The finals have been and gone. Here's what happened.
Game 1
Game 1 was a big game in this series as BC Zalgiris had the better quality team, but Team Nook held home court advantage which made for an interesting series. A game 1 win for Nook would have given us a game 3 which could have gone either way, but it was BC Zalgiris getting the 5 point win, 92-87. Ka Lun led the way for Zalgiris with 28 points on 11-20 shooting, the only player that was able to shoot efficiently with the high level of defence possessed by both teams. Nook’s star duo Kanjilal and Georgas combined for 53 points but on only 38% shooting. Nook faced a massive uphill battle to retain their title hopes having to defeat Zalgiris away.
Game 2
41 points from Kamarainen and 30 points from Park destroyed any hope for Team Nook as they nearly outscored Nook by themselves in a 102-77 win. 28% shooting from Nook shows how effective Zalgiris’ defence was in game 2. Kanjilal managed 27 points on 45% shooting, but no-one else was able to provide some help. But it was a dominant performance from Zalgiris as they win their 5th EBBL title.
Congratulations to Vycka!
In Division II, we will see 4 new EBBL teams as North London United, Lancaster City, Alaus Putytes and Cramlington Showboaters all won their respective leagues to earn promotion. They will be joined by 3-time EBBL champion Durham Wasps who lost in the finals to Lancaster City but earned the best record from the remaining top seeds.
Congratulations to all 5 managers on their promotions.
Relegated:
Big 8:
Porzigod
Gauson
Borac Basket
Great 8:
Nobiles Slough
London Daredevils