Week 5 – Eagles are flying! Phoenix get a big win!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“London are going to be tough competition and even harder playing them at their home.”The acquisition of Drew Sullivan and Zaire Taylor, who are two proven winners, will make London an automatic title challenger.

But we will do our homework on how the Lions play and prepare for a battle. This is only the first of many encounters we will have with them.”

ANDREW THOMPSON

EAGLES’ FORWARD

Charles Smith and Alex Owumi enjoyed historic performances in the BBL on Friday as both reached personal milestones during collective triumphs.

Smith hit 6,000 career points in the BBL as he scored 20 in Newcastle Eagles’ 107-78 defeat of Surrey United at Sport Central on Friday.

The legendary forward passed the mark in a dominant home win as Eagles kept up the pressure on their title rivals and improved to 5-1 at the top of the table.

Darius Defoe also continued his impressive start to the season as he poured in a team-high 21 points to set them up perfectly for Sunday’s trip to face London Lions.

Lions beat Plymouth Raiders 91-63 to remain unbeaten in the league as Zaire Taylor made his home debut – but it was a Lions regular that stole the show.

Rod Brown was instrumental as the hosts burst out of the blocks and took an early lead before finishing with a game-high 18 points.

It was Owumi, however, who produced the scoring performance of the night. He finished with 33 points in Worcester Wolves’ 98-69 defeat of Leeds Force.

He connected on all six of his three-pointers to become the Wolves’ all-time leader in triples as he took his BBL tally to 169, one more than Daniel Gilbert’s total, as Wolves improved to 4-1.

London Lions, the only undefeated team in the BBL Championship heading into Sunday’s action, were finally handed their first loss, as defending champions Esh Group Eagles Newcastle topped the London side on the road at the Copper Box Arena.

Darius Defoe collected 19 points and 12 boards in a 69-56 win for Eagles, who stayed atop the league standings after improving to a 6-1 record, while Lions fell to a 3-1 mark.

Second-placed Leicester Riders, now 5-1, took care of business at home, strolling past Bristol Flyers 83-54. It was the third consecutive loss for the Bristol club, who are eighth in the standings with three wins in seven games.

Manchester Giants climbed all the way up to the fourth spot in the table after defeating Durham Wildcats 92-84 to claim their first road win of the season. Darren Best led all scorers with 22 points.

Plymouth University Raiders and Cheshire Phoenix also finished the weekend on a high note. Raiders held off a fourth-quarter comeback from Leeds Force, taking the game 73-69, while Cheshire topped Glasgow Rocks 89-86 in Scotland.

The silent assassin Demond Watt finished the night with 26 pts and 17 rebounds for the Phoenix.