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Post by dandayr on Apr 3, 2024 19:55:13 GMT
Was getting nervous and worried the final 2min was going to take for ever - but fortunately it ended just in time to let me switch over to the start of the City game and miss just a few seconds of the football.  So glad I stuck with this first half of the final and didn't give up when Lions trailed by 18pts and looked so out of sorts. They got their rhythm going with a couple of big plays, some great d and suddenly it was a 2 basket game. Besiktas managed to stretch it again but Lions battled back and leave the final at the halfway point in a very delicately balanced 7pt lead for Besiktas. Looking forward to watching the 2nd leg next Wednesday. Surprised how little depth there was in the home side - played with just a 6 player rotation - and 3 of them played the full 40min!! Good luck Lions in turning this round next week and no matter what happens next for each of the squad if they all leave the court next week knowing they have put in their top game for 4 periods, could be a special night for them all. |
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Post by docker on Apr 3, 2024 20:44:55 GMT
Good to see them fight back and put themselves in a good place for the return leg in London. Looks like that was one intimidating environment with 3k+ fans in Istanbul. Great to see this update on the BBC sports page as well: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/basketball/68726524. Time to make some more history in Stratford next week! |
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Post by dexter on Apr 4, 2024 12:25:04 GMT
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Post by docker on Apr 5, 2024 11:50:59 GMT
Another good article here: www.reuters.com/sports/basketball/britains-lions-eye-history-euro-future-uncertain-2024-03-30 . It even includes an official statement from 777 on their future plans for the Lions women's team: "The American backers have announced they have undertaken a strategic review and will focus on domestic competition and the academy rather than continental competition for 2024-25. "We fully intend to resume participation internationally and look forward to doing so as a self-sustained, elite women's basketball programme," 777 said in a statement. "We are wholeheartedly committed to this long-term objective, recognising that achieving this goal effectively will require time and strategic development." |
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Post by D44 on Apr 5, 2024 12:07:35 GMT
The budget required to support a professional women's team will never be self sustaining, so that's a none starter.
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Post by dexter on Apr 5, 2024 14:32:01 GMT
Can't argue with that.
Women's basketball in Britain is a tiny minor sport.
The WBBL is mostly a university league, in a minor sport.
London Lions is a big budget professional team.
If Britain is ever going to have sustainable professional women's basketball teams the sport and the women's game need to develop a lot.
It's not all bad news though. This season must have made an impact, and the ASG showed that there is plenty of talent across the league. It's just spread a bit thin.
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Post by LTfan on Apr 10, 2024 8:13:17 GMT
Just a reminder that the second, and final game, of the Women's EuroCup is tonight at the Copper Box Arena.
After a difficult first game London go into this with a 7 point deficit to overturn. Do it, and they'll be the first British basketball team in history to win a European competition. It'll be difficult, but it's do-able.
Anyone else going or watching history potentially be made tonight?
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Post by dexter on Apr 10, 2024 15:22:41 GMT
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Post by LTfan on Apr 10, 2024 18:52:13 GMT
London up by 10, 3 overall on aggregate at HT.
A much better start by London this time round. If they can stop giving away so many turnovers they’ve got a real chance here.
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Post by eillo23 on Apr 10, 2024 20:04:14 GMT
Wow wow wow. I have no words. What a performance. What a game. What an advert for Women’s Basketball.
I have watched alot of games the last two weeks and the ones I have enjoyed most have been the Eurocup Final and the NCAA Women’s Final Fours.
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Post by dexter on Apr 10, 2024 20:06:46 GMT
Incredible achievement. This has to be the greatest achievement in the history of British basketball.
Also, it looked really fun there at the Copper Box.
I'm really happy for these ladies. They had one shot at achieving this and they did it.
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Post by LTfan on Apr 10, 2024 20:24:19 GMT
Amazing. We can live in hope, but we may have just witnessed something we’ll never see again - a British basketball team just won a European competition. Incredible.
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Post by dexter on Apr 10, 2024 21:21:13 GMT
Amazing. We can live in hope, but we may have just witnessed something we’ll never see again - a British basketball team just won a European competition. Incredible. It's tempting to feel sad that this will never happen again, especially for the women, but we need to remember no one though it would happen ever anyway. For then men I still have hope. I watched Bakken Bears win ENBL. British teams can work towards that. It's a realistic goal. |
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Post by dandayr on Apr 10, 2024 23:37:26 GMT
Fantastic result for Lions Women - over the 2 games were the better team and deserve the reward of being 2024 Euro Cup winners
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Post by SamH on Apr 11, 2024 1:24:26 GMT
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Post by baldeagle on Apr 11, 2024 6:23:00 GMT
A remarkable achievement by the coach and players.
Just a shame that it’s been economically unsustainable and that the ownership commmunicated that decision in the way they did.
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Post by ScottishBasketballFan on Apr 11, 2024 7:18:26 GMT
If there was no 777 in the mix then this wouldn't have been possible, yes at the end of the day it's the players on the court who put in the work but let us not lose sight of the fact that money is the major factor in their success.
I mean congratulations and all that but please forgive me for not being as into the artificial success.
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Post by johnjack on Apr 11, 2024 8:02:48 GMT
If there was no 777 in the mix then this wouldn't have been possible, yes at the end of the day it's the players on the court who put in the work but let us not lose sight of the fact that money is the major factor in their success. I mean congratulations and all that but please forgive me for not being as into the artificial success. Isn’t all professional sport 99% about money these days. I doubt you will ever get a Celtic winning the European Cup with a team who all grew up within a few miles of the stadium like they did. Well done to the girls however, just a shame they will all be disbanded at the end of the year and won’t be able to defend their title |
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Post by LTfan on Apr 11, 2024 9:21:16 GMT
If there was no 777 in the mix then this wouldn't have been possible, yes at the end of the day it's the players on the court who put in the work but let us not lose sight of the fact that money is the major factor in their success. I mean congratulations and all that but please forgive me for not being as into the artificial success. As has been said, isn't almost all success in sport due to the money behind it? Of course we're celebrating the success of those on court here, but what we're also celebrating is the success of the entire organisation - and the fact that someone decided there was value in investing millions of pounds in British basketball to make such an achievement possible. Where those investors the right people to do so? Were they correct in thinking there was value in doing so? That's a different discussion... All we can hope right now is that all the good, e.g. the publicity, this EuroCup success (both women's and men's) has done is beneficial to British basketball one way or another in the longer term. |
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Post by SamH on Apr 11, 2024 9:22:16 GMT
Is it down to money though? Do we know what sort of budgets the other teams were working with? I'd agree in terms of the domestic leagues but on the international stage the money from 777 has simply made it more of a level playing field hasn't it?
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