Newcastle Eagles vs Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders: BBL Cup Final preview

This Sunday the 17th January the NIA in Birmingham will host the BBL Cup Final, to be contested between the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Newcastle Eagles.

The Eagles and Riders are currently joint top of the British Basketball League having lost only two games each in the league and will be continuing their rivalry when tip-off commences on Sunday at 3:45pm.

The Newcastle Eagles got the better of the Leicester Riders in last seasons BBL Play-off Final, grinding out a 71-62 win in the final game of the 2011/12 campaign. This year, the two clubs have only clashed once, with the Riders coming out on top 75-63, despite cruelly losing American centre, John Fraley, to a serious knee injury only 24 hours before.

The Riders enter Sunday’s Cup Final on a three game winning streak, having topped the Essex Leopards, Worcester Wolves and London Lions since December 30th, while the Newcastle Eagles are unbeaten since early December when they lost to the Worcester Wolves. Since then, the Eagles have held their opponents to an average of 70.2 points per contest, a five point improvement on their season average.

The Riders have a side arguably as strong as last season’s with Jay Couisnard, Zaire Taylor, Pavol Losonsky and Anthony Rowe joining the club and moving into the starting line-up, replacing last seasons popular side. In addition to the starting quartet, the Riders have developed their bench strength too with Jorge Calvo, Connor Washington and Jamell Anderson all stepping up this season to provide reliable support from the sidelines.

Olympian, Drew Sullivan, once again faces his former team and goes up against them in the best personal form possible. Since his Summer exploits at the 2012 Olympics, Sullivan has barely missed a beat, leading the Riders by example with his relentless, versatile performances night after night. His numbers are impressive (13.7ppg,7.5rpg (2nd on the team), 4.3apg (team leader), 1.1spg and 0.7bpg (team leader)) but it is the intangibles that make him a leader. And he will be hoping to lead his side against his former side, many of whom remain from Sullivan’s time at the club.

Darius Defoe, Fab Flournoy, Charles Smith and Joe Chapman all spent time playing alongside Sullivan during his two stints with the Eagles and have remained in the North East ever since, a period which has seen them win two League titles, two trophies, one Cup and one Play-off title including the clean sweep of all silverware in 2011/12.

New addition, Kareem Maddox, is entering his first year in the black and white of the Eagles having joined in the summer. But far from being overwhelmed by his first professional season in England, the 6’8 forward has complimented the established starters beautifully; contributing 14.8ppg and 9.8rpg in the league and upping those numbers to 16.3ppg and 12.3rpg with 2 blocks per game.

Coverage of the BBL Cup Final can be seen live on Sky Sports 4. Alternatively, the game can be listened to on BBC Radio 5 Live.