Reading Rockets complete treble with Playoff title

The Reading Rockets capped a dream season by capturing their first Division 1 Men’s Playoff crown since 2013, defeating the Milton Keynes Breakers 102–91 to complete an NBL treble of the National Cup, KitKing Trophy, and Playoff championship. Led by explosive guard Victor Olarerin (188-G-1999)’s 26-point performance – including a perfect 9-for-9 from inside the arc – Reading overwhelmed a short-handed Breakers squad that was missing key players K.J. Johnson, Blayne Freckleton (187-G-1993), and Luke Gregory (196-F-1998). The Rockets stormed to a 12–0 lead as Milton Keynes missed their first seven shots, and Reading never looked back, shooting an impressive 53% from the field and rotating scorers with ruthless efficiency. Even regular-season and Cup Final MVP Justin Hopkins – who still poured in 24 points – played fewer than 17 minutes through three quarters as the Rockets controlled the game throughout. Mitch Clarke added a superb double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds) to fuel Reading’s dominance, while Olarerin earned MVP honours for the final with a series of highlight plays that broke open the contest. Despite the loss, Breakers’ duo Kai Walker (196-F-2000) (27 points, 5 rebounds) and Adrian Scarborough (193-F-2000, college: Catawba) (26 points, 13 rebounds) fought valiantly, but a lack of bench depth – only Romario Spence (201-F-1999, college: Okla City) logged more than 2:32 off the bench – ultimately proved too much to overcome. It marks a sweet moment for a Rockets team that had fallen short in three previous Playoff finals since their last title, finally returning to the top of English basketball’s D1M postseason.
Courtesy of: hoopsfix.com