LONDON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- London Lions won the inaugural British Basketball All-Stars Championship, beating Newcastle Eagles 26-25 in the final here on Sunday.
The London outfit were 26-20 up entering the final minute before Jaysean Paige landed a huge five pointer with 20 seconds remaining to give Eagles hope. However, Lions ran down the clock to spark jubilant scenes at the final whistle.
Justin Robinson landed the MVP award, and said the title and 25,000 pound winners' cheque felt like destiny for the team playing in their home city.
"We are happy and I felt like we were meant to win this," said Robinson, who has signed for Lions ahead of the 2017/18 season.
Lions saw off Bristol Flyers 18-16 in their semifinal, despite Flyers' frantic last-ditch efforts to find the winning points. Eagles then squeezed through 27-26 over Leicester Riders, taking the lead in the dying seconds thanks to Terry Martin.
Eagles had earlier lost their opening group match 41-22 to Flyers, but won through the double elimination stage with success over Glasgow Rocks and Sheffield Sharks. Lions took a direct route to the last four, beating Rocks and then Flyers for their semifinal spot.
The British Basketball All-Stars Championship introduced some new innovations as the top eight BBL teams compete for a record-breaking 100,000 pound prize fund. Matches were just 12 minutes long with a 20-second shot clock while an all-Star 5-point line offered rewards for those willing to brave a shot from distance. Teams will also had a two-minute Power Play at their disposal, during which any points were doubled.
