Friday’s action had confirmed Newcastle Eagles and Sheffield Sharks would meet in one final four clash and they will face either London Lions or Cheshire Phoenix, after both advanced, albeit in contrasting circumstances.
Lions carried a five-point lead into their second leg at home against last year’s winners, Worcester Wolves.
And it was the 2014 MVP, then of Worcester, now of London, Zaire Taylor, who stole the show, scoring seven three-pointers on his way to 41 points as Lions routed their visitors 106-67 to reach the Semi Finals.
Phoenix meanwhile were beaten 87-86 at home by Glasgow Rocks in their return fixture.
But John Coffino’s side had done enough to progress, having beaten Rocks 91-78 north of the border on Friday night.
Video from London Lions Facebook page
Cheshire Phoenix used a dominant fourth quarter to beat Glasgow Rocks 78-91 north of the border in this BBL Play-Off Quarter Final first leg. Demond Watt hit 28 points to give Phoenix a strong lead to defend in Sunday’s return leg, as they beat the Rocks for the fourth time this season.
Cheshire went about establishing a lead early in this game, with Dustin Salisbery and Adrien Sturt scoring three-pointers late in the first quarter to overturn a deficit, before Watt scored early in the second to push them out to 19-27. The lead was double-digits when Watt added back-to-back baskets to make it 30-41 with three minutes to play in the half.
But the Rocks finished the half with an 8-2 run to get back in on Tayo Ogedengbe’s score, and they carried that momentum into the third period, their best spell of the game, when Reggie Middleton’s ‘and-one’ play sparked a 13-5 surge and they took a lead at 53-52 on another Ogedengbe basket.
But Phoenix dominated the fourth quarter, and did so from the outset as they hit the first seven points including an ‘and-one’ play from Watt. They followed that midway through the fourth with a decisive 15-3 push as they came alight from beyond the arc, ignited by Taylor King and followed by Salisbery and Martyn Gayle triples for 69-84.
Cheshire have now won four straight games, and will take some beating on their home floor in the second leg, where they are 14-4 on the season, as they seek to make the semi finals for the first time since 2012.
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle are still in the hunt for a clean sweep of BBL silverware after progressing to the BBL Play-Off Semi Finals for the eleventh consecutive season, overpowering Bristol Flyers 92-80 at Sport Central, to win 176-144 on aggregate.
The Eagles, who have finished as Play-Off runners-up in each of the last two seasons, have beaten Bristol five times this season and by double-figures on each occasion. But the visiting Flyers had a long way to go to overturn a twenty-point first leg deficit and they showed their intent in the early stages, jumping out to an 8-12 lead on captain Greg Streete’s three-pointer.
That was as good as it would get for them, as Eagles came back and Scott Martin, who led all scorers on the night with 22 points, levelled the game at 16, before the hosts went on an 8-2 push capped by consecutive Darius Defoe scores, to take a 24-23 edge after the opening ten minutes.
And the game stayed tight throughout. The Flyers occasionally led, but just before the half Drew Lasker scored back-to-back baskets and the Eagles took a half time lead at 42-39 that they would not relinquish.
Flyers stayed close on the night, until the closing two minutes, when Martin sparked an 8-0 burst, with Defoe adding four more, to send the lead through double-digits, where it stayed before celebrations among another big crowd in Newcastle.
Eagles will now meet Sheffield Sharks in the Semi Finals, a decade after they won the Play-Offs for the first time, which brought in an era of domination as they won it three times in a row.
Sheffield Sharks prevailed to overcome Leicester Riders in the BBL Play-Off Quarter Final in a thrilling second leg that went to overtime, Sharks winning 164-159 on aggregate despite losing 91-85 on the night. BJ Holmes was the hero, with 23 points on the night including some massive shots in the extra period.
Sharks came into the game protecting an 11-point lead from the first leg but the Riders, who have not gone out at this stage since 2011 and won the Play-Offs in 2013, set about their visitors from the outset. They levelled the game on aggregate early on after rattling off ten unanswered points just six minutes in, with Anthony Rowe and Conner Washington making consecutive ‘and-one’ plays to fire up the crowd.
But Mike Tuck and John Barber kept the Sharks ticking over, getting back to 24-21 early in the second stanza and for a long time the Sharks were resilient as Holmes levelled the score at 36 and they took a narrow lead on the night soon after.
But the Riders clamped down on defence after the half time break, and held their visitors scoreless for six minutes, while scoring nine points of their own, including four each for Rashad Hassan and TrayVon Wright to get to 48-40 and within one shot on aggregate.
Sharks stemmed the flow, and came all the way back to restore their aggregate lead, and tie the game on the night at 58 on Mike Cook’s basket within the last five minutes.
But from there the Riders came storming back, initially through a 10-2 run as Neil Watson hit five points, although they still trailed by seven points on aggregate with two minutes to play. Leicester rattled off ten quick points, and looked as though they might have won the tie when Washington hit a crucial three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to give them their first lead of the tie, 78-65 on the night.
Fellow British guard Nick Lewis forced overtime when he tipped in a missed shot with 14 seconds left, and that seemed to swing the momentum in Sheffield’s favour despite what had gone before. Lewis and Tuck opened the extra period with scores, before Holmes hit a pair of three-pointers as the Sharks started 13-2 and buried their hosts, becoming only the second seventh seed in BBL history to knock out a second seed.
BBL Play-Off Quarter Finals (First Leg)
Worcester Wolves 75 (21,39,58) (Owumi 21, Guede 13, Thurman 13)
London Lions 80 (19,37,60) (Sullivan 17, Cook 16, Stibbins 14)
London Lions have won 75-80 on the road at Worcester Wolves in the BBL Play-Off Quarter Final first leg to take a slender advantage into Sunday’s second leg at the Copper Box. It is the third time Lions have beaten Wolves in four meetings this season, inspired this time by 17 points and seven rebounds from Drew Sullivan, meaning that Worcester face a tough task to continue their defence of the Play-Off title.
The game was suitably tight throughout, although both sides had considerable runs to try and establish a lead. Robertas Bitinas scored seven points as the Wolves went 10-4 in the second quarter, to lead 33-26. But that lead was immediately wiped out as the Lions responded with the next 11 points, including five for Lovell Cook.
Alex Owumi, in turn, halted that run with a three-pointer, and Wolves retained their lead at the half at 39-37 as Robert Thurman added a pair of free-throws.
The Lions enjoyed a decisive spell after the break, when Zaire Taylor opened with a three-pointer and, soon after, they netted 13 points in a row, sparked by Sullivan’s three-pointer to take a 52-60 lead as Cook added six more. Owumi was there again to keep the hosts close, this time hitting consecutive triples in the last minute of the third period, to get them back to 58-60.
But they showed ill-discipline at the outset of the fourth, Lions netting a series of free-throws, before Rod Brown added a triple in what became a 7-2 start and Lions established the lead that they would take through to the end, with Makal Stibbins and Sullivan making crucial scores down the stretch when the Wolves tried to get close.
It was a first home defeat for the Wolves in 12 games, since the Lions last visited in December, hinting at the size of the task that they face in the capital.
Mike Cook getting the job done…again, Library photo.
The victory was mainly down to a combined 45 points from Mike Cook and Mike Tuck, who both enjoyed outstanding shooting nights, with the latter just missing out on a fine double-double by one rebound.
Library photo, by MPhotography
After a tight first quarter which the Sharks managed to edge by a point, Atiba Lyons and the hometown favourites were still up by that same slender margin heading to the locker rooms at the interval.
Despite struggling to get their perimeter game going, Sheffield were still able to jump out on Riders when the action resumed – opening up a nine point advantage with a rapid fire start to the second half.
With Cook finding some rhythm and supported by the strength of Tuck in the paint, they still held a seven point lead going into the final ten minutes.
However, Riders rallied and got to within a point at 60-59 after some fine play from TrayVonn Wright, who threw down dunks during the visitors’ renaissance and eventually finished with a terrific 20 points and 14 rebounds.
But even his stellar efforts weren’t sufficient to inspire victory, as Sharks continued doing an excellent job on shackling Leicester danger-man Rashad Hassan.
They also received a boost from a rare triple via Patrick Horstmann as they eased away down the stretch to harvest a double-digit lead ahead of the second leg which takes place in Loughborough on Friday and will also be shown live on BBLtv.
Zaire Taylor scored 41 points to inspire London Lions to a 106-67 demolition of his former side Worcester Wolves, which sees the capital club advance to the BBL Play-off Semi Finals.
Lions went into their second-leg meeting at the Copper Box with a five-point lead from Friday’s first game.
Taylor was named BBL Play-off Final MVP while leading Worcester to the title last season, and he was just was influential in this clash, connecting on seven of his 11 three-point attempts.
He set the tone early with 14 points in the opening period to give Lions an eight-point edge on the night.
Wolves’ star centre Robert Thurman started the game on the bench and although Paul James’ side stuck with their hosts in the second period, they were blown away in third, outscored 30-10 as London established an unassailable lead.
London’s other former MVP, Drew Sullivan, also shone on the big occasion, tallying 22 points as Vince Macaulay’s side cruised to victory in the end to set up a final four meeting with Cheshire Phoenix or Glasgow Rocks.
Wolves committed 16 turnovers in total as they were beaten across the board, Alex Owumi leading their charge with 18 points.
Cheshire Phoenix will meet London Lions in the BBL Play-off Semi Finals after advancing at the expense of Glasgow Rocks, despite an 87-86 home defeat on Sunday.
John Coffino’s side had built a big enough advantage with a 91-78 road win in Glasgow on Friday to book their place in the last four, where they will face Lions, who eliminated holders, Worcester Wolves earlier on Sunday.
Rocks’ lead on the night peaked at seven with just under four minutes to play, following a jump shot from Reggie Middleton, going up against his former club.
But Phoenix were able to re-establish their superiority through their physical presence inside, with Adrien Sturt and Demond Watt producing key plays in response.
The home side committed 16 turnovers, leading to 13 of Sterling Davis’ side’s points, but Phoenix out-rebounded their visitors 54-41, meaning they always retained a measure of control.
Taylor King connected on four of his eight three-point attempts on his way to a game-high 26 points, to go with 12 rebounds, while Tommy Freeman and Danny Huffor each scored 18 points for Rocks.
The BBL Championship runners-up travel to Yorkshire on Wednesday before a Friday return.
Riders won all three regular season meetings between the teams this season, but Paternostro knows as well as most that the post-season represents a different challenge.
“When you go into the Play-offs, you can learn from the previous games but there is a difference,” said the Riders coach.
“For us it is always important to play good defence. We have to be very intelligent with our defence and be aware of their personnel’s strengths and weaknesses.
“In these type of games there is a sense of urgency that may not be there in the middle of the season.
“Everybody understands that in order to keep your season going and give yourself a chance to get to the final you are going to have to play really well and that shows up in the intensity on the floor.”
A run of nine wins from their final 11 games allowed Atiba Lyons’ side to keep their season going into the Play-offs, something which was by no means guaranteed when they sat in 10th spot as late as February.
And Paternostro has noticed one major improvement in their performance during that time.
He added: “Sometimes it takes a little while for a team to click.
“They made a change in the middle of the season and over the last few weeks they have been playing some really good basketball. Defensively they have been very solid over the past few weeks.”
That solidity, and the wins that come with it, have bred confidence in the Sharks locker room.
Library photo.
But they are also driven by the feeling they have something of a point to prove.
“For our team’s situation I feel that we’re going to be playing with a chip on our shoulder because everyone knows we’re a good team and we still have a lot to prove,” said guard Nick Lewis.
Both of these teams advanced to the final four of the Play-offs last term before being beaten by the eventual finalists – and both sides seem to agree upon the importance of defence to this match-up.
“Key things we will need to do are to slow down Leicester offence and keep them out of transition,” added Lewis.
“They have some key players like Rashad Hassan and Neil Watson, Tyler Bernadini had a big game for them last time we played each other, so we have to play better individual and team defence to secure a win.”
Regular season head-to-head results:
Sheffield Sharks 86 Leicester Riders 89 (EIS Sheffield, 16 Jan 2015)
Leicester Riders 98 Sheffield Sharks 85 (Sir David Wallace SC, 07 Feb 2015)
Sheffield Sharks 72 Leicester Riders 80 (EIS Sheffield, 12 Apr 2015)
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