London Lions are into the final four of the BBL Cup for the first time in five years after outlasting Worcester Wolves on the road on Friday.Leeds Force were also celebrating as Louis Sayers came back to haunt his previous club Plymouth Raiders, setting the tone for the Yorkshire club’s biggest BBL win.
And Sheffield Sharks continued their upturn in form with a dominant display against Manchester Giants.
BBL Cup, Quarter-Final
Worcester Wolves 70 (25, 39, 56) (Blackwell 27, Eaves 13, Losonsky 8)
London Lions 77 (25, 48, 59) (Lewis 19, Lane 19, Ikhinmwin 15)
London Lions advanced to the BBL Cup Semi-Finals for the first time since the 2009-10 season following a 77-70 defeat of Worcester Wolves at University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
Wolves trailed from the closing stages of the second period when Jamal Williams poured in Lions’ final eight points of the first half as they outscored Wolves 10-2.
But as nerves crept in, Paul James’ side snatched the lead off a Pavol Losonsky jump shot with three minutes remaining.
The home fans sensed a first victory over London in five attempts could be close before back-to-back turnovers allowed Nigel Lloyd’s men to regain the initiative and some big shots from Nick Lewis helped seal the win.
Lewis finished with 19 points, a mark matched by his team-mate Jaron Lane.
Perris Blackwell was the outstanding scorer on the night, going for 27 points off 11-of-14 shooting, but he ended on the losing side with Ben Eaves his only team-mate to reach double figures (13 points).
It was just Wolves’ second loss in eight games this season, but they are eliminated from the Cup, by the same side that dumped them out of last season’s BBL Play-offs at the same stage.
BBL Championship
Sheffield Sharks 91 (26, 47, 75) (Robinson 24, Brooks 18, Horstmann 15)
Manchester Giants 70 (15, 31, 51) (Jones 14, Bankevics 14, Babalola 12)
Sheffield Sharks continued their climb up the BBL Championship standings with a 91-70 success against Manchester Giants at EIS Sheffield on Friday.
Shark’s had to wait until four weeks into the season to register their first win, against Giants in the BBL Cup. But their latest triumph means they have now won four of the six games since, and move up to sixth position.
Atiba Lyons’ side were on the front foot from the early stages of this game as Antone Robinson and Jerrold Brooks, fresh from featuring in the latest BBL All-Star Five, got off to a flying start, sharing 25 points during the first half.
Giants were already 18 points behind by this point and their inability to rebound the ball, losing that battle 48-30, ultimately allowed Sharks to manage the contest.
Robinson and Brooks went on to tally 24 and 18 points respectively, with the former adding 13 rebounds for good measure while there was an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for Mike Tuck.
Callum Jones and Ingus Bankevics paced Giants’ offence with 14 points each, but they fell to a seventh loss in eight games.
Sharks will seek to build on this victory when they travel to Leicester Riders for the BBL Cup Quarter-Finals on Sunday.
BBL Championship
Leeds Force 91 (24, 37, 70) (Sayers 20, Waller 18, Bullard 18)
Plymouth Raiders 72 (12, 44, 53) (Vigor 32, Corletto 14, Wilcher 11)
Louis Sayers exploded for a season-high 20 points to inspire Leeds Force to a 91-72 BBL Championship victory against his former club Plymouth Raiders at Carnegie Sports Centre on Friday.
The guard swapped Plymouth for Leeds in the summer and appeared motivated to prove a point, connecting on five of eight attempts from three-point range, as Force recorded their biggest-ever BBL win.
This victory, which owed much to a 19-0 third-quarter surge to swing the game in their favour, halts a run of four straight defeats for the Yorkshire club.
Raiders, however, remain the only winless team in the BBL, despite responding well to falling behind early on.
Mike Vigor did his best to pull Plymouth back into the game, leading their charge with an incredible 32 points, but it would not be enough.
There were big performances across the board for Leeds with Deandre Bullard and Kwan Waller, adding 18 points each, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cheshire Phoenix.
Raiders host Glasgow Rocks on Sunday, and will be desperate to provide new player-coach Daryl Corletto with a maiden success.
| P | PL | W | L | Pts | |
| 1 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | Leicester Riders | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 3 | Worcester Wolves | 7 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | Surrey Scorchers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | London Lions | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | Sheffield Sharks | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Cheshire Phoenix | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 8 | Leeds Force | 9 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Manchester Giants | 9 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | Glasgow Rocks | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 11 | Bristol Flyers | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 12 | Plymouth University Raiders | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |