BBL play-off matches, quarter-finals (second leg)
Caledonia Gladiators (166) 80-84 (186) Cheshire Phoenix (23-19, 39-40, 56-64)
(Wrestlers: Durham, 28; Sloane, 12; Bailey/Aliudzic, 10 – Phoenix: Evans, 19; Jack, 18; Archibald, 14)
Cheshire Phoenix advanced to the BBL Play-off semi-finals after an 84-80 win over the Caledonia Gladiators at the Emirates Arena on Saturday afternoon.
For Phoenix, the heartbreak of March’s BBL Cup loss was blown away in resounding fashion as they backed up Friday’s 102-86 win with a strong showing at both ends to secure a 186-166 aggregate.
This would be coach Ben Thomas’ first appearance in the Final Four, and while the entire team contributed, as short as it was with just seven players, it was Marcus Evans who pulled off 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the team. road.
Maceo Jacques added 18 and Amore Archibald picked up where he left off, amassing 14 along with a career high 35 he scored in the first leg.
Durham led all scorers unsuccessfully for the Gladiators with 28 points on 12/19 as they ended their season surprisingly but with their heads held high.
Eager to narrow the gap, Caledonia showed intent, but could only score six points in the first four minutes. Fortunately for the hosts, Cheshire were themselves off to a tense start.
The hosts picked up the pace from there, something Phoenix loves to do and Caledonia found success from this, racing to an 18-13 lead with 2:20 remaining as David Sloan got quick scores inside.
Driving the visitors to Jack, they finished strong to cut the lead in the afternoon to 23-19, but they still led overall.
Phoenix — as they did in the first leg — were a threat and at the halfway point, took the lead thanks to a three-point play from Evans. That lead grew with 2:40 remaining thanks to a hat-trick plus an error from Jamal Anderson that gave the away team a 38-31 lead, extending the lead on aggregate.
The Gladiators responded at the end of the half but Cheshire had a clear advantage at the break.
Caledonia’s momentum seen in the closing minutes of the second quarter continued to lead into the third as they held their counterparts to just three points in nearly five minutes, while taking a 48-43 lead thanks to Princeton Unuas.
Local fans inside the UAE were behind their team, expecting a comeback, but the match became unsettled with both teams committing mistakes, most notably an Onwas foul with 3:31 left.
Cheshire responded when they both hit their miss shots during the third period, and Archibald extended his team’s lead on the day and on aggregate to 57-52 with a three-point game.
Suddenly, the noise generated inside the Emirates became muted – save for the Phoenix end – and everything was going the visitors’ way, as they enjoyed a 64-58 lead heading into fourth place.
Thanks to Durham, Caledonia responded as they scored an uncontested seven points to level the game before driving into the hoop and baiting Johnny Bunyan for a three off the top to give the hosts a 71-68 lead.
But despite Durham’s best efforts, there was no late miracle this time as Cheshire rallied to regain the lead late on and secure a comfortable victory over the two legs.