GBR - Play-off round is set

LONDON (BBL) - The play-off first round is now set after the final round of matches in the regular season.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks won their battle with Sheffield Sharks for fifth spot after the Glasgow-based club beat Guildford Heat and the Sharks lost in overtime at Newcastle Eagles.

At the foot of the table Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders saw of BiG Storage Cheshire Jets in overtime in Chester to take tenth and PAWS London Capital kept up their recent good form to take down Birmingham Panthers at home.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders won the battle for tenth place after an overtime win at BiG Storage Cheshire Jets. The victory gave them 10 wins for the season.

The victory was achieved in a frantic extra period, which saw their hosts finish the match with just three players.

Earlier Jets had held the lead at the end of the first quarter (23-22) and at half time (44-42). Riders edged ahead 61-65 at the end of three but couldn't hold on to a 74-80 lead in the final stanza and were forced to make two free throws through Mindaugas Janiska with 1.1 seconds on the clock to force overtime.

Once into added time the Riders broke open a 93-93 scoreline with four free throws after the Jets bench had been called for a technical foul. Once Janiska had sank all four there was no way back for the Jets.

PAWS London Capital 85 (21,47,68) (Bradley 22, Perkins 13, Knight 11)
Team Birmingham Panthers 65 (19,38,52) (A Williams 21, Popoola 18, Sandell 16)

PAWS London Capital completed their first season in the BBL with a win over fellow new boys Team Birmingham Panthers.

Capital ended the season well to finish in ninth position, while Panthers couldn't get any momentum going to end the campaign in twelfth.

Runs of 10-3 each in the first quarter cancelled each other out as Capital led 21-19 at the end of ten minutes. And they stretched it out to 47-38 by half time.

An 8-2 opening to the third put Capital well in control despite Panthers' 7-0 burst later in the period. A further 9-0 start to the final stanza put the match beyond the visitors reach as London cruised to the win.

Newcastle Eagles 95 (27,46,64,78) (Leven 23, Smith 17, Babalola 17)
Sheffield Sharks 84 (23,39,53,78) (Chaney 25, Lyons 19, Niesler 14)
After overtime

Sheffield Sharks missed out on fifth place in the BBL after narrowly losing at league champions Newcastle Eagles in overtime.

After a tight first quarter, that the Eagles shaded 27-23, the Sharks were pegged back in the second period. A 9-0 run by Newcastle midway through the period overturned a slender Sharks lead and gave the home side a 46-39 half time advantage.

Eagles pressed home their lead in the third quarter. A 12-4 burst to close it out saw them take a comfortable 64-53 margin into the final ten minutes.

Sheffield wouldn't back down though. Trailing 75-67 they chipped away at the Eagles through centre Shelby Chaney to get back to 78-75 before Alto Virgil nailed a three with one second left to complete the comeback.

Having played three consecutive overtime matches the Eagles had plenty of experience of an extra period and it showed as they scored the final nine points of the match to dash Sharks hopes of a seventh win in a row to end the regular season.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 94 (24,45,69) (Wohlers 24, Hampton 21, Murray 14)
Guildford Heat 76 (21,35,54) (Wardrope 17, D Williams 10, Karlikanovas 10)

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks took their opportunity against a resting Guildford Heat side to clinch fifth spot in the BBL and with it a visit to Marshall MK Lions on Wednesday evening.

The Heat had already secured their second place berth and so despite starting with his full strength team, coach Paul James used his star players sparingly even when Rocks surged ahead.

Rocks took the lead for good at 12-9 on the back of a Rob Yanders three and controlled the match from there. A 24-21 first quarter lead was extended to 45-35 at half time and on to 69-54 at the end of three quarters.

A Sterling Davis three gave the home side their biggest lead of the night at 74-54 as they won the battle with Sheffield Sharks for fifth.

BBL

The play-off first round is now set after the final round of matches in the regular season.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks won their battle with Sheffield Sharks for fifth spot after the Glasgow-based club beat Guildford Heat and the Sharks lost in overtime at Newcastle Eagles.

At the foot of the table Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders saw of BiG Storage Cheshire Jets in overtime in Chester to take tenth and PAWS London Capital kept up their recent good form to take down Birmingham Panthers at home.The play-off first round is now set after the final round of matches in the regular season.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks won their battle with Sheffield Sharks for fifth spot after the Glasgow-based club beat Guildford Heat and the Sharks lost in overtime at Newcastle Eagles.

At the foot of the table Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders saw of BiG Storage Cheshire Jets in overtime in Chester to take tenth and PAWS London Capital kept up their recent good form to take down Birmingham Panthers at home.The play-off first round is now set after the final round of matches in the regular season.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks won their battle with Sheffield Sharks for fifth spot after the Glasgow-based club beat Guildford Heat and the Sharks lost in overtime at Newcastle Eagles.

At the foot of the table Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders saw of BiG Storage Cheshire Jets in overtime in Chester to take tenth and PAWS London Capital kept up their recent good form to take down Birmingham Panthers at home.