London LIons lift the SLB Trophy after beating Newcastle Eagles in the Final.

London Lions defeat Newcastle Eagles in Super League Basketball Trophy final

The Newcastle Eagles attempted to retain their title as Super League Basketball Trophy champions, with the formidable London Lions standing in their way.

Starting Fives

London Lions: Ethan Price, Chaundee Brown Jr., Karolis Lukosionas, Tarik Philip, Shavar Reynolds Jr.

Newcastle Eagles: Terrell Burden Jr., Ray’Sean Taylor, Deion Hammond, Emmanuel Kanwei, Gus Okafor

London Lions 74-68 Newcastle Eagles

First Quarter

From the opening tip, the atmosphere was building in Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, and both teams looked to get to work early. A low defensive set from the Lions in the opening moments of the game made life difficult for the Eagles. However, Newcastle managed to stifle their opponents with a resilient effort of their own.

It took two long minutes for a team to register the first points of the game, and it was Newcastle and Terrell Burden Jr. who would burst into London’s interior for an easy layup.

Despite missing several games through injury, Ethan Price’s fancy footwork enabled him to chalk up two easy points of his own before the explosive Ray’Sean Taylor instantly responded for Newcastle with a step-back three.

London’s Tarik Phillip was blessed by Lady Luck as his three-point attempt took a fortunate bounce to provide the Lions with their first lead of the game.

The slow start did not last long as both teams continued to exchange blows, struggling to take control of this fierce contest.

Mitch Clarke made an immediate impact from the bench with two successful back-to-back three-point attempts. Again, London continued to find a way into the paint to establish a four-point lead heading into the break.

Second Quarter

London proceeded to focus on working the ball into the interior after achieving great success through this tactic in the first-quarter with Price finishing a layup to start the period.

The Lions went on a 7-0 run to create their first double-digit lead of the game, before Cole Long drained a shot from deep to reduce the deficit to eight points.

Newcastle struggled to make any impact on the interior and trailed London 22-6 in the paint, as Tautvydas Sabonis’ team seemed impenetrable due to their expert defensive structure.

Amin Adamu proceeded to snatch offensive rebounds, providing his teammates with second-chance opportunities, which Phillip took full advantage of before forcing Newcastle’s head coach Marc Steutel into a much-needed timeout.

London’s swift ball movement posed the Newcastle defence multiple issues. Chaundee Brown Jr. buried a three-point attempt due to his elite floor spacing before Deion Hammond responded with a sensational deep shot of his own.

It was an aggressive first half of play from the Lions, outscoring the Eagles 24-11 in the second quarter to extend their lead to 17 points.

Third Quarter

After hitting just 23% (3-13) from two-point range, Newcastle would have to change their fortunes on the interior if they wanted to reduce the large deficit that London had created.

The Lions started the second half in the same manner they ended the first, working the ball inside. Reynolds Jr. took full advantage of this by scoring from the mid-range.

Scoring from the free-throw line continued to be the Eagles’ best option to put points on the scoreboard. Burden Jr. drew a foul on Price and sank both of his shots from the charity stripe.

Brown Jr. added to his ever-growing highlight reel with an emphatic dunk to extend London’s lead to 19 points.

Burrell Jr. refused to believe that this fixture was out of sight. Newcastle’s electric guard persisted in driving into the paint and was rewarded with two points from a tough layup for his efforts.

Clarke’s fine shooting from deep continued despite London continuing to build a resounding lead. The Australian chalked up his third successful three-point shot from six attempts.

A mammoth Maceo Jack dunk to end the fourth quarter cut the Lions’ lead to 12 points, invigorating Newcastle’s fans into believing a sensational comeback could be possible.

Fourth Quarter

The Eagles came storming out of the gates at the start of the final period. Clarke finished a great opportunity from two-point range to reduce London’s lead to 10 points.

Newcastle enacted a full-court press to apply pressure to their opponent, and did so with great success. Another forced turnover allowed Emmanuel Kanwei to work his way in the paint for an easy layup.

Rai scored four consecutive points to ease the fears of the London fan base, but the pace of the game began to feel more frantic and unpredictable – something the crowd mirrored as the noise continued to increase.

Momentum again swung in favour of the Lions as they extended their lead to 15 points, before Hammond buried a contested three-point attempt to raise the jeopardy in the game once again.

Some fantastic movement between the Newcastle players ended in an earth-shattering slam-dunk from Maceo Jack as he attempted to inspire his teammates into a comeback. Nevertheless, Price replied with a three-point play to again halt any inertia the Eagles believed they were creating.

Tensions began to rise after an unsportsmanlike foul called on Price allowed Burden Jr. to head to the line for two shots, which he scored both, and then possession returned to Newcastle. It was now a six-point game. Could Newcastle pull off a historic comeback?

Shavar Reynolds refused to believe so. London’s crafty guard weaved his way to the mid-range and sank an accurate two-point shot. However, Long returned the favour with an outstanding three-point attempt to reduce the deficit to five points.

The Lions began to burn the clock to ensure that the Trophy would be heading back to London, and did so with great effect. Sabonis’ players would be lifting the first silverware available of the season.

Player of the Game: Deane Williams (London Lions)

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