BBL Cup Semi-Final
Bristol Flyers 79-97 London Lions (21-32, 15-20, 22-26, 21-19)
(Flyers: Olison, 17; Mahan, 16; Bell, 15 — Lions: Koufos, 24; Dekker, 20; Hruban, 18)
The London Lions secured a big 97-79 win over the Bristol Flyers in the BBL Cup Semi-Final.
Kosta Koufos and Sam Dekker led the way, with 24 and 20 points, respectively, while Vojtech Hruban rounded out the big three with 18 of his own.
The Bristol Flyers are one of just two teams to have taken a game off the London Lions in the BBL Championship so far this season.
In SGS College Arena at the start of November, Bristol showed the visitors that the season would be no walk in the park, despite their talent.
This meant the Lions were out for revenge when they welcomed the Flyers to the Copper Box last weekend – and they got it with a 35-point victory.
But when they met again in Bristol a few days later, the stakes were higher, as a place in the BBL Cup Final was at stake.
Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt reiterated this thought before tip-off and said: “We’ve got our work cut out for us tonight. Friday meant absolutely nothing, it was one game out of 36 regular season games, but tonight is a knock-out game. It’s winner take all.”
London upgraded their talent for the contest, as 7Days EuroCup veteran Jordan Taylor joined the team and immediately showed what he was capable of, with four points out of the gate.
Bristol came back quickly, thanks to Tevin Olison’s attack. Teammate Brandon Mahan kept them within striking distance when the team moved the ball around the perimeter to find the shooter open for a big three.
While inbounding the ball, London’s Josh Sharma stepped over the line and turned it over.
The Flyers ran an out-of-timeout play to pop Mahan open for three again, and he pulled them within one point while forcing his Lions coach Ryan Schmidt to take a timeout.
It didn’t take long for the Lions to go on a run, and the size of the roster stood out while doing so.
Dekker, at 6’9, made the most of this when he got under the basket. The Flyers packed the paint, but his poise showed out – he waited for a beat until the defence retreated, then spun back baseline for an up-and-under layup.
Bristol scored two buckets for one in the final 30 seconds to bring them within 11 at the end of the first quarter.
London came out of the break with a 3-2 zone that proved effective, and on offence, they found…
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