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The post-season is upon us and the playoffs this year look very interesting!

EBBL
The EBBL this season has been very close all season. The Great 8 conference playoff situation has seen the top 4 teams within 1 game for most of the season. Hope Springs managed to come out on top of the Great 8 due to their +224 PD, ahead of London Whales who also finished with a 15-7 record. Last year’s runners up Durham Wasps finish 3rd and Stinkilemons 4th both with 14-8 records.

The first match up is between two teams that have never managed to win the EBBL title, Hope Springs and Stinkilemons. Stinkilemons came closest in season 39 as they were runners up. Hope Springs have enjoyed a quick rise in the EBBL ranks as this is only their second season in the top division, losing in the first-round last season. Hope Springs recently beat Stinkilemons 127-125 in an OT classic! Hopefully we can enjoy another classic in their 1st round matchup.

London Whales will look towards home-grown talent as England national squad members Dexter Barral and Kenny MacLaverty, who were both drafted by the Whales, lead the line. MacLaverty finished 2nd in scoring this season with 21.7ppg ahead of Stinkilemons’ Dallis Brona who finished 3rd with 21.2ppg. London Whales defeated Durham in their most recent matchup, but you can never write off the 3-time EBBL champion.

In the Big 8, Tide of Fire have been on top all season and look like the favourites heading into the playoffs as they ended the season with an impressive 20-2 record and a national cup win. Last year’s champions Optic Fibres finished in 2nd with a 16-6 record and hoping to make another push to the title. NT coach Bergkamp has led his Arsenal 98 squad to the 3rd seed ahead of 7-time EBBL champion (2 as LIDLTallfellas) LIDLTallfellas who both finished with a 14-8 record.

LIDLTallfellas does hold a victory over Tide of Fire in their most recent game as they beat them 78-51. but Tide of Fire looked to be resting players for the cup final in the same week. Tide of Fire might be favourites, but the Tallfellas hold recent victories over the top 2 seeds, so it won’t be easy for the 12-time EBBL champions

The other first round matchup is a battle between the two national coaches, Bergkamp and js8. The season series is 1-1 with the home team picking up the victory on both occasions. Optic Fibres have had a rocky run of form with a 3-4 record in the final conference matchups. Arsenal on the other hand go into the playoffs on a 6-1 run during that time, with the only loss falling to Tide of Fire in the final game of the season. An intriguing game that could go either way.

EBBL veterans Los Mikitos and Gauson face relegation as they failed to make the playoffs. Los Mikitos face new jersey2 in what on paper should be a straight forward victory for Los Mikitos. Gauson face a tougher challenge as they face the Cambois Donkeys with the Donkeys having home-court advantage. The final relegation series see two first-time EBBL teams battling for survival as Bromley-By-Bow face JA Miami.

Good luck to all teams

Div II.1
Division II.1 sees long-time team Kotwa leading the way as they finished with the divisions best record of 19-3. However, they face a difficult first round match-up as they play recently relegated Galaxy Walkers who finished 4th in the Big 8 with a 14-8 record. The other Big 8 first round game sees Panathinaikos Bristol face former EBBL runner up and cup winner Doncaster Hawks. These two faced off in the final league game which saw Doncaster pick up a 86-73 win.

Over on the Great 8 side, things look just as tight as all 4 teams ended the season within 2 games of each other. Falcons Heywood pipped Detroit Pistons I to the top seed on points difference on the final day as they beat 3rd seed Hurstead Hustlers and Detroit lost to the 4th seed Toral Castro. Falcons Heywood look to regain their EBBL spot which they lost 2 seasons ago and recover from the finals loss last season as they face Toral Castro in the first round. Detroit Pistons I face Hurstead Hustlers in the other first round matchup.

Div II.2
Division II.2 sees the closest conference finish potentially ever as in the Big 8 all 4 playoff teams finished with a 16-6 record and within 70-point difference of each other! MexicanTaxiDriver ended up on top and they will face Borac Basket in the first round. A matchup between a newly promoted team and recent EBBL team, but both teams have a strong chance of progressing through. The second Big 8 tie sees another newly promoted team, and former EBBL team, face off against season 45 EBBL champion and 2-time cup winner A Dogs. These two faced off in the final league game which saw A Dogs come out on top 77-74.

The Great 9 conference might not be as close, but still has a lot of talent. BC Bloosa finished with a 19-3 record to give them home court advantage throughout the playoffs. They face a tough first round tie against last year’s division II.2 runner up Porzigod. Roaring Lions finished 2nd with a 18-4 record. The Lions have 2 national players on their books as well as 2 U21 national players so they will pose a strong threat for everyone. The face Heat Culture who will be without their second top scorer Jerome Wiseman who is out with an injury.

Div II.3
Division II.3 is this season’s home to the 4th most successful team in England BB history, BC Zalgiris. BC Zalgiris won 4 EBBL titles back-to-back between season 49 and 52 before a shock relegation. Zalgiris have bounced back to lead the entirety of division 2 with a 20-2 record which guarantees them promotion back to the EBBL. However, I’m sure Vycka is still wanting to win the playoffs. They face Olympiacos 1925 in the first round. The other Great 8 tie sees the 2nd seed Team Nook face Kauno Zalgiris 7 BC. The two games between these have ended with the away team picking up the win, will that continue in the playoffs.

The Big 8 conference was comfortable won by PONTIOPOYLA who finished with a 18-4 record, after two surprising losses to end the season. PONTIOPOYLA face Varnalesos, who ended with a 13-9 record,in the first round. The other Big 8 matchup is between two teams that ended with a 14-8 record, Coventry Phoenix and Nutwood Nets. Nutwood Nets made it to the finals last season before losing to JA Miami and they will be hoping to go one step further this time around.

Div II.4
The Big 8 conference in Division II.4 sees 3 teams with a 16-6 record who were all led by last season’s EBBL team, Bethnal Green Erks who finished with the best record in the league 19-3 (beating Bournemouth Drunkers on points difference). Bethnal Green Erks face Club Deportivo San Andres in the first round, with the season series between them at 1-1 both teams will be hoping to get the better of the other a progress. The second Big 8 tie is between the one of the oldest clubs in the country, Whetstone Wizards, and Camden Kings. Both teams picked up big home court wins against the other during the season so the Kings will be hoping for a similar result this time round.

Over in the Great 8, Bournemouth Drunkers lead the way with a 19-3 record. They face another former EBBL team in CWA Fury. Both teams picked up the home win during the season, and with both teams hoping to get back to the big time, both teams will be pushing hard for the win. In the other Great 8 tie, promoted side Pleven North End travel to Zalia – Baita. Zalia – Baita swept Pleven Noth End through the season and will hope to make it 3 ut of 3, however a heavy defeat to Bournemouth Drunkers on the final day may have damped spirits heading into the post season.

Good luck to all teams in the playoffs!

As you may know, the division 2 team with the best record and number 1 seed who don’t win the playoffs automatically win promotion to the EBBL. Here are the rankings for that promotion:

1- BC Zalgiris 20-2 – 642 PD
2- Bethnal Green Erks 19-3 – 561 PD
3- Bournemoth Drunkers 19-3 – 444 PD
4- Kotwa 19-3 – 437 PD
5- BC Bloosa 19-3 – 388 PD
6- PONTIOPOYLA 18-4 – 345 PD
7- Falcons Heywood 17-5 – 476 PD
8- Mexican Taxi Driver 16-6 – 281 PD

Good work, nice round up of each division.

Good stuff. Really adds something to the end of the season.

Thanks for the write-up, I'm in my first season so it's good to learn about some of the long-standing teams.

Best of luck to everyone.

Welcome!

Welcome to the game!

The first round of playoff matchups are in the books and we look forward to the conference finals tomorrow.

EBBL
The first upset of the EBBL playoffs happened early on as last year’s champions Optic Fibres lost to Arsenal 98 87-78. Optic Fibres’ NT pairing of Needham and Bujalska combined for 57 points but the lack of a supporting cast. Outside their top 3 scorers, the Fibres shot a miserable 2-31 FG. Arsenal 98 enjoyed a more balanced attack, but it was clearly their defensive effort to hold the Fibres to only 78 points that won them the game.

In the other Big 8 tie, Tide of Fire comfortably beat LIDLTallfellas 91-78 behind 37 points from Muoi Le. C Alvaras Korenis had a big 27 point, 15 rebound performance but it wasn’t enough for the Tallfellas. Tide of Fire face Arsenal 98 in the conference final in a cup semi-final rematch. Tide of Fire have won all 3 matchups between the two teams this season.

Over in the Great 8, home court proved king as both home teams advance to the conference finals. First off, last year’s finalist Durham Wasps lost 71-59 against London Whales in a low scoring affair. The Whales had 4 players in double figures, led by SG Mirko Jovicic with 17. Nikolaos Sotiropoulos had an impressive 18 points and 13 rebounds, but he was let down by his supporting cast as no other player scored more than 10 points.

From a very low scoring game to an offensive show! Hope Springs beat Stinkilemons 124-115 behind a huge 41-point 19 rebound performance from C Asimakis Dellaportas. SF Dallas Drona had 39 points alongside NT duo Phil Marichal and Magdaleno Banuelos who had 26 and 21 points respectively, but it wasn’t enough to get past Hope Springs impressive 53% shooting.

In the relegation series’s, all 3 home teams picked up the game 1 win, with the pick of the games being between the 6 seeds Cambois Donkeys and Gauson. The Donkeys scraped through with a 83-82 win after SG Odilo Abuin missed a last second free throw to tie the game after Gauson almost overturned a 16 deficit heading in to the final period. In the other relegation ties, Los Miktos beat new jersey2 119-103 behind 46 points from PF LI Han Wei. Bromley-By-Bow held JA Miami to only 69 points in a big 28-point win which saw Bromley C YI Cunen shoot 13-15 on his way to a game high 31 points.

Division II.1
Division II.1 MVP Deniz Ordu scored 33 points on 10-19 shooting to lead Panathinaikos Bristol to a 100-88 victory over Doncaster Hawks. Former NT player Jody Hobbs, who finished 3rd in MVP voting, struggled as he only finished with only 8 points.

High scorers, and number 1 seed, kotwa defeated last years EBBL Galaxy Walkers in a 128-113 win. kotwa’s 3 point shooting proved to be too much for the Walkers to handle as they shot an impressive 54%, going 20-37 from deep. kotwa face Panathinaikos Bristol in the conference finals on Saturday night. With the season series tied a 1-1 anything can happen.

Falcons Heywood were led by 6th man SF Jaroslav Sperl who came off the bench to score 24 points to go with 7 assists and 6 rebounds in a 110-98 victory over Toral Castro. Toral Castro were carried by a game-high 37 points from PG Mariusz Pietraszek but it wasn’t enough to overturn them losing the rebounding and turnover battle which inevitably cost them.

In the final Division II.1 playoff matchup, Detroit Pistons I used a 34-20 4th quarter to push themselves to a 94-84 win over Hurstead Hustlers. SF Titas Kiskarevicius and C Gabriel Biegun combined for 50 of the Pistons’ 94 points, shooting an efficient 20-34 to carry them into the next round where they’ll face Falcons Heywood.

Division II.2
In the tight Big 8 conference, MexicanTaxiDriver beat Borac Basket 89-76 thanks to a dominant 34 points, 16 rebound, 62%FG performance from their star PF Cristino Caulers. Borac Basket were led by former U21 NT star Jonathan Kemp with 24 points but 17 turnovers for Borac Basket costed them their chance at promotion.

In the second Big 8 tie, Leeds City Ballers beat former EBBL champions A Dogs 102-82 with MVP SG Daryl Tracy scoring 16 points on 6-10FG (4-6 3FG) with 8 assists. Fellow Ballers star PG Abdullah Hamdan Abu Shaqra had a game high 22 points as the A Dogs just weren’t able to match the scoring output of the Ballers, despite a 27-17 final quarter. Leeds City Ballers face MexicanTaxiDriver in a battle to reach the finals.

Over in the Great 8, top seed BC Bloosa comfortably beat last year’s finalists Porzigod 100-84 with 6 players scoring in double figures, led by SG Javier Ubidea with 28. PF Uno Muur had a game high 31 points for Porzigod but it wasn’t enough to trouble BC Bloosa.

SG Govardhan Sengupta shot 10-13FG for 27 points as the Roaring Lions roared their way to a 40 point victory over Heat Culture. The Lions dominated the first half 47-21 which put the game to bed before it even got started. The Roaring Lions face BC Bloosa which should provide a much closer game than their first round ties.