READ PART 1 HERE

READ PART 2 HERE

ALL TIME CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS

Great Britain are the BT Paralympic World Cup champions in the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball, after defeating Canada 53-42 in Sunday’s Gold medal game.

Coach Murray Treseder (PICTURED RIGHT) finally won his first title, as he restored Simon Munn, Jon Pollock, Abdi Jama and Ian Sagar, who had been rested in the final group game against Australia.
 
GB led for all but three minutes of the men's final against Canada.

Jon Pollock’s three baskets from beyond the arc contributed to his game-high 17 points in addition to a sensational 10 assists.

Sagar contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds. Simon Munn was equally impressive under the basket with 10 rebounds and he shared scoring duties with Jama as both grabbed 6 points.
 
For Canada David Eng had 13 points while Richard Peter went for 9 and Adam Lancia chipped in with 8.
 
Said Jon Pollock, “It was a good game. It was great to be in the final with Canada. They are really strong team, even though they were missing some of their strongest players.  “I feel that we are gradually getting better. Today we were much better than two-three weeks ago during trainings. So to win the BT Paralympic World Cup is a big step for us.”
 
2009 champions Australia had to settle for bronze, albeit in emphatic fashion by destroying European champions Italy 65-32.

In the women’s competition Canada beat defending champions the Netherlands 62-46 to win gold and Australia equalled their male counterparts by also taking bronze in their Manchester debut after a 59-24 victory over GB.

In the Women’s Gold medal game, The Netherlands started strong, however, Canada’s Janet McLachlan (PICTURED LEFT) once again proved unstoppable in the paint, on both offence and defence, as her team took the BT Paralympic World Cup title.
 
The former rugby player finished the game with a stat-line of 26pts, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. McLachlan will undoubtedly be the one to watch at the forthcoming World Championships in Birmingham.
 
McLachlan said, “It was fantastic to win the BT Paralympic World Cup, we hadn’t thought about winning it was just small goals and the process to get better each game.  Winning is the icing on the cake."

In the Bronze medal game Great Britain went down to Australia and so failed to win a single game through-out the tournament.

GB’s Women’s Head Coach Gary Peel admitted that the tournament had been a learning curve for his young team. “Today’s match was a learning experience, we were still aiming to win and what we have learnt today is that we have not played our best. We’ve got a young team here and the young players were very nervous but so were some of the more experience players so we have got to work on that.”
 
He continued “Overall it was a good week, we stamped our authority in the beginning of that game against Australia and the girls don’t want to lose but we did make some mistakes and at the end we just couldn't score, we kept turning the ball over.”

The team’s will all be back in the UK in just six week’s time for the IWBF World Championships, being held in Birmingham.

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Worthing Thunder have today announced that Head Coach David Titmuss has advised that he will not be seeking to renew his appointment with Worthing Thunder next season.

Frank Gainsbury, Club Chairman said, "We are immensely disappointed that we will not be able to continue with David Titmuss to make the progress and development that we saw last season.

The commitment and effort devoted to the Club by David was exactly what we needed to help to move the club on to the next level. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Coach Titmuss over the last 12 months and I am sure we will find David a very hard act to follow. To achieve a play-off berth in only our second season as a BBL Club and to notch up some of the results we did last season was a credit not only to the team that David recruited but also to his ongoing work with the team throughout the season.

I had not imagined we would be looking again so soon for a new coach but I fully understand and respect the personal reasons David has given us for not extending his appointment. I wish David well in the future and he will always receive a very warm welcome back at the Club. His work has set the club off on a sure footing to continue to develop in the future. For that legacy and his tremendous efforts over the last year we extend our most sincere and grateful thanks.

David Titmuss commented:- "I am grateful to, especially, Frank Gainsbury and also everyone else involved with the Thunder for the support and encouragement that I received as Head Coach, and I'm very pleased to have had an opportunity to play a part in key developments at the Club, and with what we were able to accomplish as a second-year BBL franchise. I have made many friends in my short time on the south coast and although I am unable to continue I do wish everyone there the good luck for the future that they so richly deserve."

BBL STATEMENT

The BBL has today announced the withdrawal of the PAWS London Capital Franchise.

The decision follows a season-long review process which evaluated the performance of the franchise both on and off the playing court.

In a related move, following their relegation from BBL, Capital have taken a position in EBL Division One.

The BBL remains committed to the development of a successful franchise in London and is continuing to progress the establishment of a BBL Franchise connected to the Olympic Boroughs Basketball Legacy plan.

Glasgow Rocks 72 (9,28,53) (Yanders 15, Sapp/Copeland 14)

Everton Tigers 80 (23,45,56) (Moore 22, Bell 18, Jones 15)

Everton Tigers finished the season on a high by claiming the BBL Championship Play-off title with an 80-72 victory over Glasgow Rocks at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

Tigers' success came thanks in no small part to Kevin Bell (pictured left), who scored 18 points and contributed 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. That performance secured him the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

"It's a great way to end the season," Tigers Head Coach Tony Garbelotto enthused after the game. "I'm proud of the guys and happy for the fans, who got their rewards for their efforts."

For Everton, this success helps to make up for last year's disappointment, when they finished as runners-up to Newcastle Eagles. Tigers secured their place in today's Final courtesy of wins over Cheshire Jets in Round 1 of the Play-Offs and reigning Champions Newcastle Eagles in the Semi-Finals.

Tigers were fastest out of the traps. They scored ten of the first 13 points and then enjoyed a 13-0 tear later in the first quarter to lead 23-7. In that second tear, Everton hit two three-pointers from Kevin Bell and James Jones and Bell almost got a third, but was judged to be inside the arc.

Trailing 23-9 after the opening stanza, Rocks kept pace in the early exchanges of the second period. However, Tigers were soon extending their advantage, taking it out to as many as 22 points at 45-23.

Trey Moore bagged two three-pointers in that streak. Player/Coach Sterling Davis showed himself to be Rocks' brightest scoring prospect in the first half, but still Glasgow trailed 45-28 at half-time.

The game turned on its head in the third quarter and the shots that had previously been going in failed to drop for Tigers. Glasgow cut the deficit down to single figures at 49-40 to Everton. Sapp then hit back-to-back three pointers as that gap was cut still further to 54-49 with 1.45 to go in the third.

Rocks trailed by just three points at the end of the third quarter at 56-53, but Rob Yanders levelled the game at the start of the final period and a Mike Crowell three-pointer gave them their first lead of the game at 59-58 soon after. Suddenly long range shots were starting to fall for the Scots, having been 0 from 15 attempts in the first half.

It set up a gripping finale, but Everton were not ready to throw in the towel. They hit a string of threes of their own, notably from Kevin Bell, Trey Moore and Andrew Thomson. Six unanswered points saw Tigers re-take the lead and with less than one minute to go they had re-established a double digit lead at 77-66. Copeland and Yanders both fouled out for Rocks, as Tigers made the result sure from the foul line.

Trey Moore was the game's top scorer, with 22 for Tigers; Rob Yanders topped the scoring for Rocks with 15.

Also at the NIA today was the BBL All Star Game, which was won by a Rest of the World Team, who beat Great Britain 110-94. BBL Player of the Year Mike Cook top scored with 31 personal points for the victors; Tafari Toney added 23 for GB.

Well what a day this turned out to be? It has to be said that you could have gotten unbelievable odds on these two teams competing for the BBL Play-Off Final for 2010. By all accounts the Newscastle Eagles and the Sheffield Sharks, the top two in the BBL this season were odds on to be here. But neither could get past their Semi-Final opponents.

READ PART 1 IN FULL HERE

ALL TIME CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS

GREAT BRITAIN STANDARD LIFE SENIOR MEN'S SQUAD LIST
Achara, Kieron – Angelico Biella ITA			Archibald, Robert - Unicaja Malaga, ESP
Boateng, Eric - Arizona State University, USA			Boyd, Justin - Ourense Balonceto, ESP
Bryan-Amaning, Matthew - Uni of Washington, USA			Clark, Dan – Estudiantes, ESP
Deng, Luol – Chicago Bulls, USA			Forbes, Duke – BBC Nyon, SWI
Freeland, Joel – Unicaja Malaga, ESP			George, Nick – Fastweb CM, ITA
Gordon, Ben – Detroit Pistons, USA			Hart, Jarrett – Keravnos, CYP
Larkai, Dzaflo – Hamamatsu Phoenix, JPN			Lenzly, Mike – CEZ Nymburk, CZE
Mensah-Bonsu, Pops – CSKA Moscow, RUS			Reinking, Nate – Mons Hainaut, BEL
Robinson, Justin – Rider University, USA			Sullivan, Andrew - Newcastle Eagles, ENG
Toney, Tafari – Sheffield Sharks, ENG			Van Oostrum, Devon – Caja Laboral, ESP
Yanders, Rob – Scottish Rocks, SCO

The Molten BBL Coach of the Year Award goes to Newcastle Eagles player-coach, Fabulous Flournoy, whilst the player's equivalent is awarded to Mike Cook.

Flournoy takes the award after another terrific season in charge of the North East club. This season, the Eagles edged out Sheffield Sharks in the league race, finishing top of the table with a 31-5 record, and they went into the Playoffs on an amazing 23 game winning streak, their last loss in the league being on Saturday 16th January to Worthing Thunder, whom they beat in the BBL Playoff Quarter Final.

Eagles Chief Executive, Paul Blake, hailed Flournoy as the mastermind behind another successful season: 'This award is a great tribute to Fab and all the hard work that he puts in' he said: 'He can sometimes be a little bit underestimated in terms of his coaching qualities, purely because he is in the player-coach role, especially in terms of preparation and 'x's and o's'. I feel that I put him in a compromising position in terms of game coaching as he has two roles, but I would be interested to see how that develops if he chooses to be a full time coach once he has retired from playing. He is an exemplary character on and off court, and richly deserves this award.'

Former NBA D-League star Cook has had an incredible season in a Sheffield Sharks jersey, as he led the BBL Cup winners to a Playoff Semi Final against Glasgow Rocks last weekend, after scoring an unbelievable 37 points in the Sharks Quarter Final win over Marshall MK Lions. The American edged out Newcastle Eagles pair Joe Chapman and Charles Smith in the vote, as he also led the league in scoring in the regular season, with an average of 26.7 points per outing, as well as keeping his team mates involved with 3.8 assists per game.

Cook was instantly a hit on these shores, and Sharks player-coach, Atiba Lyons, had nothing but praise for the 6'4'' American: 'He's been very consistent for us, he's been a good team mate to the guys and a pleasure to coach all season' said Lyons: 'He shoots the ball very well but also finishes inside well, does a good job of getting open off the ball, and is just a good offensive player.'

He added: 'He's not just a scorer but can pass the ball very well, with a lot of guys around him who can shoot the ball. He is able to find the open man with ease now that teams have started double-teaming him, and I think it is this basketball awareness at both ends of the floor that makes him an exceptional player.'

Both the Eagles and the Sharks lost out in their BBL Semi Finals, meaning that Everton Tigers, who beat the Eagles, and Glasgow Rocks, who beat the Sharks, will now advance to the BBL Playoff Final at Birmingham's NIA.

With the event also featuring the Team Colours BBL All Star Game, an exclusive performance from the FACE Team and the BBL Babes and Mascots, it makes for a great day of Basketball entertainment.

There are also opportunities for younger fans to be a Player Mascot for the day, or sit on the Team Bench for the All Star Game. Click here for more information on the event, send an e-mail to mail@bbl.org.uk, or phone 0116 268 1341 x112 now.

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BBL STATEMENT

The BBL Championship Play-offs semi-final line up is confirmed after Everton Tigers and Glasgow Rocks booked their places in the last four.

First Rocks held their nerve to eventually see off Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 88-86. Trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, Rocks had to draw on all their experience to hold off Riders from the free throw line.

Jessie Sapp led their scoring with 23 point but it was the contribution of Steve Parillon (15 points, 6 rebounds), who was three of four from three-point range, which made the difference.

Parillon, Rob Yanders and player-coach Sterling Davis (PICTURED LEFT) will now meet one of their former clubs Sheffield Sharks in the last four.

In the night's other big game Everton Tigers dominated throughout to set up a semi-final clash with league champions Newcastle Eagles.

Everton won the battle of the north-west as they beat Cheshire Jets 79-94.

Jets old-boy Trey Moore felt at home in the Northgate Arena scoring a game high 25 points. Moore will now face his former team-mates Newcastle Eagles in the last four.

Tigers used a 28-10 run over the first quarter break to open up a 29-48 lead midway through the second period. Jets reduced the gap to 61-66 in the third quarter, but a James Jones three and five points from Moore put Everton back in control again at 63-74 heading into the final stanza.

After the BBL Championship regular season ended last weekend, the BBL Play-offs started with a bang on Friday night with the top two sides from the League securing their Final Four berths and guaranteeing home court advantage in their respective second legs.

The League Champions, Newcastle Eagles, enjoyed a somewhat comfortable 102-74 victory over the Worthing Thunder at the Newcastle Arena. After both sides had traded baskets early on, the Eagles broke the game open with a 16-2 run to take the score out to 22-6 and they never trailed from that point onwards.

The home side continued their dominance throughout the game and enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 35 points with the score at 77-42 midway through the third quarter.

In the other play-off game on Friday night, it was the League runners-up Sheffield Sharks who picked up a 104-93 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the EIS, Sheffield.

The game started explosively with both sides trading baskets in the early going and with the score at 22-20, Mike Tuck from the Sharks and Robert Youngblood from the Lions were ejected, but the home side enjoyed an 11-1 finish to the opening quarter to lead 33-21.

The game remained close heading into the final stanza and the Lions took a slender lead at 84-85 in the opening exchanges of the final quarter before the game was tied at 88-88 and then the home side enjoyed a 7-0 burst to take the score out to 95-88.

The Lions closed the gap once more to just four points at 97-93 with 90 seconds remaining, but another 7-0 tear from the Sharks to finish the game clinched the final victory for the home side.

SEE THE BBL PLAY-OFF STRUCTURE HERE

SEE THE LEAGUE TITLE ALL TIME WINNERS HERE

Newcastle Eagles have won their fourth league title in five years, thanks to the Sheffield Sharks going down 97-95 to Worthing Thunder, who themselves have secured eighth spot in the BBL Championship, and a match-up with the Eagles in the Play-off Quarter Finals. This was thanks to a 97-95 win over second-placed Sheffield Sharks, as Reggie Bratton's 26 points paced them to victory.

Whilst the Thunder, who are the only team to beat the Eagles in 2010, beat Airwaves Plymouth Raiders on Sunday in Raiders coach Gary Stronach's last game in the post, the Eagles had victories this weekend against Marshall MK Lions on Friday (121-84), and Glasgow Rocks (78-91).

The Rocks will no doubt be looking to put this weekend behind them ahead of the Play-offs, as they not only lost out to the Eagles, but were also beaten by Everton Tigers 97-78 on Friday night. The Tigers then completed a satisfying weekend, as they beat Essex Pirates 86-108 on Saturday evening. For the young Pirates, the Everton defeat was followed by a 99-62 loss to Cheshire Jets. The Jets now sit in fourth spot, and Head Coach Paul Smith will be a happy man after not only defeating the Pirates and gaining revenge for a defeat against them earlier in the season, but also for his side's convincing 57-85 win over PAWS London Capital, who also went down 116-63 to Sheffield Sharks on Friday evening.

Although they won both of their games at the weekend, Worcester Wolves have now officially lost the battle with the Thunder for that final Play-off place. Wolves heaped misery on the Raiders, as they proceeded the Thunder's defeat of the Devon-based outfit by beating them 100-84 on Saturday night. With the Raiders also losing on Sunday to the Thunder, the Wolves sneaking past Guildford Heat with a 96-98 win, and the Heat missing out 86-79 to Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders on Saturday evening, Plymouth and Guildford have finished the regular season on the same record, with Plymouth finishing in tenth and Guildford in eleventh as the Raiders hold the head-to-head.

The weekend's results mean that the BBL Quarter Finals are confirmed, beginning on Friday as Newcastle Eagles welcome Worthing Thunder, as Dave Titmuss' side look to get their third victory over the Tyneside outfit this season, and Sheffield Sharks host Marshall MK Lions. The excitement continues on Sunday, as Glasgow Rocks take on Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, and Cheshire Jets entertain Everton Tigers as the Merseyside derby resumes.

NEWCASTLE EAGLES ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN

Newcastle Eagles have retained the BBL title after nearest challengers Sheffield Sharks lost a thrilling match at Worthing Thunder on Saturday night.

Sharks, needing to beat Thunder to force an Eagles victory tomorrow over Glasgow Rocks, fought back from a 20 point deficit but finally went down 97-95 to an Evaldas Zabas bucket with four seconds remaining.

After a Sheffield time-out leading scorer Mike Cook saw his three-point shot bounce of the rim and into the hands of Worthing's Kadiri Richard.

Eagles, who strengthened their squad in the new year by bringing back Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan, have put together a superb run of results since losing, ironically, at Worthing on January 16.

Their 16 match winning streak in the league included a convincing 99-79 victory over Sheffield in early March which gave Fab Flournoy's team the head-to-head series over the Yorkshire club.

It looked likely that that result would prove crucial as the campaign entered its final weekend. But Thunder's intervention means the Eagles can celebrate their fourth league title in five seasons.

Worcester Wolves kept their play-off hopes in their own hands with a convincing 100-84 home victory over Airwaves Plymouth Raiders in their final home match of the season.

Everton Tigers set up an all north-west play-off quarter final with Cheshire Jets after pulling away from Essex Pirates in Southend 86-108.

Cheshire Jets confirmed the Tigers match with a 57-85 win at London Capital. And Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders will have to settle for sixth place in the BBL despite an 86-79 home win over Guildford Heat in a match that was delayed by an hour due to traffic problems.

As the BBL Championship heads into the final weekend of the regular season, it is still all to play for in the race for a top four finish, the League title and the final play-off places. As well as the Sheffield Sharks, Newcastle Eagles and Everton Tigers all picked up important victories on Friday night to keep their hopes of success at the end of the season alive.

The Newcastle Eagles are still in the driving seat for the League title as they overcame the Marshall MK Lions 121-84 at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday night. This result meant that the Eagles only have to win on Sunday on the road to the Glasgow Rocks to secure their fourth League title in the club's history.

With the scores at 13-13 midway through the first quarter, the Eagles went on a 12-2 run to take the score out to 25-15 and they did not trail again for the remainder of the game enjoying their biggest lead at 108-66 off the back of a 14-2 start to the final period.

The Sharks kept alive their slim chances of stealing the League title away from the Eagles with a slightly more comfortable 116-63 victory over the PAWS London Capital at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday night.

In order for the Sharks to win the title, they have to beat the Worthing Thunder tomorrow night and hope that the Eagles slip up against the Rocks on Sunday as it is the Eagles who hold the head-to-head between the two sides at the top of the table.

The Sharks never trailed in their game against the Capital and an early 16-3 burst in the first period took the score out to 29-9 and set the tone for the remainder of the game. A 23-3 burst to close out the third quarter gave the Sharks their biggest lead of the game at 94-41 and send them into Saturday's game against Worthing with some confidence.

In the final game on Friday night, the Everton Tigers kept alive their hopes of snatching fourth position away from the Cheshire Jets thanks to a 97-78 victory over third-placed Glasgow Rocks at the Greenbank Academy. This result moved them into joint fifth position with the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, but the Tigers still need to beat the Essex Pirates in Southend tomorrow night and hope that the Jets slip up in both of their remaining games to give them a chance to taking fourth place away from Cheshire.

Both sides enjoyed success in the first half at the offensive end and the teams could not be separated at the half as the game was tied at 49-49 heading into the locker rooms. In the second half it was the Tigers who came out the stronger side as a 17-5 burst broke the game open to give the home side a 72-60 lead over the Rocks towards the end of the third period. The Rocks closed to within ten points midway through the final quarter, but that was as close as they would get as the Tigers ended their resilience with a 15-2 tear to lead 97-74 as the game was nearing its conclusion to give the home side the all-important victory.