The 2014 EBL Junior Final Fours took place this weekend at the EIS, Sheffield, with the top four teams in the U14, U16 and U18 age groups fighting it out for the right to be called National Champions. See below for full results, leading scorers plus a few notes as they happened.
Patrick Whelan also made it back to back MVP’s for himself, as he won the award for the second straight year after finishing with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, whilst going 4/6 from beyond the arc, knocking down every long range bomb at key moments in the game.
Though Cheshire Wire kept it a lot closer than many had thought possible, the result was never in doubt, as powerhouse Manchester, who have 7 players from various National Team programmes, proved too much.
Wire’s Joe Wilson put in a valiant effort, as he finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds, while Emmanuel Kabengele added 14 and Andy Galloway had 11 to join them in double figures.
Whelan was backed up by 19 points from Pharroh Gordon, while Aaron Menzies had 9 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks to finish just short of a triple double.
1) Manchester Magic
2) Cheshire Wire
3) Lewisham Thunder
4) Solent Kestrels
Third Place Playoff
Lewisham Thunder escaped with a 58-55 victory over Solent Kestrels, in a game where both teams played their bench for extended periods.
Kestrels had possession down three with under 10 seconds left, but were unable to get a shot off as they turned the ball over to seal their fate.
Semi Final 1
Cheshire Wire were the first team to book place in U18 final with 77-63 win over Solent.
Kestrels did a great job of keeping the game close, but ultimately the more talented Wire team came out on top.
Joe Wilson had 26 points to lead Wire, whilst Elliott James had 21 in the loss for Solent.
Semi Final 2
Defending champions Manchester Magic kept their quest for a repeat on track with a 67-50 win over Lewisham Thunder, in a match-up many considered should have been the final.
Lewisham’s first loss of the season couldn’t have come at a worse time, as they steamrolled the regular season with a 20-0 record.
In a game that featured close to ten players who have been involved with a national team programme at some point in their career, England Under-18 guard Pharroh Gordon had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists as Magic overcame an 11 point, 20 rebound, 5 block performance from Kavell Bigby-Williams.
Magic’s Ayo Nuwe was named MVP as he finished with 16 of his 33 points in the third quarter, adding 12 rebounds and 6 assists.
1) Manchester Magic
2) Newham Youngbloods Extreme
3) Ipswich Basketball
4) Nott Nova
Third Place Playoff
Ipswich got past Notts Nova with 64-50 win to claim third place.
Semi-Final 1
Defending champions Manchester Magic booked their place in the final with an 83-65 victory over Notts Nova.
Manchester were led by 15 from Hamad Ali, 14 from Alex Cochrane and 13 from Kayo Redford.
Luke Mitchell had 17 points to lead Nova, with Hakim Williams and Keagan Allen adding 12 points a-piece.
Semi-Final 2
Despite going down 13-0 to open the game, Newham Youngbloods Extreme cruised to a 73-55 win over Ipswich Basketball.
Newham’s Jelani Watson-Gayle had 21 points to lead the charge, ably backed up by a 15 point, 12 rebound double double from Emmanuel Odunsi.
Mark James’ had 16 points to lead Ipswich, while Freddie Ratliffe overcame a dislocated finger to finish with 9 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Ross Luckman was named MVP as he went off for a 39 point, 29 rebound double double, but the game was closer than the final score suggests.
It was a dominant final period that sealed the deal for Brentwood, who led by just seven points heading into the fourth quarter.
1) Brentwood Fire
2) Worthing Thunder
3) Manchester Magic
4) Leicester Warriors
Third Place Playoff
The third place playoff was called off due to a serious injury sustained to one of the Leicester players, who had to be taken to hospital.
Manchester Magic led at the time of the incident, and were awarded the victory.
Semi Final 1
Brentwood Fire got a 69-55 win over Manchester Magic behind star duo Ross Luckman and Daniel Ogoro.
Semi Final 2
Worthing Thunder got past Leicester to book their place in the final.
They overcame 32 points from Kareem Queeley, one of the most dominant Under-14s (who is still an under-13) in the country.
Brentwood Fire Image Credit: @JPChampions
Did you make it to Sheffield? Thoughts?
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