Four British clubs eurostepping into history
The London Lions have been one of the most discussed teams in Europe this season as they pushed to the semi-finals of the Eurocup. Their inspirational run has lifted the reputation and overall standard of the British Basketball League and has raised the bar for British teams in Europe next season.
But they are not the only British team that made it into Europe this year. Four men's teams from the league made it into various European competitions this season, this in itself is historical regardless of how they all performed. Let’s take a look at how each of the four clubs performed.
London Lions
“History was written, and I am proud to be part of the group that did it”. Coach Petar Božić said after his London Lions team became the most successful British men’s team in European history after bowing out of the Eurocup in the semi-finals to Paris. The game was a hotly contested one with the Lions eventually losing the final leg at The Copperbox 85-93.
What he said couldn’t be more true, The Lions’ European campaign was one for the history books not just for the club and its fans, but the league as a whole. Even as a Giants fan, I have to admit I was cheering on London as they marched on deep into the playoff rounds, taking down established European sides such as Besiktas on the way.
The Lions took on Europe's second most coveted basketball league with a new sense of vigour after they previously failed to make their presence appreciated in the competition. This season however they made huge waves, putting the league on the map and giving themselves a new hard-fought reputation as underrated European title contenders. The Lions had some standout individual performances too, with GB international Gabe Olaseni and top contender for the league MVP, Matt Morgan showing that the Lions can attract top talent with both of these players being announced in the Eurocup team of the season.
Caledonia Gladiators
The Glaswegian team had a lot of expectations to match and success to build on after last year's triumph in Birmingham where they clinched the British Basketball League Trophy title. Earning a place in the FIBA Basketball Champions League qualifying rounds hosted in Turkey, the club recruited well in the summer in preparation for balancing their determination to perform in Europe with their expectation to strive in the domestic league and challenge for the top spots. The initial round however did not go to plan for the Glads as they failed to qualify, bowing out of the competition in a narrow loss to Fribourg Olympic, losing 57-51.
Their European journey did not end there however as they dropped into Group G of the FIBA European Cup where they would battle it out with other European sides for a place in the play-offs. The newcomers to European basketball went on to finish third in their group of four after a hard-fought campaign that saw them finish with 9 points on the league table after some convincing wins like beating Romanian side BCU Sibiu 96-67 at home. The group proved too much of a challenge for the team however as they failed to get good enough results overall.
Coach Murray remarked “no one expected us to win a game” after they lost their final game in Bilbao. This criticism could be seen as being too harsh on the team that performed so well last year.
Bristol Flyers and Newcastle Eagles
Both the Flyers and the Eagles wrote some history together as the first two British teams to participate in the newly formed European North Basketball League this season. The competition is made up of pro teams from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Israel, Ukraine and the UK. With 16 teams competing in two conferences.
The Flyers made an instant impact in the ENBL with convincing wins against the Bulgarian side, Spartak Pleven and Polish club Start Lublin. The campaign hit its first roadblock in December when the west country side fell in the city of Tartu to Estonian side Tartu Ülikool in a narrow 79-72 game. Their conference ended with them clinching a place in the playoff rounds with a well-fought 11 points on the board and a points difference of 62.
Newcastle Eagles more than matched their domestic counterparts in the initial stages of their European campaign. Their opening game saw the men from Tyneside lose a close game to Lithuanian side BC Šiauliai in a game that would end 94-92. Like Bristol, the Eagles would grind out some more results in games that seemed to never disappoint in terms of entertainment value. In what was perhaps their best game, they managed to score a clean 100 points against Royal Liege with McGill and Johnson netting 26 and 28 respectively. Newcastle did perform marginally better than the Flyers, finishing 3rd in their conference, and also breaking into the playoffs.
Both teams however would have disappointing playoff round results, with both teams losing each of their 2-leg games in the first round of playoffs. Bristol fought some strong comebacks in their two fixtures against Siauliai in a 19-point ball game. The Eagles would similarly go on to be defeated by the Bakken Bears, with Coach Steutel’s men falling out of Europe in an all-time classic game in Denmark, losing their second leg 96-92 in a contest that saw Eagles star players Rickey McGill and Tajh Green both netting 27 points.
Both of these, despite their disappointing playoff runs, clearly made a significant and lasting impact on the European game and put the British Basketball League on the radar in Europe. ENBL teams have not yet been announced for next season but if we see the Eagles and Flyers in there again, all eyes will be on them to compete for the top spot.
The British team's success across Europe this season is an important sign that the British Basketball League is on the up, in terms of the quality of players, coaches and overall teams, the argument to be made that it’s the best it’s ever been. Although a European title has yet to be won, by a men’s team at least (the London Lions Women's team became the first British team to win a European trophy this year), this season's successes set an important foundation on which the British teams can build consistent and convincing European title runs. British basketball fans can now look to European titles as a realistic goal.