London Lions open BBL Trophy Final Four weekend with comeback victory

Image credit: British Basketball League

London Lions erased a 15-point deficit on their way to beating Caledonia Gladiators 85-75 to reach the 2024 BBL Trophy final.

The league leaders used a pivotal run in the third before pulling away in the fourth to open the Trophy final four weekend in Birmingham.

Josh Sharma posted 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting with fellow big man Gabe Olaseni adding an important double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds in the Lions win.

Box score.

Lions were debuting a orange jersey, but it was their opponents that made the brighter start with an 8-2 opening with Michael Bothwell converting an early and-1. Clifton Moore found success inside with nine points in the first quarter to help Caledonia establish a 28-19 advantage.

The gap moved into double figures early in the second as the Gladiators stayed in the ascendancy to frustrate their opponents. Olaseni would help London pull it back below the 10-point mark at the half, trailing 52-44, with the GB big man moving to 13 points and seven rebounds – despite picking up two early fouls.

Pat Whelan – who had just three points in the first half – began to find his groove with two mid-range jumpers, and while London continued to struggle from beyond the arc at 1-of-13, they kept themselves in contention through multiple second chance opportunities.

Neither side were able to stamp their authority on a low-scoring third quarter, but it was London who would put together a momentous spell: Sharma getting three points the old-fashioned way with a tough and-1, and then Tarik Philip struck from the corner – just a second triple in 19 attempts for the Lions as they tied up the game at 61-61 with 10 minutes remaining.

Luke Nelson’s lefty finish put his side ahead for the first time before GB veteran Kyle Johnson answered – setting the tone for a tense back-and-forth. Then it became the Sharma show.

A second big and-1 finish was followed by a third and all of a sudden, London were up five. Matt Morgan joined the party with one of his own as the lead grew with momentum fully in their favour.

Caledonia were hanging around, within a single score with under two minutes remaining. Then Donte Grantham fired in a deep three at the shot-clock buzzer to all but seal the deal.

Notes

– Caledonia Gladiators were the defending champions; beating Cheshire in the 2023 final
– London Lions advance to their 5th Trophy final – winning only one previous final (2021)
– Gladiators starters: Bothwell, Onwas, Whelan, Palyza, Alihodzic
– Lions starters: M Morgan, Soluade, Phillip, C Morgan, Olaseni

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix