Leicester Riders are ready for the final game of the Super League Basketball Championship season.
They look to secure second place with a win against Caledonia Gladiators at home.
Meanwhile this will be the final game of the season for their Scottish opponents, who are out of the playoff race at the bottom of the table.
Fixture information
Leicester Riders vs Caledonia Gladiators
Super League Basketball Championship
Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Sunday, April 26, 3 pm
Leicester Riders hope to secure second seed for playoffs
Leicester Riders, after winning in Newcastle on Friday, are 22-9 with one game to play in the Championship. That’s good for second currently, and a win in this one would lock up second place ahead of the SLB Playoffs in May.
They can fall to third with a Sheffield win and Riders loss, making this battle against the Gladiators pivotal for the postseason bracket.
Friday was a bounce back win for the Riders in an eventful evening in the North East. Newcastle ended the game with only four players on the court and no Head Coach on the sideline after three players exited through injury, two were fouled out, and Marc Steutel was ejected with two technical fouls.
Despite the drama, the Riders’ performance was top tier. They played without Zach Jackson, meaning Victor Ndoukou started in his place, and won 106-91 on the road. Spencer Johnson’s career-high 23 points and 8 rebounds led the team, backed by 23 points and 8 assists from Jaylin Hunter.Meanwhile Ndoukou impressed with a 10 point performance.
The Riders need only one more win to conclude a 6-1 finish to the year and enter the playoffs as one of the in-form outfits in British basketball.
Disappointing season in Scotland for Caledonia Gladiators
Caledonia Gladiators, 7-24 and ninth in the standings, come into this game on a four game slide to end the year.
They went winless through back-to-backs against Bristol Flyers and Sheffield Sharks to rule them out of playoff contention, the losing streak coming after Caledonia appeared to be finding form with a three game winning run.
Caledonia have played Sheffield tough in the past week over their two games, however. They lost the matchups by a combined seven points, falling by one score in their first matchup and four points in the second.
The Gladiators led by 10 points in the first quarter last time out, but couldn’t hang on for the win in the fourth in a game that could have secured second place a game early for Leicester.
Jonny Bunyan, the Gladiators’ midseason coaching hire, has turned Caledonia into an opponent not to be overlooked, despite the Glaswegians falling out of the playoff picture. And with the new found form of Devearl Ramsey, who put up 28 last time out against his former side, the Riders will need to be on good form to round off the Championship season with a win.
