Caldeonia Gladiators seal dramatic BBL Trophy win | Mikiah Herbert Harrigan stars for London Lions in WBBL Trophy
David Sloan was the hero as Caledonia Gladiators secured their first silverware for 20 years with a 73-70 win over holders Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Trophy final; Mikiah Herbert Harrigan scored a record 33 points as London Lions secured more WBBL Trophy glory in Glasgow
Last Updated: 26/03/23 8:21pm
David Sloan's buzzer-beating three-pointer saw Caledonia Gladiators seal a dramatic BBL Trophy final triumph with a 73-70 win over holders Cheshire Phoenix.
The teams were deadlocked as a see-saw final headed into the dying second, but with overtime looming, Sloan cut inside and found a team-mate with a pass before taking up a position in the corner from where he sank the winning shot.
That secured the Gladiators' first silverware since they won the BBL Playoffs as the Scottish Rocks 20 years ago, and their match-winner knew as soon as he launched that shot the trophy was theirs.
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"When it left my hand, I knew it was going in," Sloan said. "We stuck together as a team, and I felt like we deserved the win.
"It feels amazing - words can't explain how I feel right now, but it feels amazing to be a champion."
Jeremiah Bailey was named MVP after he led the way for Caledonia with 16 points and eight rebounds. Fahro Alihodzic and Aljami Durham each added 12 points too.
Larry Austin Jr, Marcus Evans and Tahjai Teague had 12 points each for Cheshire, with Austin Jr pulling down 10 rebounds too, but the Trophy holders ended up being edged out in agonising fashion.
The Phoenix held a slender 19-18 lead after the first quarter and were just two points clear at halftime, but the Gladiators turned that around to hold a 57-56 edge going into the final quarter.
Cheshire were out to a 69-65 lead with 2min 22sec to go on the back of Will Neighbour's three-pointer. However, the Gladiators fought their way back before winning in improbable circumstances, sending their fans at Glasgow's Emirates Arena wild.
"You could see throughout the game the fans were with us the whole time and they're part of the reason we came away with the win," Sloan said.
"When we got down, they got louder and they held us together at the end of the day."
Record-breaker Herbert Harrigan helps Lions to glory
Earlier in the day, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan's 33-point haul had helped London Lions secure a third straight WBBL Trophy triumph with an 81-70 win over Leicester Riders.
The teams had met in the WBBL Cup final back in January and once again it was the Lions who came out on top to keep hold of the Trophy for the third year in a row.
Herbert Harrigan led the way for the Lions with her point-scoring, along with coming up with seven rebounds and one assist, but the final MVP was quick to praise her fellow Lions.
"Shout out to my team-mates," Herbert-Harrigan said. "Everybody contributes and everybody can step up when needed.
"I got the ball in good positions today and the ball was dropping. I'm proud of my team."
Forward Herbert Harrigan was backed up by 18 points from Holly Winterburn and 10 from Shanice Beckford-Norton. Ashley Arlen (22 points, 14 rebounds) helped ensure the Riders kept in the contest, with Hannah Robb (17 points) and Fiona O'Dwyer (13 points, 10 rebounds) contributing too.
The Lions set their stall out in the first quarter to establish a 22-12 lead, but had that lead trimmed to four by halftime as the Riders out-scored them in the second period to trail 40-36 at the break.
London seized the initiative again in the third quarter to open up a 10-point lead and although the fourth was much closer fought, Leicester were unable to overhaul the deficit.
"We are disappointed with the loss - London are an amazing team," Riders guard Robb said. "However, we can be proud of the performance we put in and we have nothing to be ashamed of."
