Newcastle Eagles have beaten the Glasgow Rocks 84-71 to claim the first silverware of the season of the British Basketball League season.
Charles Smith scored a game-high 21 points with the league leaders, who led 40-29 at half-time, pulling away for good with an 8-0 burst in the third period.
Eagles point guard Rahmon Fletcher was named MVP, as he tallied 15 points, dished out four assists and pulled down four rebounds, as Eagles never looked troubled against a Glasgow side who looked to over think their offences, which led to bad shot selection, resulting in easy Newcastle scores.
JaJuan Smith led Rocks with 17 points, GB international had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, but the Scottish side’s 12-year wait for a domestic title goes on.
“Just look at what type of people they are and how easy and not hard it is to follow these guys,” said Fletcher, who just pipped Smith to MVP honours.
“When you see what they have done and see the legacy they have built, you have no choice but to follow them.
“Coming in [to the club], I just took a step back and looked at what they really wanted and what type of team it was and then it made it easy to fit in.”
