Leicester Riders secured their spot in the last four of the BBL Play-Offs after beating Leeds Force 75-55 in the only game on Saturday.
BBL Play-Offs Quarter-Final, second leg
Leicester Riders 75 (17,34,52) (Watson 13, Gruis 12, Walker 11)
Leeds Force 55 (17,30,39) (Waller 16, Sayers 10, Klassen/Bullard 8)
Riders win 158-133 on aggregate.
Leicester Riders became the first team to book their spot in the Semi-Finals of the BBL Play-Offs after beating Leeds Force 75-55 for an overall 158-133 victory on aggregate.
The Riders pulled away in the second half to advance to the last four with a balanced attack led by Neil Watson’s 13 points, while Trevor Gruis weighed in with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The visitors scored the first six points of the game to wipe out their first leg deficit, before the Riders began to settle and took their first lead on the night at 10-9. By the end of the opening quarter, there was nothing to split the two sides at 17-17.
Leicester managed to edge ahead in the second quarter and took a four-point advantage into the half-time interval with Leeds now nine points adrift on aggregate.
The first nine points of the second half went the way of the Riders as they extended their lead to 13 points on the night to leave their opponents a mountain to climb. The gap remained at 13 points heading into the final quarter.
The league champions maintained control in the fourth period and made sure of the win with a 13-0 run to wrap up a 20-point win.
Kwan Waller scored a game-high 16 points for Leeds as their valiant effort ran out of steam.
Leicester move into the Semi-Finals where they will face the lowest seeds remaining once the Quarter-Finals are completed.
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P
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PL | W | L | Pts | |
| 1 | Leicester Riders | 33 | 29 | 4 | 58 |
| 2 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 33 | 28 | 5 | 56 |
| 3 | Sheffield Sharks | 33 | 20 | 13 | 40 |
| 4 | Worcester Wolves | 33 | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 5 | Glasgow Rocks | 33 | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 6 | London Lions | 33 | 16 | 17 | 32 |
| 7 | Cheshire Phoenix | 33 | 16 | 17 | 32 |
| 8 | Leeds Force | 33 | 14 | 19 | 28 |
| 9 | Plymouth University Raiders | 33 | 13 | 20 | 26 |
| 10 | Bristol Flyers | 33 | 9 | 24 | 18 |
| 11 | Manchester Giants | 33 | 8 | 25 | 16 |
| 12 | Surrey Scorchers | 33 | 7 | 26 | 14 |