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Game 1 of the finals is done!

EBBL
Arsenal 98 dominated the 2nd half in a 108-85 win in game 1 of the EBBL finals. A 57-34 second half from Arsenal means they go 1-0 up in the series, and maintain home court advantage should we have a game 3. 71 points from the Arsenal perimeter, led by 29 points from SG Placido Rubio Lopez. The EBBL MVP, Przemyslaw Gasecki, struggled in the game shooting on 2-12 FG and only 4 points. Hope Springs did win the battle on the boards, and were able to grab 22 offensive rebounds, but it wasn’t good enough to overcome the 17 3-pointers from Arsenal 98. Game 2 on Saturday could see Bergkamp win his first EBBL title, but Hope Springs will be looking for their home crowd to motive them to reach a game 3.

Leeds City Ballers started each half on fire with 38 points in the first quarter and 37 in the third as they comfortably beat Cambois Donkeys 114-98 to secure their EBBL status for next season. Leeds had 6 players score in double figures and had a total of 26 assists in a real team effort. SF Daryl Tracy shot 9-11 FG on his way to 23 points to lead the way for Leeds. PF Bart Leavy-McCarthy had a game high 32 points for the Donkeys who will find themselves in division 2 next season after two seasons in the EBBL.

In the other win or go down game, St Purple & Greens was able to overcome the home court advantage and win 112-100 thanks to a 38-24 final period. SF Ioannis Nikoloyiannis had a monster 41 points for the Purple & Greens. C Ernest Lichtarski also had a big game as he finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks. MexicanTaxiDriver SG Roxer Palleres had an impressive 35 point, 8 assist game but too many fouls from MexicanTaxiDriver gave the Purple & Greens too many free throws for them to overcome in the end. St Purple & Greens survive for a second EBBL season whereas MexicanTaxiDriver will relegate back to division two after 1 season in the top flight.

Division II.1
A 40-21 first quarter was enough for Galaxy Walkers to go on to win game 1 of their series against Detroit Pistons I. PF Aleksis Spakovskis looked unstoppable as he scored 61 points for the Walkers. SF Tomas Norkus also added 26 points on an efficient 11-15 shooting. Detroit’s guard duo combined for 60 points but Spakovskis’ massive game was too much to contend with. The Pistons will be looking to win game 2 at home to tie the series.

Division II.2
Lancaster City rested their star players for game 1 of the finals as Bromley-By-Bow cruised to a 100-45 win. PF Gale Driver almost had a triple double as he finished with 20 points, 24 rebounds and 8 assists. However it was C Marti Guim who top scored with 21 points. SF Jon Catty, who finished 3rd in MVP voting, had a quiet night as he only took 5 shots but he was still able to finish with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Bromley looked comfortable in game 1 and will be looking to finish the series on Saturday and return to the EBBL at the first attempt.

Division II.3
Bournemouth Drunkers locked in defensively as they held PONTIOPOYLA to only 65 points in a comfortable win in game 1. PONTIOPOYLA were held to only 31% shooting in the game by the Drunkers strong defence. The Drunkers were better than their opponents in almost every stat in the game and will be looking to get this series wrapped up in 2 games and returning to the EBBL.

Division II.4
Camden Kings had their unbeaten season ended in game 1 as Gauson were able to win game 1 on the road 110-98. All 7 of Gauson’s players scored in double figures, led by SG Joedson Borges Lima with 25. Camden shot only 38% in the game as their offence struggled. Gauson will be hoping to win the title on their home court and win promotion back to the EBBL. Camden have already secured promotion due to their 22-0 regular season record, but they will be desperate to finish the season with the title and will need a big performance in game 2.

Game 2 of the finals is complete, and we only have 1 series going to game 3!

EBBL
Arsenal 98 overcame a 11-0 start by Hope Springs to win 93-87 and clinch their first EBBL title in franchise history! SG Alexis Gaganiaras top scored for Arsenal 98 with 31 points, shooting 5-7 from 3 and 10-10 from the line. MVP Przemyslaw Gaseecki had a game high 39 points for Hope Springs. Hope Springs may have a few complaints about to officiating as Arsenal was sent to the line twice as many times than Hope Springs which may have been the difference in the game as Hope Springs actually scored more baskets and dominated the glass.

Congratulations to Bergkamp and Arsenal 98 on winning the EBBL title after an impressive 21-1 regular season.

Division II.1
Division II.1 will see the only game 3 in the top 5 leagues in England as Detroit Pistons I were able to win 105-91 over Galaxy Walkers to keep their season alive. PG Daniel Urenda and SG Wu Fubing combined to hit 12 3-pointers and 63 points in the win PF Aart-Jan Zeegers also had a solid all-round game with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Galaxy Walkers PF Aleksis Spakovskis followed up his monster 61 point game 1 performance with another big 47 point game, but it wasn't enough this time. The Pistons will need to find a way to slow him down in game 3.

Division II.2
Bromley-By-Bow completed the two game sweep of cup finalist Lancaster City with a 96-90 win. Bromley were led by 30 points from PG Urbonas Jurgelionis who also had 5 steals. Lancaster perimeter trio combined for 84 of their 90 points but Bromley's team effort was enough to win on the road.

Congratulations to SalimSasa and Bromley-By-Bow on promotion back to the EBBL.

Division II.3
The Bournemouth Drunkers made 14 3-pointers on 52% 3FG on their way to a 100-86 win on the road against PONTIOPOYLA to win the division II.3 title. SG Andrea Vandini hit 5 of those 3s on his way to a game high 27 points for the Drunkers. PONTIOPOYLA struggled shooting again, making only 36% of their shots. They were led by PF Todd Dunn who had 19 points and 14 rebounds on 8-24 shooting.

Congratulations to Mr JJ and the Bournemouth Drunkers on promotion to the EBBL after 1 season away.

Division II.4
Gauson upset the 22-0 Camden Kings by winning the finals 2-0 with a high scoring 126-104 win in game 2 at home. Gauson had 7 players score in double figures in an offensive showcase which saw them shoot 57% FG and 55% 3FG along with 26 assists. it was PG Claudio Pedrosa that led the way with a game high 24 points for Gauson. Camden shot an impressive 15-29 from downtown but poor inside shooting (19-60 2FG) slowed their attack down.

Congratulations to hono and Gauson for winning the division II.4 title and promotion back to EBBL.

A second congratulations goes out to Adam408 and Camden Kings as they also achieve promotion due to having the best regular season record in division 2 after going 22-0.

Just one game 3 decider in division 2 saw Galaxy Walkers defeat Detroit Pistons I 92-79 behind another huge performance from PF Aleksis Spakovskis who this time scored 54 points. Giving him a finals average of 54ppg and a playoff average of 46ppg! He scored more than 20 baskets in all 3 finals games, as the Pistons found no way to stop him.

Congratulations to soure and the Galaxy Walkers on promotion to the EBBL! Returning after their relegation in season 53


Well done to all promoted teams. I look forward to battling it out with you all next season.