The Tigers players lift the PBA Championship trophy.
The Chakota Tigers beat the New Chester Kings three games to two to regain the PBA Championship after a 15 year drought.
Facing the formidable American paring of AJ Malone and Omar Jackson, the Tigers’ bench came through in games 2 and 5. Wes Justice, Tyler Wallace and Bobby Green led the Chakota team strongly, with back up from Boucher, Robinson and Ozman.
Omar Jackson is a point-scoring machine for the Kings.
There was a fear that the Tigers would for a third time in the last decade blow a 2-0 lead in the finals. Winning their first two games at home, really put the pressure on AJ and Omar and the multiple-time Champion Kings. They stepped up and won games 3 and four to bring it to the Game 5 decider at Chakota.
The Tigers needed everyone to overcome the NC Kings
Game 5 was a back and forth for the whole game. The Kings were leading with 02:14 remaining, before the Tigers went on a 10-3 run. The Kings have been to the last three Finals series, winning only one.
Game 1: Chakota Tigers 85- 77 NC Kings Game 2: Chakota Tigers 99- 92 NC Kings Game 3: NC Kings 101- 86 Chakota Tigers Game 4: NC Kings 92-84 Chakota Tigers Game 5: Chakota Tigers 96- 91 NC Kings
The Oakland Owls, led by Eric Daley, won the five game series against the defending Champions New Chester Kings, winning game 5 106-97.
Daley and the owls get their hands on the trophy
The Kings had two strong American players up front- with AJ Malone and Omar Jackson both scoring 22-plus points per game during the season. Jackson averaged 31 in the playoffs.
The Owls had jumped out to a 2-0 lead at home with 99-91 and 121-120 (after OT) wins. Game two was decided with 0.5 second remaining in the extra period, when Daley struck from outside the perimeter.
Daley’s three point overtime winner with 0.5 second left in game 2.
Not to be outdone, the Kings came back strong in front of their home fans. They won game 3 100-91 and then game 4 124-99, with Jackson amassing 38 points and Malone 24.
With the series tied at 2-2, it came down to the number 1 seed’s home advantage for game 5. The Owls led for most of the game, but the Kings were always in contention. The game was ties seven times in the final period. Jackson scored 35 points and Malone had 25 points for the visitors. Daley and Seth Baker topped the Owls lineups with 25 and 21 points respectively.
Omar Jackson (left) and AJ Malone were stars for the Kings
This was one of the best series’ that fans in Eboria have gotten to behold in the homeland. The drama was tense and atmosphere electric throughout. Both teams will be expecting to be facing off again next season. But of course, there’s a lot of basketball to be played before then.
After a hard-fought series, the players still showed respect at the end.
NEW CHESTER KINGS 92 CHAKOTA TIGERS 87 NC Kings win series 3-2 vs Chakota Tigers
The New Chester Kings beat the Chakota Tigers to win their first PBA crown since the reign of Jackson King ended in 2008-09. The Kings were said to have been cursed to never win again following the failure to re-sign King for the 09-10 season. American import players Scott Jackson and A.J. Malone grabbed 24.2 & 21.2 PPG respectively for the series. The Tigers won the first two games in the series, before the Kings completed the comeback in game 5 to take the crown back.
The Kings came back from 2-0 down to take the series 3-2 in a wonderful display of fortitude.
NUSA | University Basketball Tournament Final Four
The semi-finals and Final of the NUSA National Championship Basketball Tournament took place this weekend, with the semi-finals of the men’s tournament on Saturday and the Final on Monday night (Women’s semi-finals Friday night and final on Sunday).
Semi-final 1: #7 Granada 88-85 #3 Eregonia
The Granada Bulldogs pulled off the upset as they beat the Eregonia Dragons in the first final-four game. It was a close encounter throughout, with the lead changing hands every 20-60 seconds it seemed. Jay Whitmore, who had been outstanding in the quarter-final, was again dominating the boards and racked up the points. The Granada Bulldogs would not let up, though. SG Kevin Ford nailed a hat-trick of threes and was on fire throughout.
Jay Whitmore and the Eregonia Dragons came up short in the first semi-final
The Dragons still entered the fourth quarter with a six-point lead, but the Bulldogs took control and led with seconds remaining from another Kevin Ford three-pointer. A game-tying three from Sammy Jones bounced around the rim and then off onto the floor. The Bulldogs had once again pulled off the shock and were in the final for the first time in 40 years.
Granada Bulldogs’ Kevin Ford nails another three-point shot.
Semi-final 2: #8 BSU 89-71 #4 New Chester
The second game was not so close. Eric Daley and the BSU Bosshogs dominated the game from the get-go. The Titans had only 9 points in the first quarter, the ‘Hogs had a big lead. Had the stature of the show got to the Titans? was it big-game nerves? We don’t know, as the Bosshogs really played outstanding basketball on both sides of the ball.
BSU rolled through the second-half, resting stars and still winning by 29 points, 89-61. The Titans did not look like the same team from a week ago, when they beat the Amorgan Irish. Funny game, basketball!
Titans’ players can’t believe they failed to turn up, whilst BSU celebrate getting to the final!
THE FINAL: #8 BSU 88-81 #7GRANADA
The Bosshogs downed the Bulldogs in a great contest at the National Arena in Landor, New London. This site, the perennial hosts of the competition has seen some fine basketball over the years. This was a worthy final, even if the game was not as close as some would have liked- the Dogs trailed by 11 points going into the final period. This was the first time that seeds #7 and #8 had met in the final four.
Bulldogs’ Kevin Ford goes for the hoop
Eric Daley scored 21 points, with Cartwright getting 15 and Reeves 14 for the ‘Hogs. Cartwright also got 11 rebounds and Hunter got nine.
Eric Daley hits another three in his national coming-out appearance!
The Bulldogs’ leaders were Kevin Ford (18 points) and Sean Miller (12). Joe Allen (11) and Zack Boyd (8) were the leading rebounders.
BSU won their fourth NUSA Men’s National Basketball championship, their first of this millennium. Will Eric Daley come back for his senior year and try to repeat? Or is he PBA (or a higher-level league) bound? We will find out over the next few months.
BSU are the 2020-21 NUSA Men’s Basketball Champions.
The Women’s final four concluded with the USG Saints defeating O’Connell 68-64 on Sunday, following O’Connell beating Clementine 69-60 and USG besting Ballymore 71-57 on Friday night.
Another great tournament from the NUSA, another great season of basketball on USN.
A weekend of brilliant University Basketball was experienced this weekend, with three big casualties caused by terrific defence and organisation of the opponents. For the first time in ten years, no representative from the state of Madison will be in the final four. Madison State (MDSU) lost to Bristol State University (BSU) in a rematch of last year’s final 83-75, with BSU’s Eric Daley topping the scoring with 21 points. Madison State were up after three quarters, 58-55.
The Madison Bulldogs lost to the Eregonia Dragons 74-71 in a mild shock. The Dragons, led by the excellent Jay Whitmore (and 28 points) out-hustled the Bulldogs in a close match-up. For three quarters, this was a game for fans of defensive basketball.
The other Bulldogs, from Granada (who normally excel in football or soccer), ousted the number two seeds USG, from Saint George.
In the #4 vs#5 matchup. The Titans from New Chester bested the Amorgan Irish in a close, defensive encounter, 68-64.
The Titans will play the BSU Bosshogs in the second semi-final this coming Saturday night. The Granada Bulldogs will take on the Eregonia Dragons beforehand.
Eregonia’s Jay Whitmore
This final four weekend is slightly unexpected, with the Madison schools making 13 appearances in the last nine final-four (State 7, Madison 6), not having one there is a weird feeling. It is great for the other schools to really showcase what they have. New names will come forward, outside of the Madison basketball factories.
The NUSA University Basketball tournament reaches the quarter-final stages in the so-called ‘great eight’ stage this weekend. Following the first two rounds, there were a few shock exits- Adelphia and Alberta, of the SAC went out in the first round, whilst usual big-guns O’Connell and Wichagon went out in the super sixteen phase.
G-12 champions Madison State have won the last two tournaments and are actully 18-0 in the last three seasons of post-season play. Madison State beat Madison in the 2019 final and Bristol State University (BSU) in last year’s final. They will play BSU in the final quarter-final tie, in what should be a cracking game.
The Granada Bulldogs have been a surprise this season, being runners-up in the SAC and getting to the last eight. They are aiming for their first final four appearance in 33 years! Standing in their way are the number two ranked USG Saints, who have six championships and 18 final four appearances to their name. It will be a tough task.
Elsewhere, The Eregonia Dragons vs Madison Bulldogs and New Chester Titans and the Amorgan Irish are expected matchups for this stage of the tournament. All four teams will be good fits for the final four weekend.
The BEC – Basketball Executive Committee re-seed the teams after the first two rounds, leaving the great eight/ final four schedule as follows:
Professional Basketball Association of Eboria | Expansion
As the new year (2020-21) begins, we officially have three new members in the league! All three were champions in the EPBL (Eborian Pro Basketball League) and have now stepped up a tier, to be playing at the top level in Eborian basketball. We’ll be interested to see how they fare, come October!
The New Guys
Oakland Owls
San Angelo Pirates
Victoria Lions
OAKLAND OWLS The Owls are a very down-to-earth team. They play good, solid basketball (read tough defence) and are always hard-to-beat. No deficit is out of reach for them. The fans are excitable, having only has the team for eight years, it is still quite a novelty in the Oakland area.
SAN ANGELO PIRATES Please don’t adjust your set, yes, they have the same name as the baseball team! San Angelo Sports, Inc. own both teams and field both under the Pirates banner and similar logo. The Pirates have a well-organised backroom and a decent talent level on the court. Not too much is known of their recruitment plans for 2020-21, so they may be a darkhorse for the playoffs.
VICTORIA LIONS The Victoria Lions won two of the last three EPBL championships. They are the most established of the three and will bring a championship feel to the city of Victoria. The Lions play a good zone defence and hit on the break well. Can be undone by outside shooters, which there are more of at the PBA level. It will be great to see how the adjust to the next level of play.
Rebrands
The league logo has had a re-do, as has there been rebrands for the Mayona Magic and Eregon Express. With the league also re-signing the kit deal with Nike, the future looks great for the league.
League Format
For the first time since 1984, the league will be a quad-round robin, with the top eight teams making the play offs. There will be no division or conference set ups. With the league returning to this format, it will give everyone a truly equal chance. It also ups the number of games played from 64 per team to 68. The total regular season games increases from 480 (15 teams x 32 home games) to 612 (18 teams x 34 home games).
The four Quarter-final series have been completed with an unusual bracket result appearing. With the number one and number four seeds falling, we have number 5 Carlton Dynamo against #8 Nashford Lakers. Carlton demolished the Hallas Heat 3-0 in a one-sided series- so much for #4 v #5 always being an even match-up. The Lakers beat out the top seeds, the Chakota Tigers in a thrilling game five, edging victorious 86 points to 84 at the buzzer.
The Lakers win on a buzzer beater!
In the second side of the bracket, it went true to form, but both winners had to come from behind to win in five games. The Aces edged out the Glendara Dragons 94-82, with a strong second half in the final game.
The Landor Lasers found the Mayona Magic a hard opponent to put away, until they managed a fierce final quarter in game 5, to win 82-72.
The Landor Lasers and Adelphia Aces will be a thrilling series to watch.
Professional Basketball Association | Season 2018-19
The Lasers’ home is packed for nights like this.
The Landor Lasers won an epic five game series over the Melboro Towers, to book their place against the Tigers in the finals of the Cornell Cup.
Kendall Lloyd hit a tie-breaking two pointer with 4.6 seconds left, whilst Towers’ Series MVP star Andre Gardener (on 36 points) missed the game winning three as time expired. Final Score Lasers 97, Towers 95.
The Chakota Tigers beat the Glendara Dragons in four games (3-1), so will be a little fresher for game one.
Professional Basketball Association (Eboria) | 2018-19 Play-offs
The Hallas Heat surprised everyone last summer by getting over their playoff hoodoo to take home the championship over the Lasers last summer. This ear, the team have struggled, especially down the stretch. It seems like someone else will be destined to take home the prize this season, so who will it be?
The Contenders in the EAST:
Adelphia Aces- The ACES are three point aficionados, making them the most trigger-happy from outside. If they get hot from the outside, they could go all the way.
Carlton Dynamo– The Dynamo are outsiders for this, they will struggle to make the top four in the east… but if they do, their defence is stingy!
Landor Lasers– Mo Williams & co will aim to get back to the Cornell Cup finals again this season. They have the talent, but will they seemingly bottle it once again?
Mayona Magic– With ten games remaining they will probably need to win all ten to sneak in. A tall order for the 2016-17 champions. Unlikely to feature.
Melboro Towers- The Towers are second in the East and looking from some home advantage. They should, as they are so much better in front of their fierce home fanbase.
New Chester Kings- The Kings need to break the curse- no conference finals since Jackson King retired. That’s eight years! Time for the no-names to step up and out of the King of Kings’ shadow.
Pottsburgh Power– The power are always tough to play against. Do they have the experience to pull off shocks?
The Contenders in the WEST:
Chakota Tigers– The Tigers are perhaps the best all-round team in the PBA. Do they go all the way? Their namesakes won the PFL Crystal Bowl in 2-18-19, so it would also set a record for teams with the same nicknames winning the PBA and PFL titles. One for the record books perhaps.
Eregon Express– The Express lead the West at the moment. They may need home-court advantage come the conference finals. High-octane offence, sometimes lackadaisical in defence,
Seafax Saints – The Saints have pushed the Heat into fourth place, with a flurry of victories.
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