Lions return an overdue favour against Phoenix
BBL Championship
London Lions 86-81 Cheshire Phoenix (24-19, 40-38, 64-51)
London Lions have been waiting to extract revenge on Cheshire Phoenix after they lost in the BBL Cup Semi-Finals and they completed that mission with a hard-fought win at the Copper Box.
Lions had to fend off a big Phoenix comeback, but did the business down the stretch to ensure Coach Macaulay won back to back games since taking charge of the team recently.
Leading scorers – Robinson 21, Dixon 18, Peel 16, Guede 16 (Lions) Sandoval 22, May-Thompson 19, Gettys 14 (Phoenix)
Turning point – Cheshire wiped out a big double-figure deficit and had Lions sweating when they went 78-76 ahead with only a couple of minutes left. But, a bi triple from veteran Paul Guede gave Lions the lead again and it proved to be a momentum shifter.
Key stat – Lions made the most of opportunities that came their way and scored 21 points off turnovers.
Game hero(es) – There were some excellent contributions, but playmaker Justin Robinson did the business with a fine double-double of 21 points and 10 assists.