London Leopards doing all they can for BBL place

London Leopards are doing all they can on the court to warrant a place in the BBL.

Since applying to make the step up in November, the Leopards claimed the National Cup after a 64-63 success against the Bristol Flyers in Sheffield and are currently enjoying an eight game winning streak in the league. That run has seen the club move up to fifth in Division One with a 9-4 record and they still have games in hand over the teams above them.

The Big Cats’ home court is shared between the Basildon Sporting Village and the Brentwood Centre and they are yet to lose at either venue in the league to date with a perfect eight wins from eight. The National Cup champions have already experienced a taste of BBL competition this season, when they were invited to participate in the BBL Trophy in the absence of the Essex Pirates.

Americans Ousman Krubally and Vernon Teel have been leading figures for the Leopards this season with the latter earning the MVP award in the cup final with an overall average of 28ppg in the competition. The 24 year old also registered a 41 point game against the MK Lions and is one of the contenders for the league’s MVP title; averaging an impressive 24 points per game while the club captain, Krubally averages an equally impressive combination of 18.3 ppg and 13.3 rpg.

However, more importantly the Leopards will need to prove themselves off the court and an announcement is expected this month from the BBL, with Manchester Giants and the Reading Rockets having also applied to join the 2012/13 field of teams which will include a new franchise from Birmingham.

In the meantime, focus will remain on the league and the Leopards face a tough double-header this weekend with a trip to league leaders, Bristol, before hosting the Medway Park Crusaders in Brentwood with a 4pm tip tomorrow afternoon.