Newcastle Eagles Playoff pre semi-final report

Photo credit: Linda Marshall

Last meeting:

The last time we met Newcastle Eagles was at the University arena for the head-to-head decider in the league. The Wolves won the game by a massive 126-97 with Trey Zeigler scoring 37 points!

Wolves also beat Eagles 112-103 away, but lost 67-87 at home during the start of the season. As it’s the playoffs the game could go either way, but of course the Wolves will be hoping for another big win to secure their place in the final.

Ones to watch:

It was forward Darius Defoe who exploded on court in the second leg of the playoff quarterfinal game against Bristol flyers and helped Eagles book their spot in the semis. Defoe got 26 points and 10 rebounds before leaving court with an ankle injury. If Defoe is fit to play, he could cause Mo Walker and Navajas some real problems under the basket.

Newcastle Eagles also have second leading point scorer in the league Rahmon fletcher at their disposal. Fletcher averaged 20.6 points per game this season and scored a massive 31 points in the first leg BBL Playoff quarterfinal game. He is a player who can heat up in a hurry and Wolves will have to work hard to keep him quiet.

Deondre Parks is another tricky player and you cannot discount veteran Fab Flournoy, who scored an important basket in the dying minutes of the game against Bristol on Sunday. It is definitely going to be a match up you won’t want to miss.

What the players think:

Here is what Captain Marek Klassen had to say..

“We can go to the Final. The rest of the teams left, we have beaten all of them and got the head-to-head on all of them, so we’re not scared of anyone.”