A packed weekend of mixed Super League Basketball competition tipped off with Championship action, and Cup games that saw all SLB teams survive the Wimbledon-style first round to reach the Quarter Finals.
Surrey 89ers 89-76 Manchester Basketball (Championship)
A close game throughout showed how hard Manchester were fighting for their first Championship win of the season, but Surrey led from start to finish, earning an 89-76 win over the visitors.
For the 89ers, Dame Adelekun helped them out of the starting blocks with a dunk in the first 90 seconds, which would help make up eight of his team’s opening 12 points.
Junior Madut tried to keep pace for Manchester after a slow start, scoring six of his own in the early going, which meant the lead never looked out of reach.
It was a similar story in the second quarter, when the biggest Surrey lead was nine points. Adelekun was the man to give them the gap with a layup.
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It was Manchester’s tenacity on defence that created a series of turnovers for Surrey, and the travelling team were able to make the most of them with quick baskets to close the gap before the half.
Adelekun’s fancy footwork and patience in the paint opened the 89ers scoring in the second half, but a team effort helped them balloon the lead to 13 at one point in the third quarter.
Manchester’s Donovan Mitchell threw down a thunderous jam through the lane to cut his team’s deficit to three points, but it would ultimately be too big to overcome in the final ten minutes.
Surrey’s Neda Cholevinskas stole the ball to halt Manchester’s momentum and the 89ers got a follow-up layup, which sent them on another run to push the lead back up to 12 before it dipped to seven before the final buzzer.
MVP: Dame Adelekun – Surrey 89ers
Essex Rebels 70-84 Bristol Flyers (Cup)
Plenty of Cup action made for great entertainment at arenas across the country on Friday, beginning with Bristol making a flying trip down to the Essex Sports Arena to take on the NBL 1 team Essex Rebels.
It was a hearty effort by the home team, who fought well in the first half, but the SLB visitors pulled away in the second for an 84-70 victory away from home to advance to the quarter finals.
Bristol’s Demond Robinson scored well, and Owen McCormack hit back-to-back threes, but Luke Busumbru and Emmanuel Kanwei put on elite performances for the Rebels.
The pair created cause for Flyers concern in the opening frame, scoring every point for their team outside of Connor Nelson’s opening three.
A similar story emerged in the second, with Bristol pulling away before Kanwei clawed the lead back for Essex with a three of his own in the second quarter.
Joe Hart and Daljang Wol helped push the lead up and the Rebels finished with a narrow lead going into the locker room.
The experienced Andreas Kapoulas coached his team hard in the break, and the Flyers returned to the court renewed.
Several Bristol teammates stepped up to help Robinson in the third quarter, with Kendall Lewis scoring myriad ways and stealing the ball to help Evan Walshe to a layup.
From there, the lead never looked to be in danger, as Keddy Johnson and Jared Sheffield helped create an 18-point gap at one stage.
MVP: Demond Robinson – Bristol Flyers
St Mirren 60-113 London Lions (Cup)
The London Lions look different to recent years in top flight basketball, but they showed an ability to still be on another level while visiting the Lagoon Sports Centre to face St Mirren for Cup basketball.
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A 113-60 victory for the team from the capital was set up thanks to a 22-6 run in the first quarter.
The Scots fought for control of the game in the first five minutes, but a stingey defence from the southerners made scoring tough for St Mirren.
It was the depth that stood out, and Jaden Delaire made his presence felt as the first off the bench for the Lions.
He scored four points quickly toward the end of the first quarter after being fouled while shooting, and continued this as the lead built up at the end of the second quarter against St Mirren’s second unit.
St Mirren’s starters did what they could to slow down their opponents, with Chris Cleary scoring 17 points with 9 rebounds when it was all said and done.
But it wouldn’t be enough to match up with scoring from every member of the Lions, including five players who reached double figures.
MVP: Jaiden Delaire – London Lions
Sony Centre Falkirk Fury 61-130 Leicester Riders (Cup)
A couple of Sony Centre Falkirk Fury will have not been intimidated by the horsepower of the SLB’s Leicester Riders when the midlanders travelled north to Grangemouth Sports Complex.
Jonny Bunyan and Ali Fraser have had their run-ins with Leicester’s outfit over the years in previous top-flight stints, but the Basketball Scotland side couldn’t match the high-scoring Riders offence, who outpaced the home team 130-61.
The opening five minutes saw Falkirk go shot-for-shot with Leicester, thanks to Bunyan, Fraser and Edvaldis Laginas.
But when both sides started digging into the bench, the Riders could rely on Duke Shelton, Blake Bowman and J’raan Brooks to close out the quarter.
Ethan Wright stepped on the court to finish the first ten minutes, but he scored 10 points in about six minutes of the second quarter.
When he checked in again towards the end of the third, a fuse was lit and he reeled off another 17 points in the last 11 minutes to become the game’s leading scorer.
Spencer Johnson’s steady scoring a tough defence paced the Riders to victory throughout, as he poured in 21 points in 22 minutes.
MVP: Spencer Johnson – Leicester Riders
Nottingham Hoods 67-108 Cheshire Phoenix (Cup)
The Wimbledon-style Cup first round continued Saturday 14 December with SLB’s Cheshire Phoenix making the trip to Nottingham Wildcats Area to face the local Hoods.
The visitors showed their mettle by steadily building a buffer between them and Nottingham, eventually taking a 108-67 win on the road for a place in the quarter finals.
Boasting a big three-point specialist in Skyler White, he banged home a handful early to retain control of the game early.
The Hoods had two standout performers in Jun Murdock and Jodhe Campbell, but in the second half, it was the Phoenix’s Cameron Holden who caught fire.
As one of the top scorers in the league, Holden added 16 to Cheshire’s scoresheet alone in the third quarter, and would finish with 28 points, along with three rebounds, two assists and four steals.
MVP: Cameron Holden – Cheshire Phoenix
Derby Trailblazers 88-93 Surrey 89ers (Cup)
On a back-to-back after a tough win, then travelling away to a top NBL team, the Surrey 89ers arguably faced the biggest challenge among SLB teams in the first round of the Cup.
Despite this, they travelled north to earn a hard fought victory over the Derby Trailblazers, claiming a 93-88 win at Derby University.
Surrey rode the hot-streak of Dame Adelekun, who scored eight points early, but his team was still trailing at the end of ten minutes.
Jonas Dieterich and Christopher Harris did damage early for the Trailblazers, as Harris in particular barrelled toward the basket for layups and free throws aplenty.
Dieterich is one of several Trailblazers with former premier basketball experience and he helped the cap off a winning first half, along with another former pro for the Leicester Riders, Mo Walker, who got low in the post for a bucket to go up 41-38.
Raheem May-Thompson has experience among the upper echelons of British basketball, and he managed to get to the line throughout the third quarter to keep the Trailblazers scoring, while his ever-dependent teammate Malcolm Smith rounded out his own stat sheet.
But Surrey basketball veteran Andrew Lawrence and Adelekun kept plugging away to eventually tie and pull ahead in the closing stages of the third thanks to a big three-point shot from the former.
This set up the SLB team, and after a nervy opening salvo to the fourth quarter, balanced team scoring edged the 89ers ahead, while Malcolm Smith did everything he could to keep the game from slipping out of Derby’s grasp.
MVP: Dame Adelekun – Surrey 89ers
Leicester Riders 89-65 Newcastle Eagles (Championship)
When jockeying for position in the top half of the Championship table, a big 89-65 win like the Leicester Riders managed on Sunday 15 December will have done a lot for confidence in Rob Paternostro’s team.
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Welcoming the Newcastle Eagles to the Mattioli Arena, the home team followed Zach Jackson’s lead, as he registered 20 points and could be found with fingerprints all over the court.
But it was the Eagles who took charge to begin, as De’Sean Allen-Eikens went to the line for two, and Mike Okauru followed it up with a three.
Jaylin Hunter settled the Riders into the game with a floater in the lane, which kickstarted 12 unanswered points.
Newcastle battled back by the end of the first quarter, but the free-flowing, three-point launching offence of Leicester created a gap between the sides by the end of the second quarter.
After stealing the ball early in the third, Jackson reeled off eight quick points, including a ridiculous step-back behind-the-arc bomb that opened the lead to 13.
This continued to grow toward the end of the frame and got bigger throughout the fourth for a confident victory at home for Leicester.
MVP: Zach Jackson – Leicester Riders
Reading Rockets 72-84 B Braun Sheffield Sharks (Cup)
The B Braun Sheffield Sharks moved to a perfect 13-0 all-time record against NBL teams to escape the first round of the SLB Cup with a 84-72 win over the Reading Rockets.
Reading’s Mitch Clarke struggled to score in the first quarter, but did a lot of everything else – with a steal, a couple of assists and rebounds to his name. Unfortunately, he also picked up a couple of fouls and took a seat after seven minutes.
This didn’t stop the first half from being competitive, as Lewis Champion helped the Rockets to a four point lead on a big three and a handful of free throws late.
Jamell Anderson matched him to keep the Sharks within reach.
The first few minutes of the second quarter were tense, until a beautiful passage of play from Sheffield saw Drake Jeffries secure a rebound, and push to Rodney Chatman III, who found Jacob Groves flying for an alley-oop. Jeffries managed to jam home his own alley-oop later in the quarter.
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This might have inspired their Sheffield teammates to push ahead and create a six-point gap to go into the half-time talks with confidence.
The Sharks smelled blood in water and capitalised in the third, reeling off a 17-3 run to blow the game open.
While fighting valiantly, Reading couldn’t catch up against a turned-up Sheffield defence.
MVP: Jacob Groves – B Braun Sheffield Sharks
Caledonia Gladiators 76-100 Manchester Basketball (Championship)
After missing out on their first SLB Championship win in Surrey a few days earlier, Manchester Basketball were determined to leave Scotland with a victory.
Nathan Cayo was excellent for the Mancs, scoring 23, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists to help build out the 24-point margin.
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Despite this, the home team led the way in the opening frame, thanks to Fahro Alidhodzic being able to score and dish from the low post. After backing down his man and turning into the paint, he found a cutting Trevond Barnes bursting through the lane for a dunk.
He also managed couple of buckets of his own, including a big man jam to close out the first quarter with the lead for Caledonia.
The athleticism of Manchester starting showing through in the second half, with the likes of Marcus Delpeche finding routes to the rim for dunks.
And Cody John had himself a night off the bench, managing a handful of pretty floaters in the third quarter to increase the leader to 24 going into the fourth.
The proud Scots mounted a comeback, but couldn’t get the deficit to single digits before time ran out.
MVP: Nathan Cayo – Manchester Basketball
Cheshire Pheonix 92-86 Bristol Flyers (Championship)
Back home at Cheshire Oaks Arena after playing away the night before, the Cheshire Phoenix were buoyed on by the home crowd to secure a 92-86 win over the Bristol Flyers.
A shortened rotation meant six players took on the bulk of the minutes, with TJ Atwood not sitting down at any point during the course of the game, soldiering through for 10 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
Leading the scoring was Cheshire’s Tyreek Scott-Grayson, with 27 off the bench.
Bristol offered a more balanced attack, with Owen McCormack showing his all-round game on a low-post spinning up-and-under layup early.
To close the quarter, Bristol’s Corey Samuels hit a three-quarter court heave at the buzzer to give his team a five-point lead.
This gave visitors a bit of confidence to start the second, but the Phoenix supporters encouraged their team to come back after a big three from Scott Grayson and a put-back jam from Scott-Grayson.
Cheshire regained a slim lead going into the break and retained it throughout the third but it was still anyone’s game.
This was proven when Bristol re-took the lead with a barrage of offensive rebounds leading to open threes on the perimeter from Keddy Johnson and Jared Sherfield.
But a short-handed Phoenix running on fumes and the roar of the home crowd took the lead again on Skyler White three in the final minute, which was followed up by a dagger from Scott-Grayson.
A tense few seconds of gameplay saw blocks, steals and turnovers, but it all fell on the side of Cheshire down the stretch.
MVP: Tyreek Scott-Grayson – Cheshire Phoenix
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