Newcastle Eagles Embark On New Era
A new era for the Newcastle Eagles has kicked off in positive fashion, with the team having secured a spot in the semi-finals of the new Super League Basketball Trophy with a group game still to play.
A hectic summer for the sport had seen the demise of the British Basketball League after 37 years, with the company responsible for running the league having folded in July when its operating licence was terminated by the British Basketball Federation.
A consortium formed by the clubs, operating under the name Premier Basketball Ltd, secured a new three-year licence to operate a new league running under the Super League Basketball name, comprising of seven teams from the BBL and two phoenix clubs in the shape of Manchester Basketball and the Surrey 89ers.
With the league not set to kick off until November, the season got underway with the group stage of the Trophy competition, with the first game of the SBL era for the Eagles being a home tie with Sheffield Sharks at the Vertu Motors Arena.
The Sharks held the lead after the opening two quarters of the game, but the Eagles battled back in the third to move ahead – extending their advantage in the final quarter to seal a 78-73 win, with Mike Okauru top scoring with 21 points.
Two days later it was rookie De’Sean Allen-Eikens who grabbed the headlines as the Eagles stormed to an impressive 80-63 win on the road against Manchester before a 93-88 win against the Caledonia Gladiators back on home soil made it three wins on the bounce.
After Caledonia were then defeated in Scotland to make it four wins from four, the Eagles slipped to a first loss of the campaign on the road against Cheshire Phoenix – who grabbed a comeback win thanks to a storming final quarter.
A first European fixture of the campaign in Slovakia saw Spisski Rytieri dispatched in impressive fashion before the return fixture with Cheshire in Newcastle again ended in defeat after a final quarter collapse.
October would draw to a close with back-to-back wins however, with Spartak Pleven beaten at the Vertu Motors Arena in the second game in the European North Basketball League before a last-gasp victory on the road in Sheffield secured a Trophy semi-final spot with a a game to spare.