All roads lead to Birmingham as the BBL Trophy reaches its climax at Utilita Arena. Defending champions Caledonia Gladiators are joined by London Lions, Cheshire Phoenix and Leicester Riders, as the semi-finals and final are played out over this weekend.
First up the Gladiators face the London Lions in a heavyweight clash, tipping off at 3:30pm. This is followed by Leicester Riders against the Cheshire Phoenix at 6:00pm. The winners will progress to the BBL Trophy final, to be played on Sunday afternoon.
🤩🏆 It's Final Four time, baby! What a line-up we have for you this weekend at @UtilitaArenaBHM in the #BritishBasketballLeague Trophy.
— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) January 23, 2024
👀 Have you got your tickets yet!? Click below to get yours now and be there for an #UNBEATABLE weekend of action.
London Lions
Last season's BBL champions made light work of their BBL Trophy group. Victories over Newcastle, Leicester and Manchester booked their ticket to the final four, before they lost a dead-rubber game at Bristol last week.
David Nwaba and Matt Morgan have lead the scoring for the Lions in this year's competition. Both players are average 20 points per game from the group stage.
After making good progress in the Euro Cup and enjoying a dominant season in the BBL, the Lions will be heavy favourites to win it all this weekend.
Caledonia Gladiators
Defending their BBL Trophy has not been plain sailing for the Gladiators. They were in real danger of exiting at the group stage after opening their campaign with back-to-back losses against Cheshire and Plymouth.
However they rallied and won two elimination matches, on the road at Sheffield and at home to Surrey, to sneak through to the final four.
Team GB guard Patrick Whelan has lead the scoring for the Gladiators so far in the tournament, averaging 15 points per game.
This is a very talented team, but they could not have asked for a tougher opponent in their semi-final. If the silverware heads north of the border for the second straight year, they would have done it the hard way.
Cheshire Phoenix
Only one team arrives in Birmingham boasting a perfect 4-0 record from the group stages and that's the free-scoring Cheshire Phoenix. Averaging 96.25 points per game, it's the highest in the competition, as they blew their opponents away.
Maceo Jack and Aaryn Rai lead the scoring, averaging 16 points each per game. As a team they scored over 100 in three of their four matches, only failing to reach that high mark in their final match against the Sheffield Sharks.
They'll go into their semi-final against Leicester as most people's favourites to progress. With their elite ball-movement, which leads to a free scoring offence, they will be very difficult to stop.
Leicester Riders
Last season's BBL play off finalists secured their place in the final four with a winner-takes-all victory against their old rivals Newcastle Eagles. Victories over Bristol and Manchester, either side of a defeat against London set up an exciting finale in the group stage. Leicester took care of business, picking up a convincing 101-85 win.
Guard Teddy Allen has lead the way for the Riders in this year's BBL Trophy, averaging a competition high 21.5 points per game. Also in the back court, Kimbal McKenzie is always one to watch. He lead the way with 22 points and 8 assists in their decisive win at Newcastle.
They will have their hands full trying to keep the Cheshire Phoenix quiet in their semi-final, but the three-time winners can never be counted out.
All games will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. The final will be on Sunday, with a 3:30pm tip off.
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