Top two overturned on big night for BBL

The biggest upset of the night came on Merseyside with bottom of the table Worcester Wolves shocking the league leading Everton Tigers 101-106. Anthony Paez, who has settled in nicely since returning to the Wolves, led all Wolves scorers with 31-points

Two results on the BBL on Friday night, on Merseyside and Tyneside proved what an amazing sport basketball really is. The top two teams in the country were Everton Tigers and Newcastle Eagles. I had seen quite a bit of the Tigers and they look awesome. I have not yet seen the 08/09 Eagles but everyone I have spoken to tells me they are unbeatable in this league.

Arriving at the Greenbank Fortress was interesting enough due to horrendous traffic problems in the north west. I got there at about 20 past 7 for a 7:30 tip. I need not have hurried. There was 1 ref in the house and no opponent. The Wolves were stuck in traffic in the carpark that is Friday night on the M6.

We tried everything to keep the large crowd interested as the delay rolled on.

Toxteth The Tiger led the way with the excellent entertainment & he was ably supported by Cody’s Cats.

Of course, there was another game taking place and there was a nice gathering around the stats computer as Bada kept us updated on the What’s Bev website, as to what was happening in Newcastle.

The ‘unbeatable’ Eagles were struggling against the Sheffield Sharks.

In the end the game here at Greenbank started at 9pm. 1 and a half hours late. Tigers head coach Tony G was not amused…In fact he was fuming.

And so to the game itself and what a game it was. Anthony Paez, one of my favourite players from last season was back in the line-up for the Wolves and new men Vidmantas Uzkuraitis, 7 footer Justin Brown, and the awesomely named Will Funn was also there. The Tigers were missing Olu Babalola, and we would later find out that although Tony Dorsey was in the line-up and had warmed up with the team, he would take no part because of a well hushed-up injury.

The first quarter gave us a taste of what a game we had in store as Andre Smith and Josh Gross led for the Tigers and Justin Brown and Will Funn led for the Wolves. 6 threes were scored in that first quarter, 4 for the home team and 2 for the visitors. One of the Wolves threes was scored by Vidmantas Uzkuraitis…THERE WOULD BE MORE.

At the end of the first the score was 26 – 24 in favour of the Tigers.

And so to the second and it was more of the same, end to end, great scoring, great passing and some wonderful assists. There were also some awful turnovers by both teams (The Tigers would finish the game with 20 compared to the Wolves 10). Paez began to get going, but it was Harry Disy who started to drain it for the visitors. Midgley and Bailey began to step up for the home tean and Andre Smith continued to do what Andre Smith does…SCORE.

At the half the score was 54 to the Wolves and 49 to the Tigers. The leading scorer was Disy with 14 assisted by Paez with 11 while Smith led with 12 for the Tigers. This was free flowing free scoring basketball of the highest order. But there was more to come. The news from the Eagles was still filtering through, Sharks were up 10 in the third but the Eagles had just gone on their own 11-0 run.

Looked like it was all over for the Sheffield boys…WRONG!

Part way through the third somebody shouted down the final score from the Eagles game. I heard Eagles 91 Sharks 86. I didn’t rush to announce it but at the first chance I got, I let the fans in the arena know that the Eagles had won…WRONG.

As I made the announcement there was a scream from the stats table that the final score was Eagles 81 Sharks 86. Sheffield had beaten the ‘unbeatable’ Newcastle Eagles.

The third quarter here at Greenbank was all about Andre Smith and Josh Gross for the Tigers, while player/coach Skouson Harker would step up for the Wolves. Down low, Smith is almost unstoppable and he knows how to go after the rebounds. In this third stanza, the Tigers would score 31 points to the Wolves 20. The score at the end of the 3rd was 80 to the Tigers and 74 to the Wolves.

It was now looking like another comfortable victory for the Merseyside boys…WRONG.

The 4th quarter was all about Uzkuraitis and Paez for the Wolves. They were awesome, with the former sticking 3 threes one of which could have been from the carpark. Try as they might the Tigers could not keep the lead. They got it to 5 but could get it no further. A foul plus a technical on Gross would see Paez score all 4 from the line. He would finish the game with 31 while Uzkuraitis would amass 21 including 5 threes. Harker would chip in an excellent 17 points.

For the Tigers, Andre Smith would lead all scorers with 32 ably assisted by Midgley with 21 and Gross with 20. Perhaps one of the best performances of the night from the Tigers was that of Josh Gross now fully fit after his injury. take my word for it, he can do it all.

The Wolves shot 53% from the field, 82% from the freethrow line and 50% from the threepoint arc. Uzkuraitis was 5 for 6 from downtown on his own, while Paez went 9 for 19 from the field and 11 for 12 from the freethrow line…WOW

The Tigers fans were devastated by this, their first loss of the season, but without Dorsey and Babalola this night belonged to the Worcester Wolves and on this night they thoroughly deserved their most entertaining victory. The good news for the Tigers fans was that Newcastle had also lost. These two stay at the top of the BBL, for the time being, with 4 and 1 records.

Saturday morning and I e-mail my mate Frisky of the Eagles to see if he had a photo from last night. Once again, he doesn’t let me down!