Watch live from 1pm as Essex Rebels II and Barnet Bulldogs face off in the NBL Division Three playoff final at the NBPC in Manchester.
Both teams bring a winning pedigree with them to the NBPC, with Essex sporting a perfect 18-0 as East conference winners, whilst Barnet went 19-1 across a strong South conference schedule to beat second-place Oxford Hoops by six points.
The Rebels points difference of 540 (+30ppg) and the Bulldogs’ 592 (+29.6PPG) both indicate how strong these teams have been this year; form they both carried into the post-season.
The East champs saw off North runners up and #16 seeds Tees Valley Mohawks, 101-89, before a 69-57 victory over #9 Nottingham Trent Hoods.
Those victories set up a clash with #5 Loughborough Riders II and thanks to a stunning 42 points from Jordan Ashley, the Rebels won the competitive contest, 77-71.
Ashley’s quality has shone through all season long, making him a logical pick for the East’s Player of the Year award (POTY), with Essex coach Ryan Maiden also earning recognition for the part he played in a perfect regular season.
Barnet have been every bit as solid, however, making good on their #2 seed to march all the way to Manchester.
They were pushed hard early on in the the playoffs, edging past Plymouth Marjon Patriots 109-102.
Then the Londoners managed to pick themselves up, stringing together solid outings to beat #7 East London Phoenix 96-80 and then #3 Liverpool 97-78 to stamp their ticket to the final.
Player/Coach Chuck Duru was selected as the South conference Coach of the Year, with Conor O’Reilly earning POTY honours for the Bulldogs.
As the top two teams in D3 this year, this contest should provide a fitting end to this season’s campaign.
The Bulldogs have scored 90 points or more in 16 games this season, showing they’re a team who know how to get it done and have the quality to hurt Essex if they can get into their rhythm.
Essex are no slouches though, passing that 90-point mark 12 times themselves, and with Ashley at their disposal, he could be a pivotal for them this weekend.
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.
0 comments