BBL: Leicester Riders defeat Newcastle Eagles 68-57 to win the BBL Play-off Final
Leicester Riders won the treble after beating Newcastle Eagles 68-57 to win the BBL Play-off Final at Wembley Arena.
Last Updated: 28/04/13 6:38pm
The Riders had already claimed the BBL Cup and BBL Championship trophies earlier in the season and they turned in a tight defensive display to frustrate the Eagles.
GB Olympian Drew Sullivan was named MVP after finishing with a game-high 24 points, with Jamell Anderson contributing a further 13 points.
For Newcastle, only Darius Defoe and Kareem Maddox made more than half their shots as they finished on 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Riders restricted Eagles to the lowest score ever posted in a BBL Play-off final, breaking the record of 62 points the Riders managed in their defeat to Newcastle in last season's final.
Newcastle struggled throughout and made just 35% of their shots and sank only one of their 16 three-point efforts.
The Riders' points total also broke the record for the fewest points scored by a winner, breaking a record the Eagles had tied in last season's final with 71 points.
Drew Sullivan and Zaire Taylor in particular were impressive in defence for Leicester, although Maddox did manage two field goals in succession to give Eagles the lead at 7-5, the only time in the contest they would hold the lead.
Riders slowly found their way and led 22-11 at the quarter-break, helped by a 13-0 run, before they extended their advantage to 14 points at 30-16.
Again Maddox inspired Newcastle as they went into the break 38-26 in arrears but Leicester fought back, Sullivan sinking a three-point shot and a slam dunk in an 11-2 run as the Riders extended their advantage to 16 points to lead 53-37.
But the Eagles again responded in positive fashion, an 8-0 run reducing the deficit to 60-51, before Sullivan again came up with a vital play for their opponents as he made a tricky turnaround jump shot to make it 62-51.
That halted the Eagles' run with five minutes to go and the Riders' defence again proved obdurate, with Newcastle failing to reduce the arrears to single figures again.
Instead, Leicester kept the Eagles to just six points in the final five minutes and while they also only score six points, it was enough to secure them a second BBL play-off crown.