Bristol Flyers have capped a great debut season in the British Basketball League by qualifying for the BBL Play-Offs.
After nearest rivals Manchester Giants lost 96-87 at Sheffield Sharks on Friday, the Flyers went into their game Saturday knowing a victory would guarantee their place and a tie against Newcastle Eagles.
Bristol started strongly against Leeds Force, storming out a 33-12 lead after the first quarter and never looking back.
“Throughout the game, whenever Leeds tried to go on a run, we would come up with great plays at both ends of the court,” said Flyers’ coach Andreas Kapoulas.
“That was very important as Leeds are a well-coached team and very well-organised, and we knew they would keep on coming at us.”
He added, “[Saturday] was a wonderful feeling for us because we achieved our goal of making it to the Play-Offs.”
Bree Perine had 29 points to lead the Flyers, who recorded their largest victory of the season.
Worcester Wolves claimed third place on Friday with a 77-67 win over the Leicester Riders, who rested a number of key players ahead of the Play-Offs. Conner Washington had a game-high 23 points in a losing effort while Rob Thurman led the Wolves with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
It was Thurman who again led the way for Worcester on Sunday, netting a season-high 28 points as the Wolves completed their schedule with a 110-79 win at Durham Wildcats.
The Wolves will face London Lions in the first round of the Play-Offs, who completed their campaign with a pair of victories, giving them a sixth-place finish.
The Lions picked up a 20-0 win on Friday evening after opponents Durham were involved in a traffic accident on their way to the game. Thankfully everyone was ok but the Wildcats decided to forfeit the game.
On Sunday, the Lions were victorious in Manchester, defeating the Giants 96-78, behind a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds from Drew Sullivan.
Worcester’s victory over Leicester on Friday guaranteed the Cheshire Phoenix would end the season in fourth, but John Coffino’s side still finished the season with a pair of wins.
The Phoenix enjoyed a comfortable 101-78 victory away to a weakened Newcastle Eaglesside, thanks in part to a big 31-point haul from David Aliu.
On Sunday, Adrien Sturt put in a performance of 19 points and 15 rebounds – both season highs – as the Phoenix defeat Sheffield Sharks, 75-68.
Ready for the Phoenix in the Play-Offs are the Glasgow Rocks, who secured fifth place after they also finished with a pair of wins.
Reggie Middleton had 17 points as the Rocks won 70-62 at Leeds Force on Friday and on Sunday, Tayo Ogedengbe had a huge game, scoring 34 points as they picked up a 100-85 victory at Plymouth Raiders.
The Raiders managed to pick up a win in their penultimate game on Friday, Pierre Hampton leading the Devon side with 21 points and Emile Hopkins impressing with a double-double of 13 points and 15 boards as they won 78-72 at Surrey United.
Finally, Rashad Hassan led all scorers with 29 points as Leicester Riders completed their schedule on Saturday with a comfortable 116-84 win over Newcastle Eagles, and the Riders will now face Sheffield in the Play-Offs.
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