A four-game haul was what week five of the Super League Basketball Championship had in store for fans to look forward to.
Winning streaks remained intact for three different sides, with another getting their name in the win column for the first time in 2025/26.
Leicester Riders 91-77 Newcastle Eagles
A replay of last season’s Play-off final saw Leicester Riders pick up their first win of the campaign with a 91-77 victory over Newcastle Eagles at Mattioli Arena.
Rob Paternostro’s team were victorious against the Tynesiders at the O2 Arena to conclude proceedings in 2024/25, and the result was no different this time around.
It was a monster first quarter for the home side who scored 39 points in the opening 10 minutes of action, and despite the Eagles chipping away at the deficit after the break, the 23-point lead Leicester had built by half-time proved too tricky to overcome.
Don Carey Jr. proved to be the difference maker on his Riders debut, putting up 21 points to lead all scorers and dishing out nine assists, with RaeQuan Battle pouring in 19 of his own. Aaron Menzies also made his second debut for the club after a previous stint in 2022/23, contributing four points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
Player of the game: Don Carey Jr. (Leicester Riders)
Caledonia Gladiators 91-93 Bristol Flyers
Bristol Flyers made it three wins on the spin in a nail-biting encounter with the Caledonia Gladiators, defeating the Scottish outfit 93-91.
Caledonia shot an impressive 70% from inside the arc, whilst the Flyers made half of their attempts from downtown, but 17 more makes from the charity stripe for the visitors proved to have the biggest impact.
Joe Anderson was on course for a perfect shooting night for Bristol, making each of his first nine shots until eventually recording his first miss late in the third quarter. Regardless, 26 points and five three-point makes led the way for his squad.
For the Gladiators, Rian Holland did a little bit of everything, finishing with 18 points, eight assists, four rebounds and six steals, and Matt Ragsdale had 22 off the bench. However, it ended up being a third defeat by single-digit points this season for Jonny Bunyan’s team.
Player of the game: Joe Anderson (Bristol Flyers)
Cheshire Phoenix 91-85 Newcastle Eagles
Cheshire Phoenix secured their third straight victory by defeating Newcastle Eagles 91-85 at Cheshire Oaks Arena.
Things were all square at half-time after a neck-and-neck opening 20 minutes, and only five points separated the sides heading into the fourth quarter.
Cheshire’s most recent defeat came against the Eagles, but this time around the hosts managed to keep their cool and didn’t trail again in the contest.
Pat Robinson erupted for 31 points off the Phoenix bench and did so in an efficient manner, shooting 68% from the field and missing just one of his five attempts in the final quarter. Emmanuel Kanwei led all Newcastle scorers, also from the bench, putting up 16 points.
Player of the game: Pat Robinson (Cheshire Phoenix)
London Lions 81-73 Caledonia Gladiators
London Lions remained undefeated in the Super League Basketball Championship, winning 81-73 against the Caledonia Gladiators.
The Lions came into this one off the back of their first EuroCup victory this campaign, which they achieved in midweek, and were able to continue their flawless start in domestic competition.
London never trailed in the fixture, but it was by no means an easy task, with the lead never reaching double-digits. It was a two-possession game with under 90 seconds remaining, but a Joel Scott dunk and two makes from the line by Deane Williams meant it was yet another narrow loss for Caledonia.
Scott and Williams were London’s leading scorers with 17 and 16 points respectively, and a 26-point outing from Kevin Allen couldn’t quite power the Gladiators to a win on the road.
Player of the game: Joel Scott (London Lions)
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