Around the EBL – Week 22

This weekend saw the crowning of several conference champions and the playoff race is coming down to the wire up and down the EBL.

EBL Division 1

A mixed weekend for the Hemel Storm allowed them to maintain their spot atop the Division 1 table, now with a 16-5 record, with a win over Team Northumbria before a loss to NASSA.

Bode Adeluola played well on both occasions leading the scoring with 22 points and 23 points on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

There were back to back wins for Leeds Carnegie this week to send them back into the playoff spots.
Carnegie stretched the Westminster Warriors zone all game on Saturday and great late-game defence from Armand Anebo ensured they could play out the final minutes comfortably and take away a 76-67 win.

The Leeds scoring was led by Branimir Mikulic with 23 points, while Armand Anebo supported with 20 of his own.

The next day Carnegie travelled to Teeside to take on the Tees Valley Mohawks and took home a ten point win on the back of some incredible shooting from Paul Holland who racked up a season-high 22 points in the win.

Jorge Ebanks led Tees Valley with 26 points of his own.

“Tees Valley have a really strong team and real depth in personnel. We had an inconsistent performance on the offensive end of the floor but defensively made huge gains.” Said Leeds Head Coach Matt Newby.

“Paul Holland was a catalyst for several big runs and stopping any momentum Tees Valley would attempt to gain. On the whole we got the job done even when sometimes it wasn’t pretty”

Reading Rockets continued to close the gap on leaders Hemel with a 94-77 win over the Essex Leopards.
Despite being without Captain Danny Carter with a dislocated shoulder, the rockets did well to come back from an early deficit to overwhelm their fellow title contenders.

Australian Point Guard Josh Wilcher took over down the stretch, dictating play on both offence and defence to help secure the 94-77 win for his Rockets team.

Ivan Emanuely led with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds along with Wilcher who had 19 points and 11 assists.

The Rockets now sit in second place, two wins behind Hemel having played four less games.
Howard Crawford led all scorers with 30 points for Essex.

Manchester Magic beat NASSA 80-65 at the Amaechi Centre in a game which saw a star turn from youngster Pharroh Gordon.

With the game tied at 50-50 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Gordon took the initiative to produce some of his best basketball of the season.

Gordon’s work extended Magic’s advantage to 17 points with six minutes remaining and Magic kept the visitors at bay to run out 80-65 winners.

Franc Garcia Garrido led Manchester’s scoring effort with 22 points, while veteran big man Ryan Lohfink finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds.

“It was a big game as NASSA have been a bit of a bogey team for us over the past few years.” Said Magic Head Coach Paul Middleton.

“I can’t say enough about Pharroh (Gordon) – in the second half he was outstanding.”

“He was a big reason why we won the game because at the crucial time he got those steals, made some good decisions, made some short jump shots and defensively he was awesome.”

The Magic weren’t as successful the next day, however as they fell short to the Essex leopards, who were once again led by the brilliant Howard Crawford who scored 24 points to sink the Magic by 81-57.

It remains to be seen if the Bradford Dragons will have enough to maintain their top four spot in the division, and they certainly went a long way towards doing that this weekend.

The Dragons picked up back to back wins against Tees Valley Mohawks and the Leicester Warriors with Dan Foley again leading the scoring for Bradford as he has done all season long.

The Leicester Warriors on the other hand remain at the foot of the table with just two wins after falling to the Worthing Thunder who picked up two wins this weekend to edge closer toward the playoff spots.

EBL Division 2

In Division 2 it was make or break in the title race as Huddersfield Heat had to continue to win in order to take control of the title race.

In a two game trip to London, the Yorkshire side picked up one win against the Eastside Eagles with Patrons Cup Final MVP Julio Sosa scoring 26 points.

The next day, however the Heat couldn’t handle the pressure from a very tough Brixton Topcats side.

After trailing heavily for the first three quarters, Huddersfield stormed back in the final quarter to send the game into overtime, although couldn’t withstand the offensive onslaught of Vytenis Petkus as his 31 points led Brixton to the 83-79 win.

That loss combined with Derby’s 42-79 thrashing of Mansfield, means that providing Derby don’t lose between now and the end of the season then they will take the EBL Division 2 title as they have already beaten Huddersfield twice this season in league play.

That loss also all but mathematically confirms Mansfield last place finish in Division 2 and relegation to Division 3.

Darren Best had another outstanding weekend as he scored 32 points on Saturday and a huge 45 points on Sunday for the Killimarsh Derbyshire Arrows although both games ended in a loss.

The Arrows went down Saturday, 81-65 to London Westside and lost 92-88 on Sunday to London Utd who were led by scoring outputs of 29 points from Sebastian Ferenc and 25 points from Tatham Nunn.

Another standout performer from this weekend was Leigh Greenan, who had a lot to prove after a below par performance in last weekend’s Patrons Cup Final.

Ipswich went down 95-88 to Worcester on Saturday but Greenan remained a force throughout the game finishing with 34 points.

The next day Ipswich returned home to host the Eastside Eagles, who need to solidify their playoff spot with some wins.

Greenan was again on form and with a 22 point outing, aided Ipswich’s 88-60 win to leave them sitting in 4th place, joined by Loughborough who downed London Westside 57-48.

EBL Division 3

Northern Conference

The Rossendale Raptors have clinched promotion to Division 2 and have all but mathematically won EBL Division 3 North after a weekend that saw a 99-66 win over the Birmingham A’s and a 74-108 win over Leeds Carnegie II.

Steven Gayle came up big at the business end and scored 29 points against Birmingham and 39 against Leeds.

Rossendale this week announced that they will re-brand as the ‘Lancashire Spinners’ for the start of the 2014/15 season for commercial reasons.

Hot on the heels of the Raptors are the Northants Thunder who defeated the Derby Trailblazers II by 95-78 with the top three scorers (Tucker, Francis, Henry) all scoring 20+ points (24,20,20).

The Thunder need to win both their remaining games to overtake 2nd place Birmingham Mets and qualify for promotion with Rossendale.

Young guard Rob Donaldson again had a standout game for the Tees Valley Mohawks II and scored 31 points in their 67-79 win over the Sheffield Saints, while Sarunas Dargis also had 31 for the Nottingham Hoods in their 84-68 win over Leeds Carnegie II.

That win moves Nottingham just clear of the relegation spots above Derby and Tees Valley.

Southern Conference

London Lituanica, this weekend secured the the EBL Division 3 South Championship and therefore automatic promotion to Division 2 next season.

Karolis Stepanavicius was the force behind their two wins this weekend against the Cardiff Met Archers and Solent Kestrels, which saw them extend their league record to an incredible 18-0.

Tyrell Isaacs stood out this weekend for the London Greenhouse Pioneers as they picked up back to back wins over the London Phoenicians, 79-80, and Team Solent, 90-67.

Isaacs scored 25 and 22 respectively to grab the wins that secured the Pioneers qualification for promotion to Division 2 next season.

Martelle Mclemore dropped 40 points for the Bracknell Cobras in their 79-65 loss to Plymouth Marjon, who move into the playoff spots with that win, while there were wins elsewhere for Team Solent and the Hackney White Heat.

EBL Division 4

Northern Conference

Liverpool Basketball Club put the icing on their promotion cake with a huge 102-48 win over Leeds Allerton High Carnegie to move to a 13-0 record at the top of the conference.

This promotion appears to signal the start of the clubs rise back up the leagues after the Mersey Tigers saga of the past summer.

The only other game in the conference saw the Sefton Stars II defeat Gateshead 82-85.

Midlands Conference

The NULC Knights have all but mathematically confirmed their place as Champions of the conference depending on next weekend’s results.

An 80-62 win over the Derby Trailblazers III, sees them top the table with a 12-1 record.

The Birmingham Mets II’s last place finish is now confirmed with a loss to the Loughborough Student Riders II by a score of 80-82.

The Shropshire Warriors moved into third place with a 69-109 win over the Leicester Warriors II.

South East Conference

The COWA Fury put a real spanner in the works this weekend as they beat leaders BC Medelynas London by 77-74. That result means that results pending, the top three teams all have a shot at claiming the conference crown next weekend.

The weekend’s results leave Medelynas top with 17-4, Cambridge second also on 17-4 and COWA Fury in third on 16-5.

Phillip Osemwegie dropped 39 in Southend’s 95-77 win over the Greenwich Titans, while there were wins elsewhere for London Westside II and the Brentwood Fire.

Midlands South West Conference

The Oxford Brookes need one more win to secure the Conference Championship after a 66-78 win over Cardiff City, while fighting for 2nd place and the playoffs are Middlesex LTBC and the Milton Keynes Mustangs, both of whom picked up wins this weekend.

The Swindon Shock defeated Woking by 89-58, while Reading Rockets II and Bristol Flyers II both moved clear of the bottom two with their wins.