BUCS Final 8s 2013 – Day 2 Recap

Normally, the last day of the BUCS Final 8s gives us a champion, but this year it leaves us with two finalists; two time defending champs Worcester and the last team to win it all not named Worcester, Leeds Met (2010 champs), who will battle it out on Wednesday here in Leeds.

Check out a full recap of the days results, with leading scorers and notes below:

Game 1 (2:00pm)
Worcester beat Durham 94-83
Hopes of a three-peat are still alive for Worcester as they escaped a determined Durham side with an 11 point victory.

Stanley Ocitti, who for me has been the MVP of the tournament so far, was a dominant force inside once again for Worcester, who were down by one point heading into the final quarter, but exploded for a 37 point period with Kazlauskas, Prezzie-Blue and Ocitti scoring 10 points each (and Daniel Belgrave adding the other 7).

The game remained close right into the final stages, but Worcester were money at the line, hitting their final 12 free throws to seal the game and a trip to the final on Wednesday.

Worcester scorers: Stanley Ocitti 28, Sherrad Prezzie-Blue 20, Arnas Kazlauskas 17/Durham scorers: Andrew Keister 20, Keith Page 16, Paul Elderkin 15

Game 2 (2:00pm)
Northumbria beat Brunel 70-58
In the first of two games on the day that all teams involved weren’t really sure what they were playing for (and still don’t!), Northumbria got the win over Brunel.

In similar fashion to the Worcester-Durham game, the game remained close until the end where Northumbria came through for the W.

Northumbria scorers: Jack Thompson 17, Jamie Glen 16, KC Wiser 14/Brunel scorers: Louis Sayers 13, Jermaine Anderson 10, D. Sutherland 8

Game 3 (4:00pm)
Leeds Met beat Loughborough 74-62
In the best game of the two days, and in front of a raucous crowd, it was Leeds Met who came away as the second finalist for the 2013 BUCS Championship dispatching of a Loughborough side that refused to go down without a fight.

Loughborough, who were playing without Connor Washington and Jamell Anderson (not to mention head coach Drew Sullivan) due to Leicester Riders commitments, were heavy underdogs going into the game but led for large parts of it.

It was the first few minutes of the fourth quarter Leeds Met took control of the game, led by Rob Marsden who had 8 points during the run, as Loughborough buckled under the pressure, losing their heads as two players squared up after another Marsden hoop.

There was a last gasp comeback attempt, but the deficit was too much to overcome for Loughborough as the hometown Leeds Met face Worcester in the final on Wednesday.

Leeds Met scorers: Dave Ajumobi 20, Rob Marsden 19, Armand Anebo 18/Loughborough scorers: John Stewart 18, Will Maynard 15, Alex Angelakos 11.

Game 4 (4:00pm)
LSBU beat Glasgow 74-65
In the second game of the day with no apparent outcome, LSBU got a 9 point win over a resilient Glasgow side who seemed determined not to leave Leeds without a victory.

Glasgow kept the game within striking distance throughout, as they headed into halftime tied and the fourth period down just 5 but a ten point final period sealed their fate.

LSBU scorers: V. Petkus 17, A. Vaiteikas 16, Uche Umekwe 15/Glasgow scorers: Zasimuaksas 22, Callum Nicol 21, A. Alilovic 12.

Notes

• Very anti-climatic to all involved to finish up the Final 8s without a winner…it is clear the new format is extremely unpopular amongst the teams, both coaches and players. I hope that for next year BUCS reconsider – the Final 8s is one of the few basketball events in the UK that appears to be marketable and this year it has taken a huge step backwards.
• Saying that, the atmosphere in the Loughborough – Leeds Met game was electric – one of the best I’ve seen. Made a huge difference to the team’s performances on the floor, who fed off the energy, and the enjoyment of the game as a spectator.
• LSBU’s Uche Umekwe becomes the first player to put someone on a poster in the years I’ve been covering the tournament, throwing down this nasty dunk against Glasgow.
• Leeds Met will be underdogs in the final, but with both Brunel and Durham running Worcester closer than expected, and the fact Leeds will have home court advantage, the possibility of an upset is ever-present.
• BUCS Trophy Final is on Tuesday (19th March) and the championship final is on Wednesday (20th March), both at 7:30pm (I think!). Expect coverage of both.
• In the women’s, it will be Loughborough – Cardiff Met (formerly UWIC) in the final. Loughborough cruised past Durham in their semi-final 73-54 (I’m not an expert, but from what I gather, no-one was expecting such a lop-sided result), whilst Cardiff Met beat home team Leeds Met 75-59. In the other two games (that seem to mean nothing), Northumbria routed Southampton Solent 86-33, whilst Sheffield Hallam beat Oxford 82-54.
• Day 2 raw highlights coming soon. Check out the Day 1 recap here and Day 1 highlights here.

Thoughts? Did you attend the tournament? Who do you think will take the final on Wednesday? Any surprises? Let us know in the comments!