QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“They have a lot of talent, Zaire (Taylor) and Drew (Sullivan), who are proven players in this league, and I really like a lot of the new players they have.

“Zaire and Drew are two talented players but they are both intelligent as well. It’s a combination, when you are watching basketball you may not realise how important it is to be an intelligent, smart player but both those guys combine ability with intelligence, and do it very well.”

ROB PATERNOSTRO

RIDERS’ HEAD COACH

A busy Friday night in the BBL saw Esh Group Eagles Newcastle take a step towards the BBL Cup Final, amid much movement in the BBL Championship standings as five league games were played.

The Eagles beat Sheffield Sharks 75-77 in the BBL Cup semi-final first leg, as they seek to knock their Steel City rivals out at this stage for the second season in a row. It is the third time that the Eagles have beaten the Sharks this season, meaning that Sheffield have it all to do when they travel to the North East in the return fixture on 12 December.

In the BBL Championship, Worcester Wolves took advantage of Newcastle’s Cup game to join them at the summit of the league table. Alex Owumi scored 15 points in a startling second quarter that saw the Wolves beat Bristol Flyers 79-65 and win their fifth game in a row.

Also winning their fifth straight game were Cheshire Phoenix, whose 69-99 destruction of Surrey United sent them up to third in the table, behind Taylor King’s 21 points and 20 for David Aliu.

Elsewhere in the BBL Championship, Manchester Giants moved up to sixth with an 80-91 defeat of Plymouth University Raiders – their first ever BBL win in Plymouth – and Glasgow Rocks are now seventh courtesy of a 79-68 defeat of Durham Wildcats as Danny Huffor scored 21 points.

But one team that didn’t move anywhere was Leeds Force, who came within minutes of pulling themselves from the bottom of the table, only to suffer late heartbreak in a 61-64 defeat against the London Lions, for whom Zaire Taylor and Lovell Cook dominated a fourth quarter salvage.

On a high-scoring Saturday night in the BBL Championship, the Esh Group Eagles Newcastle and the Leicester Riders both went through the century mark to regain first and third places in the table respectively.

The Eagles, paced by 25 points from Charles Smith, used a dominant first quarter to see off Bristol Flyers 93-105 in the South West, meaning that they have now won ten straight games and remain unbeaten on the road all season.

Meanwhile, Rashad Hassan posted the highest individual tally in any BBL game this season as his 34 points led the Riders to a 102-87 win over Surrey United. The Riders leapfrog Cheshire Phoenix, who beat United on Friday, into third place in the BBL Championship.

Deandre Medlock and JaJuan Smith grabbed the headlines on a dramatic night of BBL action on Sunday as both produced last-gasp heroics to secure victory for their teams.

It was a case of another week, another buzzer-beater for Glasgow Rocks as Smith connected on a three-pointer in the final three seconds of overtime to ensure his team edged Worcester Wolves 99-96 at Emirates Arena.

Seven days on from Kieron Achara’s Hail Mary magic knocked Leicester Riders out of the BBL Cup, Smith settled a nip-and-tuck tussle with Wolves with another long-range effort.

The game appeared set for a second extra period as Remi Dibo tied things up with three seconds to play before Smith created room off the dribble and hit the big shot.

Down on the south coast, Medlock spared Plymouth Raiders’ blushes, hitting a fadeaway as time expired to seal a 91-90 defeat of Sheffield Sharks.

Raiders had led by as many as 26 in the third period before Sharks bit back and BJ Holmes put the visitors in front with just 1.4 seconds to play.

But Brent Benson’s pinpoint long-range pass found Medlock’s hands and the forward connected to end Raiders’ four-game losing run.

Elsewhere, a Makal Stibbins dunk gave London Lions the impetus to go on a 13-0 third-quarter tear and eventually overcome Leicester Riders 89-75 at the Copper Box.

Vince Macaulay Photo – HERE