Eagles face ghost of Christmas pst - Feb 3, 2012 (by Paul Nilsen)
This weekend, Newcastle Eagles will come face to face again with the only team to have beaten them in the BBL Championship so far this season. Tomorrow night, Fab Flournoy will take his team to Worcester to face a high flying Wolves side who shocked the Eagles by claiming a festive victory on Tyneside. Not only was it their first league loss, it was also the last time the Eagles tasted defeat [read more]
This weekend, Newcastle Eagles will come face to face again with the only team to have beaten them in the BBL Championship so far this season.
Tomorrow night, Fab Flournoy will take his team to Worcester to face a high flying Wolves side who shocked the Eagles by claiming a festive victory on Tyneside.
Not only was it their first league loss, it was also the last time the Eagles tasted defeat. They have since won seven straight games since that fateful December night including the BBL Cup Final.
Wolves meanwhile have continued their challenge at the top of the table and consequently it's a really attractive and key fixture in the context of the title race a fact not lost on Wolves head coach Paul James
It's an important game for both teams who have hopes of winning the BBL Championship explained the play-caller.
But, I think that Newcastle are certainly the favourites for the title.
On the night, I'm expecting a real battle between two really good teams that play a good style of basketball.
However before Flournoy and the Eagles players can even think about extracting revenge, they have an even more important task ahead of them tonight.
They take to the road for a BBL Trophy semi-final first leg clash at One Health Sharks Sheffield hoping they can get one foot in what would be their second showpiece final of the season. They will certainly be confident having torn the Sharks to shreds last month in the league although they will no doubt be expecting a backlash.
Whatever the result, Atiba Lyons and his team could actually do the Eagles a big favour tomorrow evening when they look to derail the title bid of Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders who have endured a blip during the last fortnight with a couple of shock losses.
But, they got back to winning ways last time out and will be hoping to not only win but also capitalize on something having to give when the Wolves and Eagles lock horns with one of their rivals guaranteed to pick up a loss!
Back in the BBL Trophy, the winners of the match-up between Sharks and Eagles will face either Prestige Homes MK Lions or UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders meaning there is distinct possibility that there could be a repeat of the BBL Cup Final.
Raiders travel to Milton Keynes for the first leg tonight and Mike New will be paying attention to what happened the last time they played a semi-final away from home they blew Worcester completely out of the water.
This is a tie which will actually be completed over the weekend since Raiders will host Lions at the Pavilions on Sunday as they look to take an opportunity to get into their second Final of the season and perhaps make amends for the disappointment of what happened in Birmingham.
Finally there is plenty to gain for a bunch of teams languishing in the bottom half of the BBL Championship and not least the big north-west derby between Mersey Tigers and Cheshire Jets.
The last meeting was an overtime classic which the hosts managed to win and it promises to be another cracker with Jets still looking for an elusive victory after a barren 2012 and Tigers having looked impressive in their last couple of games.
Finally Glasgow Rocks will host Guildford Heat at Kelvin Hall on Sunday night with the visitors knowing a victory would ensure the home team moves level with them on nine league losses.
Lewis-Parry Back With Heat - Feb 2, 2012 (by Paul Nilsen)
The multi-talented and hugely popular Chi Lewis-Parry(203-F-83) is coming back to the Heat! The 6' 8' powerhouse played for Guildford Heat in 2008 and, having moved away from basketball to focus on his fighting career, is keen to return and contribute to the Heat's success. Lewis-Parry was a valuable member of the 2008 Guildford Heat squad, best known for his rugged defending and rebounding [read more]
The multi-talented and hugely popular Chi Lewis-Parry (203-F-83) is coming back to the Heat! The 6' 8' powerhouse played for Guildford Heat in 2008 and, having moved away from basketball to focus on his fighting career, is keen to return and contribute to the Heat's success.
Lewis-Parry was a valuable member of the 2008 Guildford Heat squad, best known for his rugged defending and rebounding. He went on to play for Scottish Rocks where he appeared in all 33 games and led the team in rebounding with 5.5 rebounds per game, while contributing 5.9 points per game.
Guildford Heat's head coach, Creon Raftopoulos commented, 'After the ups and downs that we've had this season, I felt it important that we get cover at the forward position. Chi is a great utility player who we can count on at the defensive end, and will contribute to rebounding which is key to our success.'
Chi Lewis-Parry (203-F-83) commented, 'Returning to Guildford Heat is like a homecoming for me. I hated the way things were left on my departure in 2008 and wanted to come back and rectify things with Guildford's wonderfully loyal fans. This time I'll be here to the end.'
As a competitive fighter, Chi is in great physical shape
BBL January Stat Stars - Feb 1, 2012 (by Paul Nilsen)
We take a look at who has been hot and topping our stat charts during January.Sensational scorersFive players managed to average more than 20 points per game during January with Charles Smith way out in front of everybody else. The Newcastle Eagles forward poured in 25 points per game while Demarius Bolds of Prestige Homes MK Lions managed to accumulate 21 [read more]
We take a look at who has been hot and topping our stat charts during January.
Sensational scorers
Five players managed to average more than 20 points per game during January with Charles Smith way out in front of everybody else. The Newcastle Eagles forward poured in 25 points per game while Demarius Bolds of Prestige Homes MK Lions managed to accumulate 21.4 points per game. Matt Schneck (Cheshire Jets), Jeremy Bell (UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders) and Nate Reinking (One Health Sharks Sheffield) were the only other three players to surpass the 20 points per game landmark.
Glorious on the glass
Three players averaged double-digits in rebounding with Colin O'Reilly (200-F-84, college: Post) of Cheshire Jets leading the way. The Irish forward managed to harvest 11.3 rebounds per game and this is the second consecutive month he has been named a stat star after accumulating more than 11 per game. It also means he averaged a superb January double-double having accumulated more than 18 points per game during the period. Mike Tuck (One Health Sharks Sheffield) also averaged 11 rebounnds per game whilst last months rebound leader Daniel Northern (Prestige Homes MK Lions) was the third player to corral double digits with 10.8 rebounds per game.
Percentage kings
Newcastle Eagles have enjoyed a terrific January which was highlighted by head coach Fab Flournoy being named Molten BBL Coach Of The Month. One key reason for the great form of hios team has been the excellent field goal shooting of Joe Chapman who converted 18 of his 24 attempts to chalk up a stunning 75%. Sherrad Prezzie-Blue was the only other BBL player to have shot more than 70% during the period with the Worcester Wolves man making 19 of his 26 attempts.
Deadly from downtown
Not surprisingly its Molten BBL Player Of The Month For January and leading scorer for the period Charles Smith who was the hottest shooter from downtown. He sunk 19 of 38 attempts to help the Eagles secure BBL silverware by way of their Cup Final success and also maintain their grip at the top of the BBL Championship. Three other players all shot over 40% from downtown during January in the form of Mychal Green (Glasgow Rocks), Mike Capocci (Durham Wildcats) and Tommy Freeman (Worcester Wolves)
Dishing up a storm
Storming to the top of our chart is a player who found minutes in the top league in Europe a few season ago. Antonio Bustamante enjoyed an impressive debut for Mersey Tigers last week, showing his ACB quality by dishing up 10 assists during his only game in January. Meanwhile of those who played throughout the month, four players finished with more than five assists per game. Anthony Martin (UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders) led the way with 6.6 per game and was closely followed by Sherrad Prezzie-Blue who dished up 6.0 per game. Colin O'Reilly (Cheshire Jets) and Cameron Rundles (Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders) were the other two players to surpass five assists per game.
On the line
If there is one player you really dont want to foul in the BBL and send to the line, its most definitely Michjael Ojo of UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders. Incredibly for the second successive month, he posted a flawless performance from the charity stripe by converting each and every one of his 14 attempts. While he shared the feat last month, he was the only player to remain perfect this time around. Both Danny Huffor (Glasgow Rocks) and Andrew Bridge (Newcastle Eagles) made 10 of 11 from the line during the month.
Pickpockets
When it came to picking the pockets of opponents and coming with some all important and very precious steals during January, two players took the chart by storm and were way ahead of the rest of the field. Demarius Bolds (Prestige Homes MK Lions) came up with a stellar 4.2 steals per game while wingman Ayron Hardy (Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders) managed to muster 3.8 steals per game - by far and a way in front of the chasing pack.
Swatters
Once again there was one outstanding player when it came to blocking shots during the month and that was Bill Cole of Cheshire Jets who managed to swat away a stunning 3.8 shots per game. Richie Gordon (Worcester Wolves) and Brett Royster (Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders) were his nearest rivals after blocking 2.3 and 2.0 shots per game respectively.
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