Vrenz Bleijenbergh (born 14 October 2000) is a Belgian professional basketball player for

Filou Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in the Baske ...

of the

BNXT League The BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons the betFirst BNXT League, is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL a ...

Early life and youth career

Bleijenbergh started playing basketball by the age of four with his local club Ticino Merksem. He played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position even though he was tall enough to be a power forward.

Professional career

Antwerp Giants (2018–2021)

In October 2018, Bleijenbergh signed a long-term professional contract with the Antwerp Giants. He turned down college offers from Arizona, Texas Tech and UCLA, among others. Bleijenbergh left

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

to focus on basketball. He declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

before withdrawing. In the 2020–21 season, Bleijenbergh became a regular starter with the Antwerp Giants. He was named Pro Basketball League Rising Star at the end of the season. On 1 June 2021, Bleijenbergh declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

but went undrafted.

Real Betis (2021–2022)

On 10 August 2021, Bleijenbergh signed with Real Betis of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. On 7 February 2022, he terminated his contract with Real Betis.

Windy City Bulls (2022)

On 26 February 2022, Bleijenbergh was acquired off waivers by the Windy City Bulls.

Oostende (2022–present)

On 1 August 2022, he signed with

of the

. On 17 September, Bleijenbergh scored 12 points in his Oostende debut during the

2022 BNXT Supercup The 2022 BNXT Supercup was the 2nd edition of the BNXT Supercup, the supercup of the BNXT League. The game was played on 17 September 2022 in the COREtec Dôme in Ostend. Filou Oostende Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Fi ...

, which the team won over

Heroes Den Bosch Heroes Den Bosch is a Dutch professional basketball club based in 's-Hertogenbosch. The club plays in the BNXT League since 2021 and in the top basketball division in the Netherlands since 1972. Founded as EBBC in 1951, the club had several spons ...

Long Island Nets

On 12 November 2022, Bleijenbergh's NBA G League rights were traded to the Long Island Nets in exchange for

Marcus Zegarowski Marcus Zegarowski (born August 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. High school career Zegarowski attended Hamilton-Wenham, wher ...

National team career

Bleijenbergh has represented Belgium at several youth international tournaments. He averaged 13.5 points, eight rebounds, a tournament-high six assists and two blocks per game at the

2018 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B The 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B was the 14th edition of the Division B of FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, from 27 July to 5 August 2018. Participating teams * * * ...

in Macedonia, leading his team to a bronze medal. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. At the

2019 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B The 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B was the 15th edition of the Division B of the FIBA U20 European Championship, the second-tier level of the European Under-20 basketball championship. The tournament was played in Matosinhos, Portu ...

in Portugal, Bleijenbergh averaged 9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game. He led Belgium to another bronze medal and earned All-Tournament Team honors. On 24 February 2019, Bleijenbergh made his Belgian senior national team debut, scoring three points against Iceland during EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers.

References

External links

Antwerp Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleijenbergh, Vrenz 2000 births Living people Antwerp Giants players BC Oostende players Belgian men's basketball players People from Brasschaat Real Betis Baloncesto players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Antwerp Province Windy City Bulls players Belgian expatriate basketball people in Spain Belgian expatriate basketball people in the United States