament with the senior national team of Finland in last summer’s EuroBasket 2025. He was also capped in the preceding Qualifiers, the recent FIBA window with FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, and the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain in 2024.