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Post by Stephen Abootman on Nov 7, 2023 20:37:42 GMT
Valmiera are currently 3rd from bottom in the Estonian-Latvian league and have yet to win an ENBL game in what is now 14 attempts. Seems relatively safe to assume they're not very good. As much as it's nice to see BBL teams winning some games in Europe, as an achievement, this is probably no more significant than a win over say, Surrey Scorchers.
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Post by eagles18000 on Nov 7, 2023 20:45:34 GMT
probably about right albeit it gets a little more creditable with the 2am start from Newcastle on Monday morning. (drive to Leeds for 6am direct flight to Riga) after 3am return from Leicester er Sunday morning. But its what they signed up for.
I actually think there is a chance that these players (Bristol, Caledonia and Newcastle) are prioritising European competitions. After all
1. Its a shop window for them
2. The BBL schedule is monotonous with not that much to play for
3. They can actually see tangible success which isn't in the distant future (be it qf, semi finals etc)
When you look at it like that I dont think I would blame them.
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Post by erj14 on Nov 7, 2023 21:11:07 GMT
probably about right albeit it gets a little more creditable with the 2am start from Newcastle on Monday morning. (drive to Leeds for 6am direct flight to Riga) after 3am return from Leicester er Sunday morning. But its what they signed up for. I actually think there is a chance that these players (Bristol, Caledonia and Newcastle) are prioritising European competitions. After all 1. Its a shop window for them 2. The BBL schedule is monotonous with not that much to play for 3. They can actually see tangible success which isn't in the distant future (be it qf, semi finals etc) When you look at it like that I dont think I would blame them. Can't disagree with any of that. Frustrating that the Bristol lads don't seem to be taking that view. I suppose avoiding 8th is the priority in the league to avoid London in the first round of the playoffs. If that is their view I can't help but think they're playing with fire a bit. Eagles are already in danger of losing touch with 2-6 placed teams. |
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Post by eagles18000 on Nov 7, 2023 21:37:00 GMT
Virtually half of eagles remaining league games (12 out of 26) are against manchester, surrey and plymouth.
If they win the games they are meant to then they will be right back in the middle of the pack.
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Post by dexter on Nov 7, 2023 21:41:45 GMT
It's clear the opposition this evening aren't very good, but I thought Eagles were quite good. It's good to sometimes play against a weaker team to get your confidence up and enjoy yourself. There aren't any easy games in the BBL.
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Post by erj14 on Nov 7, 2023 22:54:00 GMT
Virtually half of eagles remaining league games (12 out of 26) are against manchester, surrey and plymouth. If they win the games they are meant to then they will be right back in the middle of the pack. That's a big if. This weekend looks tough, I'd imagine they'll get home tomorrow, one day of practice then play on Friday. Then a tough trip down to Plymouth on Sunday. Going to be some tired bodies come Sunday night! Sure it's then Pats at home next Friday then up to East Kilbride for a back to back. Not sure which joker decided two Pats games in a row was a good idea. |
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Post by eagles18000 on Nov 8, 2023 8:44:30 GMT
the same one that decided it would be a good idea for them to
play surrey two games in a row in a couple of weeks time.
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Post by spacejammer on Nov 8, 2023 21:50:01 GMT
Just watched the Eagles game now and after a shakey start it was a great win for the Eagles in the end especially on the road.
And I don’t care what level of Europe this is a win is still a win.
If what the above is true and the other Euro teams are prioritising Europe over the BBL then I honestly cannot blame them.
Let's be fair we have all pretty much said London are running away with the league and playoffs unless they decide for some strange reason they don't want it.
We might as well focus more on something that is winnable in that case until 777 are kicked out the league or walk away.
One thing I did wonder though is if this team is good in one off games then maybe come the Trophy we might have a better chance of beating London if it just so happens to be an off day for them.
However I hope now in the next few games being Manchester, Plymouth and Surrey we can finally start accumulating some more wins.
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Post by voise on Nov 21, 2023 22:47:15 GMT
Big bounce back win for the Flyers coming after a tough stretch of BBL results. CJ Jackson looked like he made an impact.
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Post by spacejammer on Nov 21, 2023 23:43:58 GMT
Big bounce back win for the Flyers coming after a tough stretch of BBL results. CJ Jackson looked like he made an impact. Well done Bristol glad to see they got the W. It would be ironic if both the Eagles and Flyers made it to the playoffs in this and then got put against each other. I know it's a bit early to say that at this stage but if they both keep winning then I have a feeling they could make the post season. |
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Post by spacejammer on Jan 23, 2024 18:06:15 GMT
Well tonights the tonight the Eagles take on Standard Liege from Belgium in the ENBL North Group B who are currently 7th in the Belgium leagues.
They are also currently 3rd in the group on 4 wins and 1 loss.
All I can say is this is looks like its going to be a tough one.
And funnily enough I don't think I have seen us face a team that also sounds like a banking institution.
Go Eagles! 🏀 🦅
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Post by cosbyrider on Jan 23, 2024 20:19:02 GMT
Interested to see how they cope. I went to Feyenoord Basketball in November and I thought the standard was possibly worst than BBL, if not equal.
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Post by spacejammer on Jan 23, 2024 22:28:43 GMT
Interested to see how they cope. I went to Feyenoord Basketball in November and I thought the standard was possibly worst than BBL, if not equal. Well, the only word I could say to describe that game was "Brilliant". Given how we were also missing Larry Austin now and playing with 5 pro's and a team of academy rookies I have no idea how on earth we won that! Whilst I wouldn't say Liege were as bad as Manchester Giants. I think if they had gone up against the likes of Riders, Caledonia, Cheshire or a even fully fit Eagles team. Then I reckon we they would have been absolutely buried as they were woeful. Before the game when I read the programme on this team I honestly thought we were on a hiding for nothing. However after 2 minutes of play I was suprised at how they fumbled the ball multiple times. They lacked discipline picking up silly technical fouls and allowed us to play circles round them at times. As for us we did well to avoid foul trouble and the new kids that played for us were fantastic much needed reinforcements especially number 32 Justin Hopkins. That guy absolutely played his socks off and played really well for us. I was jokingly saying during the game we should have signed him over Scott Spencer. As I think he played more minutes in 1 game then Spencer has all season and was actually quite effective. And cheaper as well. While they might not necessarily be superstar signings to see us atleast try to add some depth even with academy players was definately a much needed move in order to avoid any further casualties to an already shorthanded team. Looks like this win has put us on 5th with 2 games left in the ENBL meaning we need atleast 1 more if we want to qualify for the playoffs with our next match away next week against KkK Kelia and then final rescheduled home game on the 12th Feb against Zielona. However for now I'm going to enjoy this victory until next week. 🥳🏀🦅 |
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Post by cosbyrider on Jan 23, 2024 22:53:28 GMT
Yeah I think we do BBL a dis service if there was actual proper fourth tier type European competition we’d compete well against the Benelux clubs, Austrian, Scandinavians, and some of the less established Central Europe leagues
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Post by spacejammer on Jan 23, 2024 23:02:51 GMT
Yeah I think we do BBL a dis service if there was actual proper fourth tier type European competition we’d compete well against the Benelux clubs, Austrian, Scandinavians, and some of the less established Central Europe leagues I disagree, at the end of the day for the BBL just getting the chance to play on a European Stage is great news. Whilst we don't have the ridiculous amount of money Lions have and taking on the Euro Cup. I do think a competition like this is a great stepping stone for the BBL and clubs involved to get some piece of the European action at a more affordable rate. And I'm sure the teams from other basketball countries will agree as well. Plus given we have just announced a partnership with Newcastle Airport I hope we continue to consider playing in this league again in future seasons as well. Or even some kind of one off open European tournament if that was to come out. So long as we don't end up going bust in the process I can't see this being a bad thing. |
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Post by dexter on Jan 23, 2024 23:16:16 GMT
Justin Hopkins definitely made a difference. Especially in defence. He was good defensively doing the defensive guard role. Somewhat similar to JWH's role. Could Eagles keep him for the rest of the season? How does that work?
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Post by dandayr on Jan 23, 2024 23:29:33 GMT
Interested to see how they cope. I went to Feyenoord Basketball in November and I thought the standard was possibly worst than BBL, if not equal. Well, the only word I could say to describe that game was "Brilliant". Given how we were also missing Larry Austin now and playing with 5 pro's and a team of academy rookies I have no idea how on earth we won that! Whilst I wouldn't say Liege were as bad as Manchester Giants. I think if they had gone up against the likes of Riders, Caledonia, Cheshire or a even fully fit Eagles team. Then I reckon we they would have been absolutely buried as they were woeful. Before the game when I read the programme on this team I honestly thought we were on a hiding for nothing. However after 2 minutes of play I was suprised at how they fumbled the ball multiple times. They lacked discipline picking up silly technical fouls and allowed us to play circles round them at times. As for us we did well to avoid foul trouble and the new kids that played for us were fantastic much needed reinforcements especially number 32 Justin Hopkins. That guy absolutely played his socks off and played really well for us. I was jokingly saying during the game we should have signed him over Scott Spencer. As I think he played more minutes in 1 game then Spencer has all season and was actually quite effective. And cheaper as well. While they might not necessarily be superstar signings to see us atleast try to add some depth even with academy players was definately a much needed move in order to avoid any further casualties to an already shorthanded team. Looks like this win has put us on 5th with 2 games left in the ENBL meaning we need atleast 1 more if we want to qualify for the playoffs with our next match away next week against KkK Kelia and then final rescheduled home game on the 12th Feb against Zielona. However for now I'm going to enjoy this victory until next week. 🥳🏀🦅 The advantage of watching live from home was we had commentators who told us who the extra players were (and could look at their stats online) - would not say 5 pros and academy rookies Hopkins is an american who played at TSU and prob best described as a rookie import - looks like doing well in NBL D1 from his stats. and what the commentators were saying. He certainly put in a shift tonight - I assumed he is one of the players who help out as needed with numbers for the BBL squad training sessions. Back to the game - great result by Eagles. Used their strengths and didn't let the visitors exploit their weaknesses. |
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Post by D44 on Jan 24, 2024 10:15:34 GMT
Justin Hopkins definitely made a difference. Especially in defence. He was good defensively doing the defensive guard role. Somewhat similar to JWH's role. Could Eagles keep him for the rest of the season? How does that work? As he's over 23 we'd need to deregister Spencer (no big deal, he's hardly played) and formally transfer him. He can't play both BBL and NBL at the same time. Assume that's why he could play last night but hasn't been seen in the BBL despite being a standout in NBL this year. I assume (could be wrong) this is the reason we haven't seen Josh Moore on the BBL bench this season as he's 24 this year. Otherwise well done Eagles for a great win, Leige were a big team but couldn't cope with the speed, guile and outside shooting of the two guards. |
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Post by LTfan on Jan 24, 2024 11:00:24 GMT
Yeah I think we do BBL a dis service if there was actual proper fourth tier type European competition we’d compete well against the Benelux clubs, Austrian, Scandinavians, and some of the less established Central Europe leagues I agree. Too often 'European Basketball' is regarded as superior to the British Basketball League, but it's not that black and white. Yes, there are some European leagues that are of a much higher standard than the BBL, but there are also some that are equal to and worse than. But I don't get what you're saying about if there was a proper fourth tier European competition -there is, it's the FIBA Europe Cup (behind Euroleague, Euro Cup and the FIBA Basketball Champions League), which I think about a third of the BBL teams could be competitive in if they entered. |
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Post by dexter on Jan 24, 2024 12:14:14 GMT
Justin Hopkins definitely made a difference. Especially in defence. He was good defensively doing the defensive guard role. Somewhat similar to JWH's role. Could Eagles keep him for the rest of the season? How does that work? As he's over 23 we'd need to deregister Spencer (no big deal, he's hardly played) and formally transfer him. He can't play both BBL and NBL at the same time. Assume that's why he could play last night but hasn't been seen in the BBL despite being a standout in NBL this year. I assume (could be wrong) this is the reason we haven't seen Josh Moore on the BBL bench this season as he's 24 this year. Otherwise well done Eagles for a great win, Leige were a big team but couldn't cope with the speed, guile and outside shooting of the two guards. Hopefully Eagles are considering doing that. The way Eagles play is so fast, even for BBL. The players are running up and down. Eagles have very good attacking guards and a small squad. These players put in a lot of work. I think it really helps them to have a player like Justin Hopkins or Josh Ward-Hibbert who can really focus on defense and slow the other team down. |
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