Newcastle Eagles and the Leicester Riders both made it through their first round matches while 2012 finalists Plymouth, were beaten.
The Raiders faced a tough road trip to Worcester and so it proved as the Wolves ran out 90-77 victors with a strong final quarter display helping them to the win.
The teams could not be separated after 30 minutes of action as they headed into the fourth tied at 56. Alex Owumi netted two triples at either end of a 9-3 run as Worcester established a 77-68 advantage with less than three minutes remaining.
The visiting Raiders closed the gap to five points but an 8-0 close in the final minute secured the victory for Worcester. The home side were led by 20 point hauls from both Arturas Masiulis and Owumi.
Paul James’ men will take on Newcastle in the last eight after the defending champions enjoyed a 102-73 win on the road at Durham. The Eagles were boosted by the return of Charles Smith and raced into an early lead and never looked back.
Leicester began their Trophy campaign with a convicing 105-63 win away to the Essex Leopards with Drew Sullivan posting an impressive 17 points with 7 rebounds and 7 assists while Pavol Losonsky scored a point more to take the team-high honours.
The last first round match played over the weekend saw Cheshire pull off a 92-88 win in the capital despite 31 points from London Lions’ Adrien Sturt in the absence of Orlan Jackman and Duane James.
Gabriele Haskins nailed three crucial free throws in the final minute to help Phoenix progress to the last eight. Jerome Gumbs led the way with 24 points while Shawn Myers contributed 23 points and 13 boards.
The quarter-final line-up will be completed next Sunday with the final set of first round matches taking place.
Newcastle Eagles v Worcester Wolves
Reading Rockets/Surrey Heat (06/01) v Leicester Riders
Manchester Giants/Sheffield Sharks (03/01) v Edinburgh Kings/Glasgow Rocks (05/01)
Worthing Thunder/Mersey Tigers (06/01) v Cheshire Phoenix
In the league, Manchester came from behind to defeat Mersey 96-65 for their first road win of the season but were unable to make it a weekend double as Sheffield ended 2012 with an 87-68 victory over the Giants. Glasgow moved level with Worcester in fifth with a 95-78 home win over Cheshire.
Final table of 2012:
Newcastle Eagles 14-2 (28pts); Leicester Riders 12-2 (24pts); Surrey Heat 11-3 (22pts); Plymouth Raiders 10-5 (20pts); Worcester Wolves 9-7 (18pts); Glasgow Rocks 9-7 (18pts); London Lions 7-10 (14pts); Cheshire Phoenix 7-10 (14pts); Sheffield Sharks 6-10 (12pts); Manchester Giants 6-12 (12pts); Durham Wildcats 4-11 (8pts); Mersey Tigers 0-16 (0pts)
