London Lions have one foot in the SLB Cup final after a convincing 17-point victory in their first semi-final game against Cheshire Phoenix, at the CopperBox Arena. The only limitation to their game was concentration, having built a substantial first-quarter lead that needed to be re-established in the third quarter.
Regardless of what the result was tonight, London fans had something to cheer about – the return of Joel Scott after being sidelined with injury for three months. He was applauded both onto the court during the pre-game team calls and when he first left the game, a reflection of how dearly he’s been missed.
Opening exchanges were not kind to Cheshire, who saw themselves staring down the barrel of a blowout in the first quarter. They simply could not match the intensity the Lions had thrown at them, whilst everything the home side touched turned to buckets.
Williams broke down the lane with pace and ripped the roof off with a ferocious dunk which erupted the home fans and rubber-stamped the home side’s dominance. The centre’s celebrations matched the energy of both his acrobatics and the fans, creating a cauldron.
Fast break points were common for the Lions this game, a clear strategy Sabonis had set out, as Cheshire were slow in defence transition and the fast-footed Lions streamed forward like the Red Arrows at every opportunity, normally returning back to their own half with an extra make.
Cheshire’s pick-and-roll coverage could only be described as tired. Leaving the roller open can be an effective strategy when blitzing the ball handler, but both defenders lingered in a midrange no-man’s land. Philips had no issue punishing this by finding Williams inside.
Both sides deferred to ‘hero ball’ on occasion, but every time proved far more profitable for the Lions, appearing to just be the better side man-for-man. This style also forced Cheshire into some questionable shot selection and unrealistic passing – they were much better playing as a unit.
It seemed inconceivable after the first quarter that this game might end hotly contested, but for all of the London Lions’ first-quarter energy, they failed to kill off the visitors. An 18-point lead after 10 minutes would normally signify a blowout, but Phoenix played the long game and cut the lead to five halfway through the third quarter.
Had the Lions grown complacent in the result? Did they believe the game was already wrapped up? It took until their lead was merely two possessions, a five point gap, for the Lions to roar back into life. Once they did, they never looked back.
Sabonis has had this issue all season, his side peaks and dips throughout games and it can create much more tense and close games than the rookie coach may like to be involved in, as great as may be for the on-viewing fans.
The coach credited his side for sparking back into life, saying in the post-game press conference: “I didn’t do much, it was my guys… In the second quarter we maybe got a little confident and we let go of what we were doing right. In the third quarter we understood the game plan again and we executed it.”
Both coaches kept strong teams on during the entire game, regardless of the scoreline, due to the two-legged nature of the game. Despite the game being an eventual blowout, both coaches will go into Sunday’s game with it all to play for. A 17-point lead is by no means a tie over, but the London Lions certainly do have the upper hand.
Sabonis echoed Kobe Bryant by saying ‘games not done, jobs not done’ post-game, as he looks to keep his side’s motivation going into the away leg.
