| London Lions became the first team to book their spot in the BBL Cup Final, while Plymouth Raiders and London City Royals picked up league wins. The Lions defeated Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 97-85 to seal an overall 170-160 aggregate success with Ladarius Tabb top scoring with 22 points. Ashley Hamilton finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds on his Royals debut as they beat Radisson RED Glasgow Rocks 84-70, while Plymouth overcame Cheshire Phoenix 94-79 behind 27 points from Donte Nicholas, who also added nine rebounds, 11 assists and seven steals. |
| BBL Championship Plymouth Raiders 94-79 Cheshire Phoenix (18-19, 43-36, 72-55) Plymouth Raiders claimed their fifth league win of the season after overcoming Cheshire Phoenix at home. Paul James’ side move to 5-6, while the Phoenix dropped to 4-7 as they handed a debut to Jalen Hayes with CJ Gettys starting his second spell at the club with a double-double. Leading scorers – Donte Nicholas 27, Rashad Hassan 25, Josh Wilcher 14 (Raiders) – Dii’jon Allen-Jordan 15, Momcilo Latinovic 14, Jalen Hayes 13 (Phoenix) Turning point – The Raiders began to pull away in the middle periods as they put up 54 points to turn a slender deficit into a 17-point lead and there was no way back for the visitors. Key stat – Cheshire hit 10 threes in the contest, but struggled to limit their opponents inside as the Raiders went 29 of 43 for 67% shooting of their 2-point field goals. Game hero(es) – Nicholas and Hassan combined for 52 points in the win for the Raiders with Nicholas also adding nine rebounds, 11 assists and seven steals in an impressive all-round display. |
| BBL Championship London City Royals 84-70 Radisson RED Glasgow Rocks (19-20, 45-32, 63-51) London City Royals made it back-to-back wins after seeing off Radisson RED Glasgow Rocks at Crystal Palace. The Royals are now at 5-3 in the league with the Rocks unable to back up their Cup win on Friday as they fall to 3-8. Leading scorers – Ashley Hamilton 24, Matthew Bryan-Amaning 19, Orlan Jackman 13 (Royals) – Greg Pryor 20, Kieron Achara/Ali Fraser 12 (Rocks) Turning point – The Rocks edged the first and third periods by the same 18-19 scoreline, but it was the second that proved the difference as Hamilton scored eight points in a 26-12 quarter to put the Royals back in the driving seat. Key stat – The Royals hauled down 51 boards in the contest and limited their opponents, despite giving up 19 turnovers with 70 points their lowest conceded total so far. Game hero(es) – Hamilton made an immediate impact on his long-awaited debut with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Jackman also added a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards and Bryan-Amaning had 19 points. |
| BBL Cup, Semi-Final, Second Leg London Lions 97-85 Esh Group Eagles Newcastle (27-26, 53-45, 75-64) (170-160 on aggregate) London Lions overturned a slender First Leg deficit to overcome Esh Group Eagles Newcastle and reach the BBL Cup Final. The Eagles had won 75-73 at Sport Central on Friday night, but it’s the Lions heading to Birmingham on Sunday 27 January, 2019 for the chance to win silverware. Leading scorers – Ladarius Tabb 22, Brandon Peel/Justin Robinson 19 (Lions) – Victor Moses 27, Jeremy Smith 18, Kyle Williams 10 (Eagles) Turning point – The overall deficit was halved after 10 minutes with little to split the teams in a high-scoring first quarter, but the Lions began to pull away as they went into the half with an eight-point cushion on the night before closing out the victory late on. Key stat – The Lions connected with 13 triples in the contest at 40% shooting and were able to keep the dangerous Rahmon Fletcher to just four points. Game hero(es) – Tabb led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Robinson and Peel both added 19 points apiece to send their side into another Final. |
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