The BBL Playoff Semi Finals are now confirmed as Newcastle Eagles, Cheshire Jets, Glasgow Rocks and the Leicester Riders will battle for a place in the showpiece final next week.
Newcastle Eagles rounded off their Friday night rout of the Guildford Heat with a tight 74-69 triumph (167-125 on aggregate) to keep their sweep hopes alive.
Joe Chapman continued his excellent form from the first leg as he scored 20 points personal with the Heat’s Tayo Ogedenbe netting 22.
Fab Flournoy’s side raced away with lead as they were up by 40-24 at the break. The Heat tried to salvage some pride in the second half to end their season in success. They knocked down their shots as they overturned a 16 point Eagles advantage to go ahead briefly in the last period. But the Eagles stated their intentions as they saw off the game superbly. Their next opponents are the Cheshire Jets who gained a double digit success over the Worcester Wolves in the last few minutes overcoming their opponents 87-77.
In the other semi-final, Leicester Riders take on the Glasgow Rocks.
Glasgow enjoyed an 80-60 victory over the Plymouth Radiers claiming the tie on aggregate by 159-144 after their 84-79 first leg defeat last Thursday.
Gareth Murray was the outstanding performer for the hosts recording a brilliant double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rocks Guard Mychal Green had the hot hand on the night bagging 26 points whilst his opposite number, Jeremy Bell scored 13 points.
Glasgow took control in the early exchanges bringing their A-game to storm into a 21-12 lead after ten minutes. They held their lead up until halftime as they led by 39-29 with Plymouths backs were up against the wall.
Plymouth, who were contenders for silverware for the majority of the season, launched a counter strike as they progressed well in the second half. Plymouth trimmed the lead to 55-49 but their opponents sprung to life in the final stanza.
Leading by six points, thehe hosts sparked a tie winning 16-5 run to earn their spot in the final four.
Elsewhere, Rob Paternostro’s Leicester Riders gained a comprehensive 40-point victory in their tie with the Sheffield Sharks as they claimed an aggregate victory of 182-141.
Cameron Rundles claimed game-high scoring figures in a 29-point effort as the Riders enjoyed blistering runs either side of the break to win by 90-65.
With the semi finals set for next week, who will claim a place in the season finale on 12th May in Birmingham?
