In a great advert for the British game yesterday, Sheffield Sharks eventually triumphed over a valiant Cheshire Jets side, thus taking the BBL Cup in fascinating game which finished 86-89 in Sharks’ favour.

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The stand out player in the game, and Cup Final MVP, was Jets’ veteran James Hamilton, who had an impressive 24 points and 12 rebounds, as well as sinking all six of his free throws. Chez Marks was an important scoring back-up for Cheshire, as he posted 22 points. For the Sharks, Mike Cook came good in the second half to lead the scoring with 19 points personal, whilst Ryan Patton had 17 and Mike Tuck rounded out the top three scorers with 15 points.

The teams were neck and neck in the opening few minutes, despite two three pointers from Ryan Patton. The Jets took the first significant advantage, as they enjoyed a 9-2 burst to lead 18-11, with threes from James Hamilton and Chez Marks. Sheffield battled back however, scoring the final 11 points of the quarter to take a 22-18 lead into the second quarter.

Although the Sharks saw their biggest lead of the half, at 37-26, courtesy of seven unanswered points, including a Perry Lawson three-pointer, the second period was a relatively low scoring affair, and the Sharks continued to apply the pressure in the third quarter, a 7-2 start putting them 48-35 ahead. Due to the Jets struggling to make any shots other than a few from distance, the Sharks extended this lead to 64-48 going into the final quarter.

The Jets showed tremendous fight in the fourth, as a Colin O’Reilly three pointer with 1.33 left to go saw them get back to within three points at 76-79. Tuck gave the Sharks another five point cushion lead after that, but baskets from Hamilton and O’Reilly again cut the deficit to just three points.

In an intense final minute, Paul Peterson had the chance to cut it back to a one-point ball game, but failed to convert his free throws with 26 seconds remaining and with Jets in the penalty they were forced to foul to try to re-gain possession. Perry Lawson scored four from four free throws to keep Jets at arms length and while Chez Marks scored twice it was not enough to secure the win.

Cup Final day also saw Worthing Thunder book their place in the quarter finals of the BBL Trophy, thanks to a comfortable 109-72 victory over Division one side Manchester Magic, prior to the BBL Cup Final clash.

Thunder’s top scorers were Evaldas Zabas (23 points), Sam Cricelli (21 points) and Reggie Bratton (19 points). For the Magic, Stefan Gill certainly impressed against a top flight side, as he led all scorers with 33 points, whilst former Reading Rockets big man David ‘Tin-Tin’ Watts, had 19 points to his name.

An eventful weekend in the BBL Championship also took place, with the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders suffering one defeat (against Everton Tigers on Friday) and one win (against Worcester Wolves on Saturday). Worthing Thunder coupled their Trophy success with a second win over Newcastle Eagles, this time beating them 105-99 on the South Coast, whilst Glasgow Rocks continued their climb up the table, with wins over Essex Pirates (78-90), and Guildford Heat (88-64).