Birmingham here we come!

Unbelievable, magnificent, truly remarkable? Yes all those and so, so ,so much more!

Is there any other team in the BBL that could have pulled off the win the Eagles did in Cheshire in the second leg of the Play-Off Semi-Final? I’m not so sure there is!

Sitting on the bench with these guys though is truly special and gives you an insight in to their determination, ability, spirit and character. A lot of pundits had us written off after the first leg. That list grew at half-time as the Jets had not also held their lead they’d increased it to 14 points.

But this team has the heart of champions and just doesn’t know when to quit, in fact it’s probably a word they don’t even understand. Given that Paul Gause was hardly able to play because of an ankle that resembled a baseball and Andrew Bridge’s shoulder restricted him, the Fabulous five performed heroics.

Not that PG and Bridgey didn’t play their parts. PG only played 5 minutes but hit a triple and grabbed 3 rebounds. Bridgey strolled on court cold and knocked down two clutch free-throws as he replaced Fab who had cramp in both legs.

But essentially it was Fab Flournoy, Joe Chapman, Andy Thomson, Darius Defoe and Charles Smith that logged the minutes, made the plays and knocked down the shots that helped us get through and produced such a thrilling, historic and memorable day in the north west.

Fab said in the locker rooms after the game that its moments like this that you’ll remember the rest of your life. Cherish it and recount it with your kids, your grandchildren and everyone else in years to come as what you achieved today was truly remarkable.

And so it was. Even after Cheshire countered our red-hot start and led at the interval, the belief never left us. We encouraged, supported and reminded each other of who we are, what we are and what we do and what we do is win even when the chips appear to be falling against us.

As well as Cheshire had started on Friday, we answered it with our start in the second leg. Charles got hot early and Fab, Andy and Darius netted too. We were excellent on the boards and the hustle, intensity and energy was all there as was the personal pride and commitment to defence.

We extinguished the Jets lead and by the sixth minute actually went up on aggregate. A late Jets run in the quarter cut the gap, but to be 20 – 12 up after ten minutes put us well on the way and the game was on.

Fab was off court and already some of the guys looked like they needed a breather or two. Bridgey and Paul went out to help but the effort put in to the first quarter showed as Jets steadied their nerves and with Kai Williams getting out on transition they not only pulled back, they took the lead on the 15 minute mark 28 – 27.

Their confidence was now up and although Charles continued to score, Joe was getting no help from officials or the Jets who were locking him down. We still played good D but Cheshire’s starting and only five all contributed and it was 40 – 36 at the half.

Coming out of the locker room the decision was made. We had five healthy guys ready to play. We understood what was required and we needed that five to ride the wave as long as they could. It began to come together.

Fab is a defensive guru, Dave understands what makes these guys tick and together they form a partnership that is the envy of the league. They had planned for this eventuality and although we were down, we were certainly not out.

Little by little we clawed it back, one possession at a time, one score at a time. By the midway mark of the third we snuck back in front on the night at 48 – 47. Charles continuing on his merry way, Andy, Fab and Darius pulling down rebounds and Joe whilst still not getting any looks, played tenacious D.

At the end of the third we’d managed to get in front 56 – 52 and Charles had 26 points. The quarter break was crucial. It gave us the chance to replenish, recover and charge ourselves up for one final effort. Those that hadn’t played and those that couldn’t on the bench, shouted, cajoled and made everyone aware that we could still do this.

The OOTA were magnificent throughout the full 40 minutes but going out for those final ten minutes we all sensed something special was about to happen. And boy did it ever! Amazingly Charles didn’t make a single basket in those last ten minutes but someone else did and showed why he’s the BBL MVP.

Going in to the last quarter ‘Mighty’ Joe was 2/7 overall, 0/2 from beyond the arc and had 4 points. But then in the words of Guildford’s Match Day announcer John Walker, BOOM!!! Three consecutive triples drove daggers in to the big hearts of the Jets and deep in to them too.

Suddenly with five minutes to go it was 68 – 56 Eagles and a two-point lead on aggregate. Cheshire levelled the tie on aggregate but it was obvious who was in the ascendency now. We’d only gone to the charity stripe four times in the first three quarters but with Jets visibly wilting and needing to stop us, it was our time.

Bridgey knocked down two, Joe did likewise, Andy T and Fab made 3 of 4 and we held our nerve, showed our strength and experience and stood tall in the clutch as time ran out for the Jets and as the final buzzer sounded it was wild delirium on one side and total dismay at the other.

We were through, we had clawed our way back and come through one of the biggest if not the biggest test of all this season. A huge win in a huge game, the stuff that champions were made of. And were the celebrations massive in the locker room? No, we were too exhausted especially the Fab Five.

We enjoyed the moment but immediately after we savoured it and soaked it up it was back to business. All this magnificent achievement had done was give us another 40 minutes of basketball to play and we all already are focused on that. It was however an enjoyable journey home.

But if you’d seen Charles and Joe get off the bus and wander down the lane to their cars/house you’d have wondered if they were two drunk old men they could hardly walk. They looked like they didn’t have another 40 seconds in them let alone 40 minutes. Will they be ready for Saturday, you’d better believe they will

So, in the final analysis a remarkable day. This team answers every challenge put before it and deserves all the success it gets. Will it all end in Birmingham on Saturday in glory? Well, would you bet against it? Leicester will be tough make no mistake. They’re not going there to pay homage and allow us to take our fourth title of the season and complete the clean ‘swoop’ that’s for sure.

But, we’re The Newcastle Eagles and we do what we do when we do it better than anyone else. So, now for Birmingham and the Riders. Are you really going to sit at home and miss the chance to be there and part of history? I hope not.

EAGLES : Charles 26 pts, 5 rebs, 3 assists – Joe 15 pts – Andy T 13pts, 15 rebs, 4 assists – Fab 11 pts, 8 rebs, 3 steals – Darius 9 pts, 13 rebs – Paul 3 pts, 3 rebs and Bridgey 2 pts.

Thanks to Jeff King (Eagles’ Assistant Coach) for giving us this look behind the curtain at the Newcastle Eagles.