Phoenix keep their winning streak going

Wolves further underlined their BBL Championship credentials with a gutsy 95-90 road win at Plymouth Raiders, behind 21 points from Jamal Williams. Paul James’ men moved within four points of leaders Newcastle Eagles – who they meet next weekend – albeit having played a game more.

Leicester Riders recorded their second win in as many nights as Rashad Hassan scored 31 points in a 91-76 road win at title rivals London Lions.

Cheshire Phoenix remained level on points with Riders after Mike DiNunno scored 36 points to help John Coffino’s men beat Manchester Giants 93-75, their ninth win in a row.

Durham Wildcats increased their chances of advancing to the BBL Play-offs with a 77-72 success against Bristol Flyers.

Quote of the Week

Giants’ Head Coach Jeff Jones. Photo by Jack Hinds Photography.

Cheshire have strengthened since the last time we played them and talent-wise they are the second strongest team in the league, behind Newcastle, and that may only be because Newcastle, as a core of players, have been together longer.

For us to win, we have to not miss a shot, give up no turnovers and get every rebound on the defensive end of the floor, and then we may have a chance, but as always we won’t quit and we do all we can to win.Giant’s Head Coach Jeff Jones

Williams stars as Wolves take care of Raiders

BBL Championship

Plymouth Raiders 90 (29, 42, 69) (Mockford 22, Benson 18, Hampton 17)
Worcester Wolves 95 (24, 51, 69) (Williams 21, Holmes 19, Guede 17)

Paul james Head Coach of the Worcester Wolves.

Worcester Wolves further underlined their BBL Championship credentials with a gutsy 95-90 road win at Plymouth Raiders on Sunday.

Paul James’ men triumphed in a see-saw battle, which was tied heading into the final quarter.
The visitors’ experience eventually told and they completed the key plays when it mattered to record a third straight win and improve to 14-4, four points behind BBL Championship leaders Newcastle Eagles – who they meet next weekend.

Wolves seemed in control at half-time, as Jamal Williams found his shooting touch to help open up a nine-point lead.

But Great Britain international Ben Mockford began to make his mark in the second half and hit three triples in quick succession to close the gap and ensure the teams were level with 10 minutes to play.

It was at this point that the returning Robert Thurman made his presence felt, and with Williams and Paul Guede also firing, Raiders could not avoid a seventh defeat in their last nine outings.

Williams led Wolves with 21 points while Mockford had a game-high 22 as both teams had five players score in double figures.

London Lions mega slide continues

BBL Championship

London Lions 76 (26, 35, 57) (Stibbins 22, Cook 20, Brown 12)
Leicester Riders 91 (20, 39, 61) (31 Hassan, Bernardini 19, Anderson 14)

Rashad Hassan

Rashad Hassan starred once again as Leicester Riders beat London Lions 91-76 at the Copper Box on Sunday to claim a second victory in as many nights.

The forward scored 20 points as Rob Paternostro’s men cruised to success against Leeds Force on Saturday and followed up that display with a game-high 31 points, to go with nine rebounds in an impressive win in the capital.

Riders trailed by seven after the opening quarter but limited Lions to just nine points in the second stanza, allowing them to take control.

Lions responded after half-time, keeping pace with their visitors in the third period, but Hassan’s consistent scoring and Riders’ rebounding superiority saw them pull away.

Makal Stibbins and Lovell Cook combined for 42 of Lions’ points as Riders contained their former stars Drew Sullivan and Zaire Taylor to improve to a 12-3 record and consolidate third position in the table.

Lions on the other hand have now lost three games in a row and slip to 9-7 in fifth place, six points behind Paternostro’s Riders.

Phoenix continue to rise

BBL Championship

Cheshire Phoenix 93 (30, 49, 67) (DiNunno 36, King 20, Aliu 15)
Manchester Giants 75 (18, 45, 60) (Eaves 17, Bernard 16, Gayle 11)

Cheshire Phoenix’s winning streak stretched to nine games on Sunday as Mike DiNunno scored 36 points to power John Coffino’s men past Manchester Giants 93-75 at Northgate Arena.

Phoenix remain level on points with third-placed Leicester Riders, eight points behind leaders Newcastle Eagles, following another impressive performance.

Giants looked like they might be able to bring the run to an end when a couple of three-pointers from Martyn Gayle saw Cheshire’s lead reduced to a single point in the final period.

But a Simeon Naydenov triple, followed by five swift points from DiNunno, sparked a sequence, which would see the hosts outscore their visitors 22-5 in the final 6:35.

DiNunno was the undoubted star of the show with his tremendous scoring tally, but Taylor King added 20 points and 16 rebounds while David Aliu scored 15 and Demond Watt had a 10-point, 13-board double-double.

Phoenix used just seven players but Giants could not contend with them, despite 17 points and 15 rebounds from Ben Eaves.

Wildcats make it past Flyers

BBL Championship

Durham Wildcats 77 (25, 43, 66) (Jones 23, Puk 18, Urli 16)
Bristol Flyers 72 (22, 33, 49) (Streete 27, Seilund 15, Lautier-Ogunleye 11)

Durham Wildcats aided their pursuit of a BBL Play-off place as they held off a late rally from Bristol Flyers to win 77-72 at home on Sunday.

The result halted a run of three straight defeats for Lee Davie’s men, and ensured they would take the head-to-head tie-breaker with Bristol, should the teams share the same record at the end of the season.

Flyers were without star guard Bree Perine and slip to 7-11, the same record as Wildcats.

Nine first-quarter points from Christopher Jones got the hosts off to a good start and they continued to build on that, extending their led either side of half-time.

Greg Streete was in fine form for the visitors however, finishing with a game-high 27 points, and he was central to his side’s fourth-quarter fight-back.

But Wildcats’ ability to create consistently good looks at the basket ensured they would hang on to record a crucial success, behind Jones’ team-high 23 points.

John Puk also had 18 points for Wildcats and Urli added 16.