Sharks and Riders to meet in Trophy showdown

Sharks were the first to punch their ticket as they won 102-74 at home against Cheshire Phoenix to win 176-134 on aggregate.

A pair of threes scored by BJ Holmes then started Sharks on a 15-4 tear that left them ahead 28-18 early in the second quarter and they never looked back as they claimed a comfortable victory over a Phoenix side missing both Chez Marks and Jerome Gumbs.

All the Sharks players made it onto the scoresheet, with BJ Holmes, Olu Babalola and Demetrius Jemison all scoring 16 points. Jemison also had 9 rebounds. Sharks enjoyed a great night from beyond the arc, making a total of 14 of 27 attempts from long range, with Micah Williams scoring all 15 of his points from long range. Mike Tuck pulled down 10 boards and had 8 points.

It was much tighter in the other semi-final as Riders’ 82-73 win at Worcester Wolves in the first leg proved crucial.

Zaire Taylor led the Riders with 29 points and made a perfect 8/8 free-throw attempts. Pavol Losonsky had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

For Wolves, Alex Owumi scored 29 points to jointly lead all scorers while Arturas Masiulis scored 16 points.

The following night a full house at John Sandford Sports Centre cheered home favourites Riders to their third straight, although they did lose their unbeaten home record after a stunning 29 points from Alex Owumi gave Wolves a narrow 68-66 second-leg win.

Wolves led at the second and third breaks It set up a dramatic and nerve shredding finale and as they continued to keep their noses in front on the night and threatened to spoil the party at 68-62 with two minutes left.

However, Zaire Taylor eased home fans’ fears with a massive triple to drive a dagger through the visitors’ hearts.

With Wolves unable to add to their tally, Taylor made one further free-throw for Riders which sealed the deal and helped punched their ticket for Glasgow next weekend.

Riders’ coach Rob Paternostro admitted it was a tough game to coach: “It was difficult tonight, I don’t like two-leg basketball, and it was very tense. People keep saying we lost, we didn’t. We played the final two minutes as a six point game and it’s great to be going to another final.”

Newcastle Eagles moved level on wins with Riders at the top of the BBL Championship table with a 100-57 win at strugglers Mersey Tigers, never looking back after a 35-10 first period. Joe Chapman led all scorers for Eagles, finishing with 26 points and four steals. Charles Smith made a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds and also had 5 assists while Chris Bigley led the hosts with 11 points.

The BBL Championship returned to centre stage on Sunday, and it was home sweet home for the three hosts as Surrey Heat, London Lions and Glasgow Rocks picked up victories.

Rod Brown made a stunning debut for the Lions as he handed nine assists to go with his 15 points as theSharks were beaten 86-78 in front of another big Crystal Palace crowd. Lions took a 42-38 lead into the locker room at half-time and kept the visitors at bay in the second half to move a step closer to the play-offs.

Heat eased their way past a depleted Cheshire Phoenix side missing top scorer Chez Marks by 87-78 to halt a five game losing streak as Travis Holmes, Frank Holmes and Julius Joseph combined for 64 points, whilst Chavis Holmes dished up 12 assists.

Rocks panned Durham with a stunning 24-2 run either side of half-time to win 88-66 at the Emirates Arena,Jamie Vanderbeken and Gareth Murray putting the visitors to the sword from the perimeter with seven triples between them.

Story – BBL

Shark’s Photo – MPhotography

Zaire Taylor’s Photo – Rider’s website