BuzzerBeater Forums

Conference finals in the book, the finals await.

EBBL
Tide of Fire continued their impressive season with another dominant performance as they beat Arsenal 98 87-71 to progress through to the finals. Tide of Fire led by 25 at the end of 3 quarters which proved to be too much for Arsenal 98 to comeback from. SF Yury Loginov had a game high 27 points for Tide of Fire. PG Plácido Rubio López had 25 points for Arsenal 98 with C Kuba Kalsiszak adding 18 point with 19 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to overcome Tide of Fire’s all-round team effort.

Hope Springs beat London Whales 115-104 in a overtime playoff classic to progress through to their first ever EBBL finals appearance. 2 missed free throws by Ctibor Grešo could have sealed the game in regulation for Hope Springs but almost cost them the game if Mirko Jovicic could have connected on his baseline jumper but it didn’t fall to send the game to OT. The Whales took the early lead in OT but Hope Springs battled went on a 19-4 run in the last 3 and a half minutes to claim victory. Kenny MacLaverty led the game with 33 points but it wasn’t enough as the Hope Springs starters scored a combined for 98 points as they showed a truly team-oriented display to win.

Hope Springs face the 12-time EBBL champs, and most successful English franchise ever, Tide of Fire in the season 54 EBBL finals. In their only league matchup this season, Tide of Fire were able to win 76-63 in a tightly fought contest. Can Hope Springs overcome the odds to win their first title, or do Tide of Fire prove dominant once more.

In the EBBL relegation matchups, Los Mikitos were the only team to claim their safety as they beat new jersey2 95-89 behind a 22 points, 17 rebound performance from C Blaž Eltrin. JA Miami and Bromely-By-Bow will face off in a win or go down battle after JA Miami were able to pick up a close 100-92 victory as PG Jan Niksa top scored with 23 points. In the last relegation match up, Gauson picked up a comfortable 116-97 victory at home against Cambois Donkeys.PG Matthew Dupre scored 42 points for the Donkey’s but it wasn’t enough as front court trio of SF Fernando Hortezuelo, PF Gerasimos Vlachakis and C Halit Deniz combined for 79 points to lead Gauson to victory. The Donkey’s go back home for game 3 in their fight for survival.

Div II.1
Panathinaikos Bristol pulled off an upset as they beat kotwa 104-98 to knock off the top seed in the Big 8. Panathinaikos Bristol won the final period 36-29 to win the game by 6. SF Jean Bau scored a game high 31 points to lead the way for Panathinaikos Bristol. PG Deniz Ordu scored 21 to go alongside 7 assists while C Brendan Boucher added 19 points and 20 rebounds. kotwa were led by SG Nordin Harris who had 29 points but shot poorly as he ended the game shooting 8-24 FG.

Over in the Great 8, the Detroit Pistons I did all they could to overcome home court advantage but it wasn’t enough as Falcons Heywood picked up the 114-102 victory. Falcons Heywood started the game strong as they won the first quarter 31-19. Falcons Heywood has 6 players score double figures in the victory.

Falcons Heywood will face Panathinaikos Bristol in the finals in their quest to get back to the EBBL. Pananthinaikos Bristol will be looking to make the EBBL for the first time in franchise history. In their only matchup this season Panathinaikos Bristol beat Falcons Heywood away from home, which will give them even more hope for a finals victory.

Div II.2
Division II.2 saw both 2nd seeded teams pick up away wins to make it to the finals. Leeds City Ballers beat MexicanTaxiDriver 97-89 behind a combined 83 points from their perimeter trio of SF Gerry Katich (30), SG MVP Daryl Tracy (28) and PG Abdullah Hamdan Abu Shaqra (25). MexicanTaxiDriver had 6 players score in double figures but it wasn’t enough to outscore the Leeds trio.

In the Great 8, Roaring Lions dominated the overtime period 14-2 to beat BC Bloosa 94-82 in a low scoring battle. Lions’ stars Simon Redding and Govardhan Sengupta had quiet games with only 12 and 8 points respectively but it was PF Sidney Oakes scoring 20 points to go with 11 rebounds to lead the Lions to victory. BC Bloosa were led, as normal, by Javier Ubidea who had a game high 22 but it wasn’t enough to come out on top.

Roaring Lions are looking to reclaim a spot in the EBBL after a 4 season absence, whereas the Leeds City Ballers are looking to make it back to the top flight for the first time in 14 seasons. The Lions won the in-season matchup but the star power in this finals matchup should give us 2 (at least) mouth watering games.

Div II.3
Top scorer Mick Baxendale sealed the game with a clutch free throw to send the Coventry Phoenix to the division II.3 finals as they beat the 1 seed PONTIOPOYLA 101-99. Baxendale scored 27 points including 6 3 pointers against PONTIOPOYLA’s 2-3 zone. PONTIOPOYLA’s star man Todd Dunn fell to injury early in the 3rd quarter with the game at 54-52 in their favour.

In the Great 8, 44 points from PG Yip Ka yiu wasn’t enough for Team Nook to pull off an upset over BC Zalgiris. U21 star Sivasekaran Kanjilal also added 31 of his own but Zalgiris’ unanimous MVP Tang Kaiyao lived up to his award going for 46 points, 20 rebounds and 6 assists on 18-27 FG shooting and 10-10 FT shooting. This was the third time this season Kaiyao scored more than 40 points against Team Nook, including a 60 point performance.

BC Zalgiris go on to face Coventry Phoenix in the finals as they look to make their way back to the EBBL at the first time of asking. This series will see the top 2 MVP voted players as Tang Kaiyao faces Ling To Wai to see who’s team will come out on top. BC Zalgiris dominated the season matchup 89=57, and will be hoping to do the same again in the finals.

Div II.4
Bethnal Green Erks continued their quest to get back to the EBBL with a 100-81 victory over Wetstone Wizards. 5 of the 7 Bethnal players scored double figures in the win, but C Rimas Kopytokas and PF Waldo De Benedetto had 28 points, 29 rebounds and 27 points, 16 rebounds respectively as they dominated inside. PG Bogdanas Seimutis had 20 points for the Wizards but it barely dents the Erks dominance on the game.

Bournemouth Drunkers also looked impressive in their run to get back to the top flight as they dispatched of Zalia - Balts in convincing fashion, 113-86. SG Anil Güldibi had a game high 37 points for Zalia - Balta but it wasn’t enough to keep the game close. The Drunkers were led by wing duo SG Jan Decken and SF Mihajlo Drakulović who combined for 50 points in the win.

Bethnal Green Erks beat the Drunkers 93-87 in their sole matchup this season but both teams look on top form heading in the their finals matchup. Both teams will be eager to get back to the EBBL.

Keep up the good work mate, really does offer a good insight into the games! Good luck to all teams in the finals of their playoffs too.

Game 1 of the finals is in the books, here’s how they went.

EBBL
Tide of Fire take command in the EBBL finals as they defeated Hope Springs comfortably 88-71. PF Muoi Le led Tide of Fire with an impressive all round game finishing with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He was backed by the rest of the squad as 4 other players scored in double figures. SG Przemyslaw Gasecki scored a game high 32 points but with little help as the Tide defence dominated the game. Game 2 on Saturday, can Hope Springs use their home crowd to push them to a victory and force a game 3.

In the two win or go down relegation ties, we saw both Big 8 teams pick up the crucial win to survive. Bromley-By-Bow took over in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, winning those periods by 25 points, to win 109-87 against JA Miami. Bromley had 6 players score double figures, led by 25 points by PF Demir ‘al’ Ozer. JA Miami PG Jan Nikes had an impressive 43 points but it wasn’t enough to claim the win.

In the other relegation tie we saw a classic OT win by Cambois Donkeys against EBBL regulars Gauson. Gauson were ahead 74-57 heading in for the 4th quarter but the Donkeys won that period 33-16 to take the game to overtime thanks to a 3 pointer from SG Frantisek Krupica with 4 seconds left. PF Gerasimos Vlachakis then missed a dunk at the buzzer to win the game. Cambois Donkeys continued their momentum to win the overtime period 14-6 to win the game and survive relegation. The Donkeys were led by PG Mathew Dupre with 29 points while Gauson PF Vlachakis had a strong outing with 35 points and 26 rebounds, but he failed when it mattered most by missing the potential game winning dunk.

Division II.1
Panathinaikos Bristol pulled off a shock 106-102 win away against Falcons Heywood. League MVP PG Deniz Ordu lived up to her title as he scored a game high 35 points. Falcons Heywood has 7 players score in double figures but their team effort couldn’t overcome Ordu’s 35 point showcase. Panathinaikos Bristol head home for game 2 as they look to claim promotion to the EBBL.

Division II.2
The Roaring Lions wing duo of SG Govardhan Sengupta (29 points) and SF Simon Redding (26 points) won the first battle against Leeds City Ballers’ star back court duo of SG Daryl Tracy (28 points) and PG Abdullah Hamdan Abu Shaqra (25 points). The Lions won game 1 110-97. Game 2 will see these duo battle again as Leeds City Ballers need to win to stay alive.

Division II.3
BC Zalgiris live up to expectation as they beat Coventry Phoenix 101-81 behind 31 points from Sean Hargreaves and 24 points, 16 rebounds from MVP Kang Kaiyao. Coventry’s star man Ling To Wai had a night to forget as he failed to make a shot and fouled out in only 28 minutes of action. Game 2 is on Saturday and the Coventry Phoenix are going to have to find something different if they want to turn this series on it’s head.

Division II.4
Bethnal Green Erks secured home court advantage for the finals as they beat Bournemouth Drunkers 110-84 in game 1. SG Ernest Breen led the way as he scored 34 points, and he was well supported as 5 other Bethnal players scored double figures, including 24 points from SF Agrim Vijayan. PG Andrea Vandini top scored for Drunkers with 21 but they were out played in every way. The Drunkers will need a much better display in game 2 if they want a chance to make it to game 3.

Can I just say I really look forward to reading your writeups

Thanks Vecx! I guess it’s always nice when you’re winning!

I just enjoy keeping up with all 5 leagues, especially in the playoffs! Trying to get the English community more excited for the game.

lol, chickens haven't hatched yet! This game is notorious for throwing up surprises at the last minute.

I agree, I do not often have much time to play this game due to RL commitments. However, it has been fantastic to read these reviews and also learn about the other league's teams as well.
Keep up the awesome work mate