Leicester Riders and London Lions are set to engage in a top of the table showdown in the capital tomorrow.
The 9-3 Riders, who snatched the top spot in the Championship on Friday, will take the floor of the Copper Box Arena to defend their pedestal in first position against the 9-4 London Lions.
Leicester are undefeated against the reigning British basketball champions in three games so far this season, but face the tallest task so far in this fixture.
Meanwhile London looks to bounce back from two straight defeats in order to get their season back on the rails.
Here’s all you need to know about this heavyweight clash…
Fixture information
London Lions vs Leicester Riders
Super League Basketball Championship
Copper Box Arena, London
4 pm
Table topping Riders
An 84-75 home win against Caledonia Gladiators saw the Riders go seven straight home games undefeated, and top of the table for the first time this season.
After Gladiators’ guards Patrick Whelan and Teddy Okereafor made tough shots throughout the first half, Leicester’s league leading defence locked in to hold Caledonia to 10 points in the third quarter and get out to a lead.
Charles Thompson’s defensive dominance continued with 3 blocks in the game, and Australian sharpshooter Riley Abercrombie won Player of the Game for the second straight game with a season-high 27 points.
Abercrombie’s shooting has been the difference in Leicester’s last two games. But like Thompson, his shot swatting has been equally impressive as the team continues to make its name as an intimidating interior presence.
Leicester head to the Copper Box having won eight of their last nine in the League- but only three of those games were away from home. They’ll look to carry their home form to London to take advantage of a London side which has been struggling for offensive output in their last two appearances.
Lions in need of bounce back game
London, who crashed out of the Cup last week to the Surrey 89ers in the Quarter-Final, lost their status as the league leaders by losing to Newcastle Eagles in the North East 74-67. It was a closely contested battle from wire-to-wire against a formidable opponent on the road, but cold deep shooting saw them go 3-17 from deep in the low-scoring affair.
Sean Flood hit all three off the bench, leading London with 14 points. Their leading scorer on the season, Aaryn Rai, hit big buckets late to keep it a game, but the Trophy Finalists got over the line against the Lions.
London’s defence kept them in the tie while in the midst of a tough shooting performance. Like Leicester, they’ve leaned on their defence all season to rank third in points allowed per game. Their big man pairing of Jaiden Delaire and Alen Hadzibegovic have been huge contributors to this, combining for 2.9 blocks per outing.
But offensively, they’ll need the shooters touch at home which went missing on the road last time out should they want to score on the best defence in Super League Basketball.
Previous meetings
These sides, who shared a Trophy group at the start of the season, have met three times so far with the Riders coming away with a win on each occasion.
The first meeting was in London, and Leicester dominated with an 89-66 win led by Jaylin Hunter’s 21.
The second game was a dead rubber at the end of the group, with neither side playing for anything tangible. But Leicester won to go undefeated through the group phase, this time Zach Jackson led the team with 16 in a 76-62 win.
The most recent meeting was the Riders’ last outing of 2024, and the sides battled out a nail-biter in Leicester. Abercrombie’s late three from the top was the dagger in an 84-75 win, which saw Ethan Wright go off for 21 off the bench.
Where to watch
The game will be streamed live on DAZN, starting at 3:50 pm.
