Eight became four after a dramatic weekend of action in the BBL Playoffs as Leicester Riders, Newcastle Eagles, Worcester Wolves and London Lions all advanced into the semi-finals.
There will be a new Playoff champion crowned at The O2 Arena in London this year after last year’s winners, Sheffield Sharks saw their campaign come to an end in a 159-155 aggregate defeat.
Worcester Wolves earned a 73-71 victory on the road on Friday before holding off a late fightback to beat the Sharks 86-84 on their home floor with Danny Huffor top scoring in each win for a combined 48 points on the weekend.
Sheffield rallied from 19 down in the fourth in the Second Leg to close within a single point late on with just a three needed to force overtime before Wolves iced the win.
Paul James’ side will face Newcastle in the semi-finals after they had to dig deep to fend off the challenge of Bristol Flyers in a 181-176 aggregate triumph.
The Flyers stormed back from 33 points down in the First Leg before going down 97-94 to keep themselves in contention heading to the North-East.
Darius Defoe and Rahmon Fletcher combined for 46 points as the Eagles claimed an 84-82 home win despite Bristol having taken the lead in the final minute to cut the overall gap to just two points.
“It was a hard fought quarter-final and hats off to Bristol as they gave us all they had,” said Drew Lasker.
“We got off to a great start in Bristol with a huge lead. Aggregate can get tricky so we try to simply it every-time we are in this position by setting a goal of winning both games.
“If you win both you go through, so the job was half done after Friday night regardless of the scoreline.”
Meanwhile, Leicester continued their quest for a treble after defeating Surrey Scorchers 167-131 on aggregate following two contrasting legs.
The two teams played out an exciting 73-73 draw on Friday as Gabe McCray sent Surrey Sports Park wild with an incredible game-tying three at the buzzer.
However, Riders signalled their intent in the reverse fixture and powered their way to a 94-58 triumph as they moved into the next round in style with five players in double figures.
London Lions await in the semi-finals after they did their damage in the First Leg to pave the way for a 153-141 aggregate victory over Glasgow Rocks.
The Rocks rallied from a 19-point first quarter deficit to lead at the half, only to fall to a 91-70 loss at the Copper Box with Kai Williams exploding for 27 points.
London took a 21-point advantage into the Second Leg and despite suffering a 71-62 defeat, they move on in the hope of reaching the Final, staged mere miles away from home court, just like they did in 2015.
BBL Media contributed to this report.
