SHEFFIELD SHARKS ARE 'COOK' ING ON GAS

The final line-up for the semi-finals of the BBL Cup has been decided as the current holders, the Everton Tigers, were knocked out of the competition by current BBL Championship pacesetters Sheffield Sharks by a score of 99-90 after one period of overtime at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening.

The Sharks will now play the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders over two legs in the semi-final of the competition with the winners heading to the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham to contest for the first piece of silverware in the 9/10 season where they will face the victors of the other semi-final between the Marshall MK Lions and Cheshire Jets.

Despite eleven points from Mike Cook in the final period for the home side, the Sharks could not shake off a resilient Tigers outfit and it was left down to Olu Babalola to sink the three-pointer on the buzzer at the end of the game to send the contest into the extra period.

With both sides trading baskets in the early exchanges of overtime, it was left upto Cook once again to spark some life into the Sharks outfit, and eight points from the League's top scorer instigated a 12-0 run for the home side to break the game open and take the score out to 97-85. Despite a valiant effort from the Tigers to get themselves back into the game in the dying seconds, the Sharks were not to be outdone and sealed the victory from the foul- line.

Cook himself bagged a total of 41 points in the game, including 23 points in the final fifteen minutes of action. Another star performer for the Sharks was Tafari 'TAP' Toney with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 steals. Olu Babalola top-scored for the Tigers with 19 points personal.

In the other game of the night, the Newcastle Eagles moved themselves into joint second place with the MK Lions, and just two points behind the Sharks, after a 101-87 victory over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Metro Radio Arena.

The Eagles took control of the game in the second half and a 9-2 burst midway through the third period took the score out to 67-56 and the home side continued to extend their lead throughout the remainder of the game to leave the Raiders at the bottom of the table with just one League win to their name so far this season.

VANESSA ELLIS VOTED COACH OF THE YEAR

THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS

COACH OF THE YEAR - VANESSA ELLIS - SHEFFIELD HATTERS BASKETBALL CLUB

YOUNG COACH OF THE YEAR - MISHA CARTER - CITY OF BARNSLEY SWIMMING CLUB

UNSUNG HERO - ROBERT MAWHOOD - JOINT WINNER

UNSUNG HERO - RONALD WILKINSON - JOINT WINNER

SENIOR TEAM OF THE YEAR - HALLAMSHIRE HORNETS SKATER HOCKEY CLUB

JUNIOR TEAM OF THE YEAR - SHEFFIELD STEELERS LACROSSE CLUB U14s

CONTRIBUTION TO DISABILITY SPORT - MIKE ELLIOTT - WITHIN REACH

YOUNG VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR - CHARLIE REDFERN - ROTHERHAM PHOENIX CC

JUNIOR PERFORMER OF THE YEAR - JORDAN RAMOS

SENIOR PERFORMER OF THE YEAR - STEVE PEAT

CLUB OF THE YEAR - SOUTH YORKSHIRE ORIENTEERS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - TOM PICKERING

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE WARD - DOMINIC HURLEY - DINNINGTON RACING CLUB

SHARKS & TIGERS BATTLE FOR BBL CUP SEMI PLACE

The long awaited BBL Cup Quarter Final between the Sheffield Sharks and the Everton Tigers takes place this Friday, and with the other three semi-finalists all confirmed, this game promises to be an entertaining one, according to Tigers Head Coach Tony Garbelotto: "This will be a tough game for both teams. We have yet to play Sheffield and it will be a big challenge" he continued, ' They are the BBL form team at present, but as we have seen if there is one thing you can count on this season it is that nothing is going to form. I feel we match up well with them, especially if Flo Larkai comes back from injury. This will be a highly exciting game to watch, I am pretty sure about that", he added.

His sentiments were echoed by Atiba Lyons, player- coach of the Sharks, whose side face a tough double- header this weekend. After playing against Everton on Friday, they make the journey to the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders on Saturday in a crucial BBL Championship tie.

Said Lyons, "Everton are having a mixed start to the season. They took a hard loss up in Glasgow on Sunday, but they have a very talented roster. It is vital that we come with defensive intensity because they have numerous offensive threats. Tony (Garbelotto) will have his team well prepared for our game, and it will be a very tough challenge."

Whilst Sheffield remain top of the BBL Championship table after two wins last weekend, the Tigers had a mixed set of results as a 84-60 defeat of PAWS London Capital was followed by a damaging 84-69 loss against the Glasgow Rocks in a mid-table battle.

Garbelotto reflected on two very different performances, but stressed that he was not happy with the Tigers in either game, "I was not happy with the whole weekend. We looked out of sorts in both games. The Capitals game was a good win against an improved side, and I was able to give both Danny Gonzalez and Darrell Bethune major minutes, of which they have worked hard to get and deserved,. Sunday was again one of those games that you would like to forget. We were up ten points at the half against five players and we ended up losing by fifteen. They just wanted to win more than us and that is something that I cannot accept."

Moving on to Friday's encounter, and Garbelotto had unwavering praise for the work of Lyons in the Steel City. He concluded: "They have one of the best players in the league in Mike Cook, a solid point guard in (Ryan) Patton and three excellent players in (Tafari) Toney, (Perry) Lawson and (Atiba) Lyons. They can score in bunches and have become a very solid defensive team. Atiba (Lyons) has done a great job with this team and their confidence is sky high."

SHAFT BLOG, JETS FIGHT BACK TO DEFEAT ROCKS

Well when you have been around basketball for as long as I have it is easy to think you have seen it all, but I promise you, you haven’t.

Last Saturday night the Cheshire Jets were taking on the Glasgow Rocks at the Northgate Arena in another BBL Championship encounter.  Having seen both the Jets and the Rocks this season, I just knew this was going to be a great game.  I made my way to Northgate nice and early and took my seat in the stands.  There was an excellent crowd in the house to support the home team and only a couple of people there to support the visiting Rocks.

READ THE FULL MIKE SHAFT BLOG ON THE CHESHIRE GAME HERE

PLAYER/COACH STERLING DAVIS EJECTED

AS ROCKS DEFEAT TIGERS TO SPLIT BIG WEEKEND

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 84 (23,33,58) (Sapp 21, Copeland 21, Yanders 21)
Everton Tigers 69 (21,43,55) (Gumbs 19, Thomson 15, Bell 13)

In the only BBL game on Sunday, the Glasgow Rocks won the mid-table battle at home to Everton Tigers 84-69 after an excellent fourth quarter effort saw them home.

Rocks shared their offence around with Jessie Sapp (pictured below), Mike Copeland and Rob Yanders all scoring 21 points - Yanders hit 12 in the final stanza, which proved to be crucial.

The home team also had to do without player-coach Sterling Davis (pictured above) for the second half after the play caller was disqualified from the match late in the second quarter by the officials. Without an assistant coach the Rocks players took over and led themselves to victory.

Earlier in the match the Rocks had opened a 10 point lead in the first quarter (16-6) only to see Tigers whittle it back to 23-21 at the break thanks to three-pointers by Andrew Thomson, Steven Rush and Chris Haslam.

Tigers dominated the second period keeping Rocks at bay with some tough defence. A 9-2 run saw their lead peak at 31-43 before Gareth Murray trimmed the gap to 33-43 at half time.

Without Davis the Rocks dominated the opening part of the third quarter. A 15-0 beginning, with buckets by Copeland, Yanders, Steve Parillon, Sapp and Murray, put them 48-43 up.

The lead switched hands as Tigers began to find their rhythm again but once Copeland put Glasgow in front at 54-53 they never trailed again. Taking a 58-55 advantage into the fourth quarter the Rocks steadily increased the margin as Everton struggled to get their shots to fall.

A Copeland free throw made it a double-digit (74-64) lead with two minutes remaining and from there the home team kept their composure from the foul line to see the job through.

This victory will have cheered up the Rocks faithful following their overtime defeat at the hands of the Cheshire Jets 24 hours earlier, when the Rocks had been leading by 21 points with 5:01 left to play in the 4th quarter.

JETS DEFEAT ROCKS WITH STUNNING COMEBACK

Saturday night has been a night full of excitement in the BBL, as the Cheshire Jets beat the Glasgow Rocks 88-83 in overtime after being tied at 74-74 in regulation, the Worcester Wolves sneaked a 92-91 win over the Marshall MK Lions, PAWS London Capital got their second win of the season, 84-77 over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders, and the Essex Pirates were comfortably beaten 57-74 by the Sheffield Sharks.

Although the game between the Jets and the Rocks was nip and tuck in the first two quarters, the third stanza finished 66-43 in the Rocks favour. Cheshire then made 23-7 run, to slice the visitors' lead to just seven points, and outscored their opponents 31-10 in the period to draw level for the first time in the game, 74-74, with just fourteen seconds left in regulation. This forced overtime, and as the Jets turned up the pressure on defence, the Rocks were forced to foul sharpshooter Chez Marks, who managed to drain free throw after free throw to give his team an 88-83 advantage with five seconds left, simply too much for the Rocks to overcome.

MIKE SHAFT BLOG ON THE CHESHIRE GAME HERE

Less dramatic was the Sharks 74-57 win over the Essex Pirates. Despite a second quarter where they scored 23 points and bought the scoreline to 31-34 in the Sharks favour, the Pirates lacklustre first period, in which they scored just nine points, and poor free throw shooting throughout the game, cost them the win tonight.

PAWS London Capital came out on top in the 'basement battle' with an 84-77 win over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Capital City Academy. After a close first quarter, in which the Capital edged it 18-17, the Raiders got to work in the second quarter, as Terry Horton helped fire them to a 44-41 advantage as the teams went into the locker rooms at half time. The Capital scoring the first six baskets of the third stanza to take a 49-44 lead proved to be decisive in the game, as they then carried that momentum forward to take a 54-48 lead with 5:54 left in the quarter. Despite a slight Plymouth resurgence, the Capital were up 65-59 at the end of the third period. The fourth quarter saw the Capital close out the game to secure their second win of the season in the BBL Championship.

Another team that ended their losing streak was the Worcester Wolves, who beat the Marshall MK Lions 92-91. There was hardly anything separating these two high scoring sides in the game, as the first quarter finished 24-25. The second quarter was not much different, finishing 48-45 to the Wolves. The third quarter was similar to the first, a single point separating the two sides heading into the fourth, 72-73. With the scores level at 89-89 with just 1:15 left in the game, EJ Harrison edged the Lions ahead from the free throw line, only for Evaldas Zabas' charity shot to tie the scores again at 90 a piece. Harrison kept his cool once more from the line to edge the Lions ahead 90-91, but a last gasp shot from Zabas with just two seconds left secured a 92-91 win for Worcester.

SHARKS DESTROY HEAT TO GO TO 9 AND 3

LIONS, EAGLES, TIGERS AND RIDERS ALL WIN

There were no nasty surprises on Friday 13th as the BBL Championship's top four all secured victories. The league-leading Sheffield Sharks beat the Guildford Heat for the first time since January 2008, by 97-83. It was their third straight win and keeps them on top of the BBL Championship table, as Mike Cook dished up 32 and 9 while Ryan Patton added 27 points which included 7 from beyond the arc. The Sharks MVP however was Tafari 'TAP' Toney with a double double of 23 points 13 rebounds plus 5 blocks 2 assists and 2 steals.

The Marshall MK Lions, made it eight wins in a row in all competitions after beating the Worthing Thunder 100-85. The Lions have now won the last four games between these sides, and remain unbeaten against the Thunder on their home court. Frank Holmes dominated the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

The Newcastle Eagles, reigning BBL champions and currently in third place, ended a three game losing streak by beating the Worcester Wolves 87-63 in the North East, after surviving a first half scare. British big man Darius Defoe led their scoring with 20 points, and it was a 13-2 surge in the third quarter that helped them recover from a half time deficit.

In fourth, the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders beat the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 78-90 for their fourth win in the last five games. It is only the second time in the last three years, or fourteen games, that the Riders have beaten the Raiders. The visitors were led by 31 points from Tack Minor and a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for Jason Johnson.

Elsewhere, the Everton Tigers made it three wins in a row as they downed the PAWS London Capital 84-60 on Merseyside.

The Tigers have now won the last four games between these sides; for the Capital it is their fourth consecutive defeat and leaves them rooted to the bottom of the BBL Championship.

Kevin Bell led the hosts with 19 points, while Andrew Thomson had 16 and Jerome Gumbs scored 15.

The visiting Capital raced into a 2-11 lead after six points from Gariba and four from Darren Mills. After a timeout, the Tigers responded with a 9-2 run, capped by Bethune’s three-pointer, but the Capital held onto their lead at 15-16 after the first quarter.

The hosts took control in the second stanza as Thomson scored their first seven points and his triple gave them a 22-18 edge. Midway through the period they scored 13 straight points, including two three-pointers from Bell and one from Babalola for a 38-24 half time lead.

The Capital soon had the deficit down to single digits after a score from Gariba and a Dasilva triple made it 42-35. The Tigers came back with an 8-2 burst, capped by another three-pointer from Thomson and Babalola’s score to end the quarter made it 58-41 and comfortable for the Tigers once more.

They saw out the game without any scares. A 10-3 run, capped once more by Thomson’s three-pointer, made the score 70-48. Bell and Agusio added further three-pointers to keep the lead above twenty until the end of the game.

CHUCK EVANS CALLS ON HIS WOLVES TO STEP UP.

Head Coach of the struggling Worcester Wolves, Chuck Evans (Pictured above), has issued a rallying cry to his squad after their BBL Cup Quarter Final Defeat at Leicester last weekend.

Evans was seen last weekend at the Northgate Arena as the Eagles went down to the Cheshire Jets. As his side take on the Newcastle Eagles tomorrow night, Evans has asked for them to stand up and be counted at critical moments in games, like Bradd Wierzbicki of the Leicester Riders did last weekend, as he scored 38 points, most of them in the second half, to finish off the Wolves who had led by 14 points at the half.

Whilst he approved of his side's first half display, Evans was disappointed in the lack of composure his side showed in the second half, claiming that 'they completely fell apart.' He pointed to a lack off an on court leader, as a key factor in the loss against the Riders.

He said: 'Last weekend, we performed well for twenty minutes, but totally fell apart in the second half. We must learn to play together for the full forty minutes, but the main reason for the loss is that we lack on court leadership. We also need some guys to step up at critical moments like Bradd (Wierzbicki) did for Leicester when Tack Minor went out of the game with an injury.'

The Riders are in action against the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders, and Head Coach Rob Paternostro says that it was his side's ability to 'climb out of a hole' that led to a vital victory. 'Last weekend's Cup game against Worcester was another game where we dug ourselves a big hole and were able to climb out of it'

Said Paternostro: 'I thought we were a little shell shocked when Tack (Minor) was taken to the hospital but at halftime we regrouped and came out of the locker room believing we were going to win the game. The atmosphere in that game was brilliant, and we are very pleased to be moving on in the Cup.'

The American-Italian identified Plymouth's big pair of Florentino Valencia and Matthew Hilleary as their principle threats, and he challenged his team improve their away form: 'Going to Plymouth is another challenge for us' he added: 'Travelling that distance and having to play in that building is a very difficult proposition."

He continued, "Their inside tandem of (Florentino) Valencia and (Matthew) Hilleary have been very consistent this season and they have been playing well as of late. I think we need to become a better road team, because the teams that are going to be successful this season will be the teams that play well on the road.'

Tomorrow evening is the busiest Friday evening in the BBL so far this season, and also sees the form team of the league, Marshall MK Lions, travel to Worthing Thunder. The Everton Tigers take on PAWS London Capital at the Capital City Academy after two long awaited wins last weekend, and the unstoppable Sheffield Sharks visit the Guildford Heat.

MIKE SHAFT BLOGS - ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND

Well you look in the diary and it immediately comes to mind that this could be a significant week in the annals of British Basketball.

READ PART 1 OF THE MIKE SHAFT BLOG HERE

READ PART 2 OF THE MIKE SHAFT BLOG HERE

READ THE ENGLAND BASKETBALL REPORT ON CARNEGIE WOMEN HERE

CHESTER JETS ADVANCE TO BBL CUP SEMIS

EAGLES GO DOWN TO 3rd DEFEAT WITHOUT FAB

The Cheshire Jets joined the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Marshall MK Lions in the semi- finals of the BBL Cup thanks to a hard-fought 64-61 victory over the Newcastle Eagles at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening.

The Jets will now play the MK Lions in the semi-finals of the competition over two legs with the aggregate winners heading into the Final at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham on Sunday 17 January 2009.

In a close game throughout, a Shawn Myers (Pictured above) three- pointer with 4:30 remaining in the game gave the Jets a 59-57 lead that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the game. A further Myers basket extended the lead out to 64-59, but a pair of free- throws from Reggie Jackson kept the Eagles within one shot at 64-61 with 33.9 seconds remaining.

The Eagles had the opportunity to take the game into overtime, but the three-point shot from Jackson hit the rim as time expired and gave the Jets the all-important victory.

Earlier in the day, the Everton Tigers leapfrogged over the Glasgow Rocks into seventh position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 81-102 victory over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday afternoon.

An Alister Gall free-throw had the home side trailing by five points at 45-50 at the start of the second half, but a Jerome Gumbs basket sparked a 25-1 tear for the Tigers to break the game open and take the score out to 46-75 with 2 minutes remaining in the third period.

The Tigers enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 69-99 towards the end of the final quarter and despite a valiant effort from the Raiders at the end, most notably Eric Flato and Florentino Valencia, the Tigers held on for the comfortable victory.

MIKE SHAFT'S WEEKEND BLOG HERE

SHEFFIELD SHARKS DEFEAT NEWCASTLE EAGLES

The Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the top of the BBL Championship after beating second placed Newcastle Eagles 89-93 in the north east.

The Sharks were the dominant side throughout but allowed an 18-point second quarter lead to slip through their fingers before turning round a six-point deficit themselves to finally see off the reigning champions.

A 9-0 fourth quarter run by Sheffield gave the visitors the lead at 67-70. Eagles tied it at 70-70 and led for the last time at 78-77. From there it was all Sharks as a Todd Cauthorn three began a 10-2 run that gave Sheffield enough of a margin to take a priceless victory.

Two clubs are through to the last four of the BBL Cup after victories for Marshall MK Lions and DMU Leicester Riders. The Riders are celebrating their first visit to the BBL Cup last four after a late burst saw them past Worcester Wolves.

The Riders trailed by 18 in the third quarter but recovered to post a 13-0 run late in the final stanza, which broke the back of Worcester's resistance. Brad Wierzbicki was the hero for Leicester with 38 points, including the go-ahead three-point play.

Marshall MK Lions secured an excellent away win with 14 points in the fourth quarter from EJ Harrison to hold off Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 95-101 and move into the semi-finals of the BBL Cup.

In a game that either side at some stage looked to have taken control of it was the Lions who had a decisive 17-4 run in the final stanza to open up a 91- 97 lead. Three free throws from Michael New and one from Harrison sealed the win.

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS	95 - 101	MILTON KEYNES
LEICESTER RIDERS	96 - 87	WORCESTER WOLVES
NEWCASTLE EAGLES	89 - 93	SHEFFIELD SHARKS

MORE NOVEMBER 2009 NEWS HERE

MORE NEWS OCTOBER 2009 HERE