Leicester Riders were crowned 2013 BBL Cup winners after defeating defending champions Newcastle Eagles 85-80 in the final on Sunday afternoon at the NIA, Birmingham.
It was the first piece of silverware since 2001 for Leicester, who survived a furious late rally from Newcastle after leading by 14 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Riders’ Jay Cousinard was named MVP, as he finished with a team high 17 points and some clutch shots down the stretch, but the talk of the day was 22 year old Jamell Anderson, who had a season high 15 points on 6/6 shooting in under 17 minutes including a huge dunk.
“Games like these are won with people like Jamell Anderson,” said teammate and GB veteran Drew Sullivan, who had a clutch block down the stretch. “If you look at the scoreboard, I only had 12 points and Zaire Taylor, our star point guard who has been electric for us all season, he only had nine. But Jamell comes out, hits two threes and gets that and-one dunk and makes great plays. Potentially, his future is as bright as he wants it to be.”
At the end of the game, Riders Head Coach, Rob Paternostro was full of praise for his team. “We finally got what we deserved! This was a great team effort and I feel so proud of the guys! We believed all the way that we could do this, and this is a great day for the club!”
Anthony Rowe added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Riders. Joe Chapman led the Eagles in scoring with 29 points, whilst Charles Smith added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Did you catch the game? Thoughts?
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