UBB: BSU win the big one! HOGS V DOGS FINALE

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.

UBB: BOTH MADISON TEAMS EXIT! FINALFOUR SET

NUSA | University Basketball Tournament

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 final is on Monday night.

PBA expands to 18 teams!

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

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  Oakland Owls

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  San Angelo Pirates

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  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).