Newcastle Eagles have won the British Basketball League for the fifth time in seven years after closest rivals Plymouth lost 96-72 to Leicester.
The Raiders defeat handed the Tyneside outfit the title with three games to spare this season – and now sets up Fab Flournoy’s men to attempt a clean sweep of all four domestic prizes if they can add the play-off crown next month.
And it would be a major shock if Newcastle failed to complete a dominant campaign with one more piece of silverware, having already captured the Cup and Trophy this season while sustaining just four losses.
The championship trophy will be presented on Friday night when Newcastle host deposed champions Mersey Tigers.
“I am very proud of what the team has achieved this year,†said Eagles managing director Paul Blake. “They have had to dig deep and have won more close games than I can remember, but have managed to get over the line. It’s an amazing bounce back following last season and I am very pleased for Fab, the team and most importantly the supporters.”
Plymouth had to win in the East Midlands to keep their hopes alive but 30 points from Bradd Wierzbicki and 19 each from Cameron Rundles and Drew Sullivan saw Riders through.
The hosts had made the match almost safe by half time as a 9-2 burst at the end of the opening period made it 30-20 and they steadily built on that to hold a commanding 54-32 advantage at the interval.
And although
the Raiders had the better of the final period, their hopes of victory and a title were already gone.
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