BBL 2017/18 Season - Weekend Nine (25th-26th November)

(Action between Manchester Giants and Bristol Flyers on Sunday, thanks to Bristol Flyers for the photo)

Here is the latest action from the UK's Premier Basketball Division:-

Saturday 25th November
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 57-86 Newcastle Eagles

Sunday 26th November
Cheshire Phoenix 100-94 Leeds Force
Manchester Giants 74-97 Bristol Flyers
Plymouth Raiders 89-73 Newcastle Eagles
Surrey Scorchers 61-76 Worcester Wolves

Latest BBL Championship Standings:-
1. Newcastle Eagles Played 10 Won 9 Pct 0.900 Pts 18
2. Leicester Riders Played 7 Won 6 Pct 0.857 Pts 12
3. London Lions Played 9 Won 6 Pct 0.667 Pts 12
4. Sheffield Sharks Played 8 Won 5 Pct 0.625 Pts 10
5. Bristol Flyers Played 9 Won 5 Pct 0.556 Pts 10
6. Glasgow Rocks Played 10 Won 5 Pct 0.500 Pts 10
7. Surrey Scorchers Played 11 Won 5 Pct 0.455 Pts 10
8. Cheshire Phoenix Played 8 Won 4 Pct 0.500 Pts 8
9. Plymouth Raiders Played 9 Won 4 Pct 0.444 Pts 8
10. Worcester Wolves Played 8 Won 3 Pct 0.375 Pts 6
11. Leeds Force Played 9 Won 1 Pct 0.111 Pts 2
12. Manchester Giants Played 10 Won 1 Pct 0.100 Pts 2

The final 1.000 record fell on Sunday as Newcastle Eagles were stunned by Plymouth Raiders in the South West however this was after The Eagles had thrashed Bristol Flyers the day before to open up a six point lead at the top. Flyers themselves bounced back on Sunday, recording a 23 point win over bottom side Giants in Manchester, whilst the team down at the bottom with the Giants, Leeds Force, came close to grabbing their first victory on the road, but they let a half time lead slip to eventually be edged out by six points at Cheshire Phoenix. And Worcester Wolves caused a surprise by downing the Surrey Scorchers on the road by 15 points to grab only their third win of the season. It's a tight league right now with four teams tied on ten points and only separated by wins percentage, and only two points covering Leicester Riders in second and Surrey Scorchers in seventh. Shows just how competitive this league is!!!

Here are next weekends fixtures:-
Friday 1st December
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers Vs Leicester Riders
Glasgow Rocks Vs Newcastle Eagles
Leeds Force Vs Cheshire Phoenix
Worcester Wolves Vs Plymouth Raiders

Sunday 3rd December
BBL Championship
Plymouth Raiders Vs Surrey Scorchers
Glasgow Rocks Vs Leeds Force
Manchester Giants Vs Sheffield Sharks

BBL Cup Semi Final 1st Leg
Cheshire Phoenix Vs London Lions

That concludes this week's round up, I'll be back next week with the latest action as always. 

BBL 2017/18 Season - Weekend Eight (17th-19th November)

(Eagles and Sharks do battle on Friday night, thanks to Newcastle Eagles for the photo)

Here is the latest goings on in the BBL with last weekends action:-

Friday 17th November
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 63-67 London Lions
Newcastle Eagles 100-93 Sheffield Sharks
Plymouth Raiders 94-80 Leeds Force
Worcester Wolves 71-94 Leicester Riders

Sunday 19th November
Glasgow Rocks 85-104 Surrey Scorchers
Manchester Giants 86-97 Worcester Wolves

Latest Standings in BBL Championship:-
1. Newcastle Eagles Played 8 Won 8 Pct 1.000 Pts 16
2. Leicester Riders Played 7 Won 6 Pct 0.857 Pts 12
3. London Lions Played 9 Won 6 Pct 0.667 Pts 12
4. Sheffield Sharks Played 8 Won 5 Pct 0.625 Pts 10
5. Glasgow Rocks Played 10 Won 5 Pct 0.500 Pts 10
6. Surrey Scorchers Played 10 Won 5 Pct 0.500 Pts 10
7. Bristol Flyers Played 7 Won 4 Pct 0.571 Pts 8
8. Cheshire Phoenix Played 7 Won 3 Pct 0.429 Pts 6
9. Plymouth Raiders Played 8 Won 3 Pct 0.375 Pts 6
10. Worcester Wolves Played 7 Won 2 Pct 0.286 Pts 4
11. Leeds Force Played Played 8 Won 1 0.125 Pts 2
12. Manchester Giants Played 9 Won 1 Pct 0.111 Pts 2

Newcastle Eagles remain 1.000 after an exciting home win over the Sheffield Sharks on Friday evening, whilst Leicester Riders took a comfortable 23 point win on the road at Worcester Wolves. The Wolves bounced back on Sunday though with an eleven point win in Manchester against the struggling Giants, whilst the other strugglers Leeds Force also lost by 14 on the road at Plymouth Raiders. The London Lions are up to third now after they defeated Bristol Flyers in a tight low scoring contest in the South West, whilst the Surrey Scorchers racked up 104 points on the road in Glasgow against the Rocks to take an impressive nineteen point victory to tie up with their opponents in the table.

Here are this weekends fixtures in the BBL Championship:-
Saturday 25th November
Bristol Flyers Vs Newcastle Eagles

Sunday 26th November
Surrey Scorchers Vs Worcester Wolves
Plymouth Raiders Vs Newcastle Eagles
Manchester Giants Vs Bristol Flyers
Cheshire Phoenix Vs Leeds Force

The Eagles put their 1.000 record on the line with a mini tour of South West England this weekend, taking in road trips to Bristol Flyers and Plymouth Raiders on Saturday/Sunday and with none of the other top five in action gives the North East side the chance to really open up a big gap at the top, already four points before this weekend.

I'll be back to see what happens with my blog next week. 

BBL 2017/18 Season - Weekend Seven (10th-12th November)

(Jaysean Paige with the ball for league leaders Newcastle Eagles, thanks to BBL.org.uk for photo)  

Here is a look back at the weekend's BBL action:-
Friday 10th November
BBL Championship
Leeds Force 83-101 Cheshire Phoenix
Leicester Riders 80-75 Sheffield Sharks
Newcastle Eagles 103-80 Surrey Scorchers
Worcester Wolves 76-82 Glasgow Rocks

Saturday 11th November
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 74-71 Glasgow Rocks

Sunday 12th November
BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 76-87 Newcastle Eagles
Surrey Scorchers 95-70 Manchester Giants

BBL Championship Latest Standings
1. Newcastle Eagles Played 7 Won 7 Pct 1.000 Pts 14
2. Leicester Riders Played 6 Won 5 Pct 0.833 Pts 10
3. Sheffield Sharks Played 7 Won 5 Pct 0.714 Pts 10
4. London Lions Played 8 Won 5 Pct 0.625 Pts 10
5. Glasgow Rocks Played 9 Won 5 Pct 0.556 Pts 10
6. Bristol Flyers Played 6 Won 4 Pct 0.667 Pts 8
7. Surrey Scorchers Played 9 Won 4 Pct 0.444 Pts 8
8. Cheshire Phoenix Played 7 Won 3 Pct 0.429 Pts 6
9. Plymouth Raiders Played 7 Won 2 Pct 0.286 Pts 4
10. Worcester Wolves Played 5 Won 1 Pct 0.200 Pts 2
11. Leeds Force Played 7 Won 1 Pct 0.143 Pts 2
12. Manchester Giants Played 8 Won 1 Pct 0.125 Pts 2

Newcastle Eagles picked up two wins in the Championship at the weekend to remain the only 1.000 side in the division whilst the Leicester Riders got back to winning ways, seeing off a Sheffield Sharks side that came into this one off the back off six straight wins.  Glasgow Rocks had a mixed weekend, winning on the road at Worcester Wolves on Friday evening before falling to defeat at Bristol Flyers the next day, whilst Surrey Scorchers bounced back from a 23 point defeat in Newcastle on Friday night to record a 25 point win over Manchester Giants on Sunday.  Cheshire Phoenix also had a mixed weekend, winning at Leeds Force on Friday before falling to Newcastle Eagles at home on Sunday in what was a tight game for three quarters before the league leaders pulled away to win by 11 points.  London Lions and Plymouth Raiders were not in action this weekend.

Here are this weekend's fixtures:-
Friday 17th November
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers Vs London Lions
Newcastle Eagles Vs Sheffield Sharks
Plymouth Raiders Vs Leeds Force
Worcester Wolves Vs Leicester Riders

Sunday 19th November
BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks Vs Bristol Flyers
Manchester Giants Vs Worcester Wolves

BBL 2017/18 Season - Weekend Six (3rd/5th November)

(Action from Leicester Riders 75-73 win over Plymouth Raiders at the Leicester Arena on Friday Night, thanks to Leicester Riders for the picture)

Let's look back at the weekend's BBL results:-
Friday 3rd November
BBL Championship
Leeds Force 87-82 Manchester Giants
Leicester Riders 75-73 Plymouth Raiders
London Lions 86-70 Glasgow Rocks

BBL Cup Quarter Finals
Newcastle Eagles 79-80 Cheshire Phoenix
Sheffield Sharks 93-64 Surrey Scorchers

Sunday 5th November
BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 79-88 Manchester Giants
Plymouth Raiders 70-75 London Lions
Surrey Scorchers 85-86 Bristol Flyers

BBL Cup Quarter Finals
Glasgow Rocks 85-97 Worcester Wolves

Latest Standings
1. Newcastle Eagles Played 5 Won 5 Pts 10
2. Sheffield Sharks Played 6 Won 5 Pts 10
3. London Lions Played 8 Won 5 Pts 10
4. Leicester Riders Played 5 Won 4 Pts 8
5. Glasgow Rocks Played 7 Won 4 Pts 8
6. Bristol Flyers Played 5 Won 3 Pts 6
7. Surrey Scorchers Played 7 Won 3 Pts 6
8. Cheshire Phoenix Played 5 Won 2 Pts 4
9. Plymouth Raiders Played 7 Won 2 Pts 4
10. Worcester Wolves Played 4 Won 1 Pts 2
11. Leeds Force Played Played 6 Won 1 Pts 2
12. Manchester Giants Played 7 Won 1 Pts 2

The London Lions had a great weekend, bouncing back from three straight defeats in the Championship to record a double over the weekend at home to Glasgow Rocks and then on the road at Plymouth Raiders, which took them into third spot and a three way tie at the top.  The two other sides who are tied at the top with the Lions did not play in the Championship at the weekend as they were both in BBL Cup Quarter Final action.  Newcastle Eagles fell to a surprise home loss against the Cheshire Phoenix whilst Sheffield Sharks destroyed the Surrey Scorchers in Yorkshire to join Phoenix and Lions in the Semi Finals.  The final Quarter Final took place on Sunday and saw Rocks lose for the second time this weekend when losing at home to the Worcester Wolves to complete the Semi-Final line up. 

The draw for that has now taken place and here is that draw:-
BBL Semi Final draw (ties to be played over two legs):-
Worcester Wolves Vs Sheffield Sharks
Cheshire Phoenix Vs London Lions

Continuing my look back at the weekend's results and the bottom two, Leeds Force and Manchester Giants grabbed their first wins of the season, Force defeated Giants in a close one on Friday evening before the Giants bounced back to stun Phoenix on the road on sunday, bringing the home side back to earth with a solid bump after Friday's heroics at Eagles.  Raiders lost both their games over the weekend to fall to ninth in the standings whilst Bristol Flyers won on the road at Scorchers to move up to sixth, which also meant Scorchers lost both games this weekend.  An finally Leicester Riders got back to winning ways after a close win over Raiders on Friday evening.

The draw for the BBL Trophy was also made last week and here is Round One's contests (ties to be played mid-December):-
Cheshire Phoenix Vs Glasgow Rocks
Plymouth Raiders Vs Bristol Flyers
Manchester Giants Vs London Lions
Leeds Force Vs Leicester Riders
Newcastle Eagles Vs Surrey Scorchers
Sheffield Sharks Vs Manchester Magic
Team Northumbria Vs Worcester Wolves
Falkirk Fury Vs Reading Rockets

Right here are next weekend's fixtures in the BBL:-
Friday 10th November
BBL Championship
Leeds Force Vs Cheshire Phoenix
Leicester Riders Vs Sheffield Sharks
Newcastle Eagles Vs Surrey Scorchers
Worcester Wolves Vs Glasgow Rocks

Saturday 11th November
BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers Vs Glasgow Rocks

Sunday 12th November
BBL Championship
Surrey Scorchers Vs Manchester Giants
Cheshire Phoenix Vs Newcastle Eagles