Final BBL Interval
London Lions 88-80 Leicester Riders (22-14, 44-36, 69-55)
(Lyons: Best/Taylor, 15; Oni, 14; Phillip, 12 – Raiders: Jackson, 20; Love, 17; McKenzie, 14)
The London Lions completed the domestic treble with an 88-80 victory over Leicester Raiders, claiming the first British Basketball League title at 02 Arena.
A rematch of last season’s Finals didn’t disappoint in terms of action, particularly in the final two minutes as the Raiders battled from a 16-point deficit to come within five with 1:18 remaining.
But for Rob Paternostro’s men it was the closest they got as London managed to ice the game at the foul line to complete the domestic hat-trick.
London’s Jordan Taylor and Aaron Best each led with 15 points, with the former grabbing seven assists to win MVP honors.
“It was amazing. I think a lot of guys in our position are chasing the NBA and the Euroleague but for me, I can honestly say that was the most special, because you’re going to be able to build something not only in the country but that’s most at home,” Taylor said afterwards.
Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt added, “When you look back on today but also think about the entire season, I’m proud of our group.”
“So many accomplishments, so many accomplishments and this is just such a special group of individuals and professionals and I say to them all the time, I’m proud and honored to be able to coach these guys.”
Miye Oni added 14 in an explosive performance by the former NBA star. Zach Jackson led Leicester with 20 points and nine boards.
Driving down the fairway for a one-handed dunk, and following it up with a triple from the wing, Oni signaled a statement of intent on a quick start from the Lions.
However, the Riders matched London blow for blow as Patrick Whelan and Carrington Love attacked the front line and took a 12-11 lead at the halfway point of the first, courtesy of an inside score from Darren Nelson Henry on his final appearance for Leicester.
Returning to a fierce home crowd, the cup and championship winners regained their advantage with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter, as Tariq Phillip connected with three consecutive throws to give his team a 22-14 lead after that. opening period.
Already, Lester needed to fight back. On their opening possessions in the second quarter, they did just that – cutting the deficit to three points thanks to a triple from Zack Jackson and an assist from Love.
But the determined Lions recovered from a small point and extended their lead to 36-24 with 4:34 left in the half, highlighted by a dunk transmission from Oni and a traffic stop from Tomislav Zubsic.
It was a solid half from London, who shot 51% from the field, but Leicester, despite trailing, had the last laugh at the buzzer, as Kimbal Mackenzie’s faint jumper narrowed the gap to single figures on the break.
Both teams were unable to find their rhythm in the early stages of the third. Jordan Taylor drilled a three from the top to keep the Lions ahead by double digits as they threaten in the breeze.
A mid-range jump from London’s Luke Nelson widened the gap to 14 before Jackson looked to stir some life in Leicester with a three-pointer. Coach Schmidt responded by losing despite his team going 61-51 to the better, halfway through the third.
London folded again, in a stellar tie-breaking game between Nelson and Josh Sharma, which ended with the latter scoring on Aaron Menzies to take an 8-2 lead to put the Lions ahead 69-53 with 1:49 left.
With the Riders adding only two points in that 1:49 remaining, it was imperative for them to run, while getting stops in the early stages of the final period.
In the first two minutes, they made it to the foul line at will, as the league leaders in free throw percentage (79.9%) narrowed the gap to single digits.
From there, points rained down like confetti as both teams traded three-point hits in a frantic spell of over a minute of action, putting the Lions ahead 80-69.
Down but no way out, Leicester scored a great corner kick in transition by McKenzie that kept the game interesting with 2:27 left and left the Lions ahead 82-75.
McKenzie was at it again with less than 90 seconds left as his three wingers made it a two-possession game. Then the riders stopped and could narrow it down to just a couple points.
Anguished on the next play, Loving had an open look from behind the arc, but his attempt was knocked out, after he thought about nesting in the bucket.
This meant the Lions shut down an impressive triple foul streak in a second straight post-season classic at the O2 Arena between the two sides.
“We did a lot of what we wanted to do,” said Raiders coach Paternostro.
“I thought we attacked the basket, we had 37 free throws in this game, I thought we were going to be challenged physically, we didn’t shoot.”