Sunday December 29th
BBL Trophy

Milton Keynes Lions 88 (28, 44, 65)
(Jamison 23, Burns 22, Rivers 19)

London Towers 81 (22, 37, 56)
(Greer 26, Blalock 18, Brown 17)

The stage had always been set for this game. The Towers came into this game at Bletchley knowing that a defeat by less than 11 points would give them a semi final berth against the Brighton Bears and although they were beaten here tonight, they were ultimately the winners.

Lions started off like a greyhound from the traps being 6 - 0 before the Towers could so much as say ‘defence’, let alone play it! Joel Burns was the main problem with 4 treys in the first period alone. They did eventually get going, Ricky Greer contributing 6 of their opening 8 points, the other two coming from Omar Sneed.

Towers managed to keep the lead inside 11 for 90% of the first period, the times it did get above the magical 11 point figure the Towers were quick to pull it back inside. By the time the first 10 minutes had expired, they had the lead back at 6 points with a 28 - 22 deficit.

The second period was all Milton Keynes at the start; a 14 - 2 run gave them a lead of 42 – 28 and had the Towers looking decidedly worried at this point, knowing that if the lead remained like this then they would have blown the chance of a semi final spot. They did manage to launch another fight back through Ralph Blalock and Rod Brown, allowing them to get the deficit back to 44 - 37 at half time off the back of a 9 - 2 run into the half. The referees provided much entertainment calling 2 successive charges on the Lions.

The third period was all one-way traffic again as the Lions continued to march on towards what looked like certain qualification for the semis, taking leads that always seemed to be too much for the Towers to claw back especially when the lead reached 10 at 66 –5 6 when the buzzer sounded to end period three.

The fourth period started with the Lions scoring the first four points of the quarter, taking their lead out to 14 points at 70 - 64. Two more successive charges, one on either side, seemed to upset the flow of the game. Then the Towers made their big run. They went 14 - 10 over the next 6 minutes, trimming the gap to 10 points, leaving them with one point to play with at that point. Then cometh the hour, cometh the men - Ricky Greer and Ralph Blalock both sinking dagger 3 pointers bringing them into just a 7 point deficit. A Nigel Lloyd time out allowed the Towers to use up their fourth and final foul. This was followed by a Robbie Peers time out, probably to work out a play that would put the Towers through. Off the MK inbound John O’Connell put up a 3 pointer, which missed, but the rebound came back to Joel Burns who also stuck one up, which also missed, the rebound falling to Robert Youngblood who ran down the final 1.3 seconds to take the Towers through.

In truth this was a game that the Towers never deserved to be winning, maybe the knowledge of their 10 point advantage causing a negative mindset to creep in which allowed MK to get closer than they should have been.

The Towers MVP was probably a three way tie between Ricky Greer who lead the scoring with 26, which really got the Towers home, Ralph Blalock who in the fourth quarter showed signs of the brilliance the league knows he has and Rod Brown who really stepped up in the fourth period.

Towers now go to a semi final clash with the Brighton Bears at Ponds Forge in Sheffield on 7th February. No doubt they will want to make amends for their defeat to the Bears on Saturday night.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

Saturday December 20th
BBL Championship

London Towers 93 (18, 38, 59)
(Greer 22, Brown 19, Blalock 17)

Scottish Phoenix Honda Record Rocks 79 (13, 34, 51)
(Williams 27, Kruse / Perre 14)

London Towers took on the Scottish Rocks at Crystal Palace NSC tonight, winning an exciting game by 14 points.

There were no Robert Youngblood or Tony Kitt in the starting five for Towers tonight, with Emiko Etete and Ralph Blalock taking their places, though Robert did participate later in the quarter. Rocks won the tip, but Towers got the first 4 points through Emiko Etete. However, two straight threes from the Rocks got the Scottish team ahead, but Towers were back in the lead with just over two minutes left in the quarter. Robert Youngblood scored the last points of the quarter with a one handed dunk, putting the Towers up by 5.

A big three from Omar Sneed got Towers off to a good start to the second quarter. Things stayed very close for a while, but after a 10 - 2 run, Towers had opened up a 9 point gap. At the end of the half, the Rocks had cut the gap to four.

Towers won the tip and started the second half just like the first, scoring the first 4 points. A three from Ralph Blalock and a technical against Perre helped Towers keep the advantage, then two threes from Rod Brown and another from Ralph Blalock pushed Towers ahead by 12. By the end of the quarter, it was Towers by 8.

Before any points were scored in the fourth, Rocks coach Steve Swanson picked up a technical, giving Towers the first points of the quarter. A 12 - 3 run from Towers including two threes from Ricardo Greer put the Towers up by 15. Emiko Etete fouled out with 2.15 left on the clock and Towers still leading by 15, to be replaced by young Daniel Sesu. Towers held on to win by 14. Top scorer for Towers was Ricardo Greer with 22 points but the game high scorer was the Rock's Jerry Williams.

Report by Phil Redman

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Sunday December 14th
BBL Championship

Westfield Sharks Sheffield 95 (28, 49, 63)
(Stewart 31, Phoenix 17, Reinking 14)

London Towers 82 (20, 49, 62)
(Sneed/Etete 18, Greer 16)

The London Towers came out second best today at Ponds Forge ISC against a Sheffield side who had beaten them twice already this season including the semi final of the BBL cup. This however, was a crucial league game that the Towers needed to win to keep themselves in the fight for a higher league seeding at play off time.

Towers came into the game minus Daniel Sesu who had not made the trip to the steel city with the team. However, apart from Sesu, all the Towers suited up.

Towers lost the tip at the start of the quarter but managed the first 2 of the game. HL Coleman immediately answered this with a 3 pointer to give the Sharks their first lead of the game. The score got to 5 - 4 in Sheffield’s favour before one of the real turning points of the game occurred when Tony Kitt went up to try to block Justin Phoenix. Kitt was caught and went down hard writhing on the floor. He was immediately taken to the locker room and later to hospital. Eventually Sheffield took the quarter by the scruff of the neck and went on a 10 - 0 run to take the lead out past 10 to 15 - 4 including 4 off a Robert Youngblood foul. Sharks just continued to go forwards. However, the Towers did get the lead back to under 10 at 28 - 20 at the end of the first ten minutes.

The Second quarter was where the game came alive. Towers started to go on a real push throughout. A massive 10 - 0 run bought them within 2 and they started to really sense there was a chance that they could get a result. At 47 - 43 the Towers went on another run of 6 straight points that gave them their first lead of the ball game at 47 - 49. Sharks did tie the game at 49 through Lynard Stewart allowing Towers one final offence at the end of the half. However, no one told Omar Sneed how long was left on the game clock and he failed to get a shot off in time, meaning that the Towers would go in all square at 49 all.

The third quarter was a really tight affair where both teams never really got the game by the scruff of the neck as leads never got above 5 points as players tried to take one another out of the game on offence. Towers did lead briefly during the period, but Sheffield fought back again and managed to take the lead at the end of the third by a solitary point at 63 - 62.

The fourth quarter was where it all fell apart for the men from the capital city. Towers were in it until two straight possessions really destroyed their resistance. Lynard Stewart nailed a 3 with the shot clock on just 2 and then Rob Yanders nailed a 2 as the buzzer on the shot clock went off leaving Robbie Peers with his head in his hands trying to work out what had happened with the score at 74 - 67 to the Sharks. This was really game set and match for the Sharks, who continued to pull further and further away until the buzzer when the scoreboard read Sheffield 95 London 82.

In theory the Towers did extremely well to keep with Sheffield after losing their leading rebounder after 2 minutes and they should be proud of their efforts to lose by only 13 when really they could have won the game.

Towers MVP was the outstanding Emiko Etete who made shot after shot on his way to a season high score of 18 points, a feat matched by Omar Sneed who also pulled in 16 boards.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Saturday November 29th
BBL Cup Semi-Final

London Towers 81 (16, 42, 59)
(Sneed 20, Youngblood 18, Greer 17)

Sheffield Sharks 90 (21, 48, 66)
(Coleman/Reinking 20, Phoenix/Stewart/Windle 13)

An injury weakened London Towers failed to book their place in the BBL Cup Final in a tense battle at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre this afternoon. Sharks won the tip and scored first with two free throws but Tony Kitt responded for Towers with a fabulous dunk. Sharks took an early lead getting ahead by 6 points, but Towers levelled at 12 points each. However, Sheffield pulled away again, and at the end of the first quarter, Towers were trailing by 5.

Sharks came out strong for the second quarter, two straight threes helping them build up an 11 point lead. Towers fought back however, closing to within five. At the end of the half, Sharks led by 6.

Sharks started the second half with a 6 point run to take a 12 point lead. Towers responded with a 10 - 2 run including a Robert Youngblood three, to get within 4 points. Despite another three from Omar Sneed, at the end of the thlrd quarter, Towers were down by 7.

Robert Youngblood started the final quarter with another three, but Sharks were still in control. Tony Kitt fouled out with 6.12 left to play and Towers were facing a 5 - 1 foul count. Despite another three from Rod Brown, Sharks had an11 point lead by halfway through the quarter. Omar Sneed bagged a pair of threes, but with 1.15 remaining, Towers were 5 points adrift. Rod Brown scored another three, but more woe for the Towers when Robert Youngblood fouled out with 23 seconds left. The ball just wouldn't run for the Towers and they went out of the Cup, losing the semi-final by 9 points.

Report by Phil Redman

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Sunday November 23rd
BBL Trophy

Birmingham Monroe Reflex Bullets 72 (19, 32, 55)
(Rutledge 28, Williams 18, Craven 10)

London Towers 96 (31, 45, 72)
(Blalock 24, Brown/Sneed 17)

Buoyed by a victory the previous evening over a Milton Keynes side who had proved a much tougher nut to crack than at Bletchley, Towers came into their third Trophy game of the week knowing a win was all but enough to take them through to the semi-finals of the Trophy.

Towers started off slowly, having lost the jump ball where Tony Kitt nearly blinded the already injured Omar Sneed, but they did eventually get going and started to do the things that they do best. They began to make a decisive run that would eventually result in the game being over by the end of the first period and the question on the lips of the vocal Towers fans was not whether they were going to win but simply by how many.

It took Ralph Blalock to really fire up the Towers, as his first shot was a massive three that really knocked the wind out of the Bullet’s sails. A 17 - 5 run to the end of the first period took the Towers out to 31 - 19 at the first buzzer.

During the second quarter Towers just continued to pull away further and further until the lead hit 18 before the defence got slightly slack and Bullets were allowed some really easy shots which got them back to a deficit of just 13 at the half time period.

The third quarter was where the Towers managed to go in for the kill. Steve Tucker calling his first timeout of the half with just 55 seconds gone in the quarter and his second with 5:53 to go in the quarter.

Tucker even found time to get himself a technical from Referee Richard Stokes for mouthing off whilst Adam Williams was at the line. Ralph Blalock duly converting the foul shots and then nailing a 3 from the resulting possession to allow the Towers to get out to an 17 point lead at the end of the third period at 72 - 55

In fact the biggest cheer of the third period came from the Towers support when it was announced that Sheffield had been beaten by 11 points at Braehead by the Scottish Rocks.

The fourth period saw Towers continue to pull further and further ahead, all the time improving their basket difference knowing what would need to happen at Milton Keynes when they won the game.

Towers eventually finished the game with a slight limp rather than a fully blown charge to the finish as they left the Birmingham Sports Centre with a 24 - point victory 96 - 72.

Towers individual players performed as Follows:

Tony Kitt - A much better performance than on Saturday Night. Asserted his dominance in the paint to a big degree, which seemed to Stop Danny Craven in his tracks for most of the night.
Daniel Sesu - Saw no court time
Ashley Cooper - Saw no court time
Rod Brown - Another big game from Brown, 17 points and made the Bullets lack of a point guard look vital.
Michael Bishop - Saw no court time
Robert Youngblood - Was never really needed to do much as Bullets were always struggling. Still one of the better - naturalised players in the league and all his experience will prove Vital in the cup semi final.
Emiko Etete - Saw No Court time as Robbie Peers decided to rest him and allow his injury to heel in time for Saturday’s cup semi final
Omar Sneed - Four Stitches in his eye on Saturday Night, but still managed 17 points, including 2 three pointers. Will be one of the vital cogs on Saturday to deal with Lynard Stewart
Ricardo Greer - A quiet night by Greer’s usual high scoring standards but still managed a good number of steals and assists. Certainly a contender for best newcomer to the league this season
Ralph Blalock - Towers MVP. Six three pointers for 24 points and showed why he was Robbie Peers’ first signing for this season. Coming off the bench has made him a much more potent threat when he has been scoring and if he continues to play this way then teams way want to start fearing slightly.

The one moan of the match goes to Bullets Coach Steve Tucker who not only decided to get a technical but then to berate Coach Peers at the end before his piece d’resistence came when he screamed abuse at a section of his own supporters.

On this performance though, Towers know what they have to do. They know that a win or a loss by a maximum of a 10 point defeat will put them into a semi-final against Brighton, Thames Valley or Plymouth in the Trophy that they lost in the most agonising circumstances last season to Robbie Peers Chester.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Saturday November 22nd
BBL Trophy

London Towers 91 (30, 50, 73)
(Sneed 24, Greer 22, Youngblood 19)

Milton Keynes Lions 81 (21, 43, 61)
(Jamison 20, Spinks 17, Burns 16)

Towers came into their second trophy game of the week on a high note having disposed of the Birmingham Bullets by a mere 28 points on Wednesday night. A win here would take them to 2-0 for the group stages and closer to qualification for the semi finals. Nothing would be able to prepare Crystal Palace for what eventually became the game of the season so far.

Lions came in without Santa Ataha who had been injured in a recent car crash whilst Towers suited up their usual 10 including the injured Emiko Etete and Ricky Greer.

Towers gave up the first 2 points of the game but then began to assert their dominance with the full court press and began to snuff the Lions out slowly but surely even though the Lions did manage to hang around and keep the Towers honest. However, finally the Towers began to get themselves going and finished the first quarter 9 points to the good at 30 - 21.

The second quarter was where it all finally kicked off. Omar Sneed and Shawn Jamison had already had a small discussion about the world and life in general, before a Towers fast break left Sneed and Jamison alone. Sneed beat Jamison for pace but never got a chance to put a shot up as Jamison committed one of the most cynical fouls seen which was designed simply to injure Sneed. The foul was called unsportsmanlike on Jamison who had shoved Sneed into the courtside spinning advert hoardings and caught Sneed’s eye on the sign in mid turn.

Tony Kitt decided to interject his opinion and managed to get a technical for his troubles before Sneed left the court to receive 4 stitches to the wound on his head.

Crystal Palace then came alive as Jamison was booed every time he touched the rock. Tony Kitt also picked up his 4th foul and would spend virtually the rest of the game on the bench.

Towers managed to keep their heads and get into the interval with a 50-48 lead.

The 3rd and 4th quarters passed uneventfully as Towers gradually pulled further and further ahead extending their lead to a game high 17 points at the start of the 4th period before eventually deciding to relax and allow the Lions back into it and some atrocious defending allowed Sherman Rivers to nail a 3 on the buzzer allowing Towers a win by 10 and assuming they could beat Birmingham on Sunday a 10 point advantage to take to Bletchley on December the 29th.

Towers MVP was Omar Sneed who did manage to return after the break to go and get a game high 24 points, 5 boards and 4 assists showing just why he is one of the better players in the league and why teams seem to be frightened of him.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Wednesday November 19th
BBL Trophy

London Towers 105 (23, 51, 82)
(Kitt 30, Sneed 23, Brown 17)

Birmingham Munroe Reflex Bullets 77 (21, 50, 68)
(Rutledge 17, Hansell 14, Paternostro 13)

London Towers made a good start to their BBL Trophy ambitions by defeating the Birmingham Bullets by 28 points at Crystal Palace tonight.

Bullets took the first basket, pushing ahead to a 5 point lead. Towers levelled at 11 each, but Bullets soon crept ahead again. Robert Youngblood withdrew after hurting his head with almost 3 minutes left in the quarter. However, Towers eventually took the lead with just 6 seconds left, ending the quarter just 2 points ahead.

With Youngblood back in, Towers continued a 11 - 2 tear into the second quarter, quickly building up an 8 point lead. However, Bullets came back and edged in front by 1, but Towers answered with a 10 - 2 run to take the lead again. At the end of the half though, Towers lead by just 1.

Towers came out strong for the third quarter with 8 unanswered points to lead by 9. A trio of threes from Rod Brown and Omar Sneed helped extend the gap to 14. At the end of the third, it was Towers by 14. Bullets injured Rob Paternostro played no part in the rest of the game.

Towers started the fourth quarter with a 9 point tear including a three from Ralph Blalock, to lead by 21. Rod Brown scored Towers' 100th point with some skillful play right after a Robert Youngblood three. Another three from Ralph Blalock, followed by an alleyoop between Ralph and Tony Kitt finished the game with Towers winning by 28. Tony Kitt was the game high scorer with 30 points.

Report by Phil Redman

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Saturday November 8th
BBL Cup

Leicester Riders 100 (25, 45, 75)
(Wiatre 28, Smith 25, McCaw 20)

London Towers 112 (38, 63, 85)
(Brown 35, Sneed 22, Greer 17)

It is almost amazing how one game can make a team’s season in the middle of November, For Leicester it was far too true, 0-8 in the BBL, in the trophy with Sheffield and Chester and this was their season.

Both teams had come into the game on the back of road losses, Towers at Newcastle and Riders at Chester. Odd considering both teams had been up by double figures at one point or another during the games.

Riders started with their usual five of John Smith, Mike Wiatre, Mike Pegues, Chris Webber and Sean McCaw, whilst Towers lined up with Tony Kitt, Omar Sneed, Robert Youngblood, Ricardo Greer and Rod Brown.

Towers came out rather tentatively trying to work out the Riders. It was at 7 - 4 when a Wiatre three tied the game that the Towers finally took over. 3 straight treys from Brown, Greer and Blalock broke the game open to take the game to 20 -16. Towers then went 6 - 0 to go 30 - 20 to the good and that was effectively game over for the Riders. Towers managed to pour in another 6 unanswered points to finish 38 - 25 to the good.

The second quarter just got worse for the Riders as they got the first score of the quarter before another Rod Brown inspired 11 - 0 run took the lead to 22 points at 49 - 27. Riders did make a fight of it as Bryan Balser nailed a trademark three, Sean McCaw then nailed 4 straight and Stedroy Baker even managed 5 in a row. Chris Webber managed to wind up his team with a blatant body check on Rod Brown, Webber was so proud of it he even bothered to tell Brown about it down the court. Towers did however go in at half time 18 points to the good with the game all but sewn up leading 63 - 45.

The third quarter opened with a Mike Wiatre three sparking a 7 - 0 Riders run to get back to an 11-point deficit. Two Ralph Blalock treys gave Towers their comfort zone back as they threatened to turn the game into a blow out. Riders did actually get closer as they closed to within 8 occasionally, however Towers just kept pulling away. The quarter ended with London 10 to the good at 85 - 75.

The fourth quarter was simply the Rod Brown show. A three helped take Towers out to a 15-point lead. Brown even found time to have a discussion on all things not basketball with Mike Wiatre after Wiatre’s attempt at bettering Webbers earlier body check. Certainly Wiatre went rather quiet when Robbie Peers sent Robert Youngblood onto the court. All that remained was for Youngblood and Kitt to foul out, this at least allowed Daniel Sesu some court time. Sesu even found time to make a lay-up of an Etete steal and turn the ball over once.

Emiko Etete managed to score a decent haul of 8 points. Ricky Greer, Ralph Blalock and Robert Youngblood all managed double figure scores for the second night running. Omar Sneed managed 22 points, but the MVP for Towers had to be Rod Brown who managed 35 points, 5 boards, 3 steals and 12 assists and proved why he is the best point guard in the league by far.

For the Riders Mike Wiatre impressed with 28 points, John Smith also made 25 points despite being in foul trouble for most of the night.

In truth this was never a close game, Riders are a dreadfully poor side, but it is hard to see how they are taking teams like Chester to the 4th quarter in the lead whilst Towers struggled at Northgate this year. Surely the Riders will come good at some point but it is hard to see the light at the end of an extremely long tunnel for them. For Towers they go to the semis on their home court on the 29th (PLEASE BE THERE!) For the Riders- who knows.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Friday November 7th
BBL Championship

Newcastle Eagles 98 (18, 38, 70)
(Hyatt 27, Myers 21, Smith 16)

London Towers 94 (25, 37, 64)
(Greer 24, Sneed 20, Blalock 18)

Towers, having already lost the first game of this series to the Eagles on their home court in South London, came into the game looking for a measure of revenge and where better to get it than the Telewest Arena in Newcastle. Or at least that was the plan!

Towers came out with the distinct attitude of putting the eagles into their places very quickly, storming out of the blocks to go 8-1 to the good, shots from Tony Kitt, Omar Sneed and a Ralph Blalock trey giving the Towers the lead. Towers had obviously decided to use the press that they have been for a lot of the season - at points to almost deadly ease to force many Eagles turnovers allowing Blalock to nail another huge one from behind the arc. This was immediately followed by his first 2 pointer of the night - all string from the perimeter allowing Towers to finish the quarter 25-18 to the good.

Eagles welcomed Jeremy Hyatt back at the start of the second quarter; Hyatt was the man who would eventually rip the wheels off the Towers wagon, beginning with a 2 off a pass from Andrew Bridge. Hyatt then made his one mistake for the night missing a finger roll under the basket. Eagles finally managed to organise themselves at the defensive end, moving into the zone, something Towers have had problems dealing with all season, allowing them to go on a 7-0 run to bring the game back to 2 points. A massive block from Mo Robinson, throwing Omar Sneed’s shot back to London nearly allowing the Eagles to tie up at 33 all. Youngblood and Blalock established a small lead for Towers before Eagles stormed back to go in at half-time 38-37 to the good - they would have been further ahead if Mo Robinson had nailed 2 free throws.

Towers lost the tip at the start of the third quarter with almost embarrassing ease, as Tony Kitt didn’t even bother to jump. Jeremy Hyatt took the first shot of the second half from behind the arc, which he missed. However, TJ Walker stuck the ball back to extend the Eagles lead to 3. Mo Robinson then gained a 2 off an amazing show of speed and power. Myers, Walker and Hyatt all adding scores as the Towers went to complete pieces. Sneed then went on a small one man show, 5 points including an and 1 off Charles Smith. This was followed by a Rod Brown buzzer beater after the Eagles defence had choked the inside game out of the Towers. The Brown shot had bought it back to just 2 points, however Eagles seemed to answer every score that Towers managed. Ricky Greer then showed why he can be one of the best players in the league with a drive that looked like a disco dance into the paint and shot for 2. Hyatt then turned assister as TJ Walker nailed an open three after Rod Brown had gone somewhere that certainly wasn’t near Walker. Enter Hyatt again with a massive 3. Robert Youngblood was powerless to stop himself fouling Hyatt allowing him a 4 point play, instantly answered by a Ricky Greer 3 pointer, the free throw was missed. However, Ralph would add another 2 as Towers ended 6 adrift at 70-64.

The Fourth Quarter was a quarter that would have satisfied any fans appetite, as the teams went at it tooth and nail. Towers began with 4 straight to close to within 2. This was answered by 7 straight from Newcastle, an and 1 from Hyatt and 4 Shawn Myers points. Towers never gave up the fight always believing there was something there for them, Ricky Greer beginning to take over completely in the paint.

Tony Kitt then picked up foul number 4 and was rather quickly benched by Robbie Peers allowing Eagles commentator Pete Jacques to come out with the worst joke one is ever likely to hear with the comment , “One could say Robbie gets his Kitt off.” Jacques claiming he had worked all day on that - one could see why!

This was followed by a rather unscheduled break as the referees realised there had been a hole in the basket the Eagles had been shooting into. The fact it had been there since 8 minutes into the game obviously had nothing to do with it. The break probably did for Towers in the end as Tony Kitt picked up foul 5 and had to sit down on the bench for the rest of the night. Charles Smith knocking down the shots to take the lead back to 4 points. Towers then went on a 7-0 run and a Ricky Greer 3 gave Towers the lead with 2:20 to go in the ball game. A Myers 2 bought it back to just a point before Rod Brown fouled TJ Walker sending him to the line. Walker missed both shots however; although it was not to matter, as whatever the Towers did, the Eagles either matched or went one better.

Towers eventually decided to foul. Jeremy Hyatt nailing all 4 shots to close the game out as Eagles ran out 98-94 winners in front of a 4000 plus crowd.

Robbie Peers must wonder where this one got away, starting the way they did it looked as though they may blow the Eagles away by 20 points. The press that they execute so well was not utilised enough, they still struggle against a zone.

Towers MVP was Ricky Greer. Greer showed just what a good player he is with some of the moves he pulled and shots he took. Best player on the night apart from Hyatt.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Saturday November 1st
BBL Championship

London Towers 75 (18, 42, 58)
(Greer 25, Blalock 16, Kitt 12)

Chester Jets 92 (28, 43, 70)
(Davis 28, McCord 19, Hamilton 18)

London Towers disappointed tonight, failing to gain a much desired revenge over coach Robbie Peers' former team, the Chester Jets, at Crystal Palace.

Chester Jets were first to score getting the first 4 points of the game. Towers kept it tight though and, helped by three straight three pointers from Ricardo Greer, edged into a narrow lead. A technical called on Robert Youngblood was the starting point for a 14 point tear from the Jets, finishing the quarter 10 points clear.

Towers started the second period with an 10 - 4 tear, getting to within 2 points of the Jets. Towards the end of the quarter, Towers edged in front by 1 point, but finished the half one point adrift.

Towers won the tip at the start of the second half, but Rod Brown was called for a charging foul allowing Chester to score first. The Jets then went on a 15 - 4 tear to lead by 12, holding that advantage until the end of the third.

Tony Kitt fouled out with 6.46 left to play in the fourth quarter, with the Jets pulling further away to lead by 20. A tired Towers team tried to come back, but luck and the foul count weren't on their side. The game ended with Towers losing by 17. Ricardo Greer top scored for Towers with 25. The game high scorer was Chester's Calvin Davis with 28.

Report by Phil Redman

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Friday October 31st
BBL Championship

Milton Keynes Lions 80 (18, 35, 57)
(Jamison 24, Rivers 20, Attewell 15)

London Towers 93 (15, 50, 72)
(Brown 24, Greer 23, Youngblood 13)

London Towers moved level with Milton Keynes Lions in the BBL Championship table with a 93-80 victory at Bletchley.

After an even start, Lions hit the first quarter’s last seven points to lead 18-15.

Early in the second, however, three straight three-pointers from Ricardo Greer helped Towers to an 11-0 run and a 43-30 lead. They extended their lead in the second half to 48-72, before Lions hit fourteen consecutive points and cut the deficit to 61-72 early in the final period.

Towers settled the issue with the next six points. Rod Brown led the Towers with 24 points, a total matched by Lions’ Shawn Jamison.

Report by BBL

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Saturday October 25th
BBL Championship

London Towers 85 (25, 47, 67)
(Kitt 23, Greer 20, Sneed 17)

Sheffield Sharks 95 (31, 55, 69)
(Reinking 22, Yanders 21, Coleman 19)

Westfield Sheffield Sharks came to Crystal Palace tonight with 5 straight wins in the BBL Championship and after a hard fought game against the London Towers, they made it six. It could have been a different story though, as Coach Robbie Peers said after the game, “We threw it away! We should have won it!”

Towers won the tip, but first blood went to the Sharks in a fast and furious first quarter. The Sharks had the advantage, leading by 9 at one stage, but finishing the first quarter 6 points in front.

Towers pushed up at the start of the second quarter closing the gap to just two. But, the Sharks had pulled away again by 9 after just 3 minutes of the quarter. A spectacular alley-oop from Rod Brown and Tony Kitt took Towers to within 5. However, with the foul count going against the Towers, at the end of the half, they were down by 8.

Tony Kitt slamming his third dunk of the evening followed by a three pointer from Rod Brown started a 12 point unanswered run from the Towers, giving them the lead for the first time. A bad call right at the end of the third against Rod Brown, gave Rob Yanders two free throws, putting Sharks back in front by 2.

Towers got to within 2 points again early in the fourth, but by the time Robbie Peers called time out with 5.51 left to play, Towers were 8 points down. Despite fighting hard for the remainder of the quarter, they just couldn’t close the gap losing by 10. Tony Kitt, who had a very good game, top scored for the Towers with 23 and was the game high scorer.

Report by Phil Redman

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Saturday October 18th
BBL Championship

London Towers 91 (26, 53, 64)
(Sneed 31, Brown 21, Youngblood 16)

Brighton Bears 86 (20, 40, 68)
(Warren 20, Alderson 17, Duck 16)

It was great stuff at the Palace tonight as former Towers coach Nick Nurse along with several former Towers players teamed up against his old team which included former Bears players such as Ralph Blalock and Emiko Etete in the side. Three players made their home debut tonight for the Towers helping them to thelr first win under coach Robbie Peers.

Bears won the tip and were first to score, soon building up a 7 point lead but a 10 - 1 tear from the Towers including a 3 from Robert Youngblood, put Towers up by 3. At the end of the first quarter, Towers lead by 6.

Bears got to within 5 points early in the second quarter, but a Towers 6 point tear put them 11 points in front. Brighton came right back with a 9 - 2 tear making it a 2 point game. Then a bunch of threes from Ralph Blalock, Omar Sneed and Rod Brown took the Towers away again. At the end of the half, Towers were up by 13.

Robbie Peers got called on a technical at the start of the third quarter which saw a tough fight back from the Bears. A 14 point run got them back in front by 3 extending to 7 later in the period. At the end of the quarter, Bears were up by 4.

Towers came back in the fourth with 12 - 2 tear to get back in front by 3. Then Bears came right back and edged in front by 2. Duck missed a lay up, giving Towers posession with Rod Brown scoring a three to put Towers ahead again. Randy Duck was called for an intentional foul with 6.6 seconds to play and Towers 2 points up. Towers running out the winners by 5 points. Omar Sneed was the games top scorer with 31 points.

Report by Phil Redman

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Sunday October 12th
BBL Championship

Scottish Phoenix Honda Record Rocks 114 (30, 61, 88)
(Williams 26 , Arinze 25, Kruse 22)

London Towers (24, 49, 77)
(Greer 26, Davis 20, Brown 19)

Two games, two losses and two players cut by the London Towers, and to think this was all within the first week of the season. This game against the Rocks saw the debut of Rod Brown in a Yellow Shirt, and what an inspired game he had.

Towers managed to WIN a jump ball at the start of the game, with Sterling Davis beating Niki Arinze to the jump. Towers would spend the first 3 minutes of the game as much the dominant team actually looking like they may be on for win number 1 of the season until it all seemed to fall apart as is always the way at the moment. Rocks would steal their first lead and begin to run away from there, their lead peaking at the end of the quarter at 30 - 18, Towers did manage the final 6 points of the quarter to bring themselves in to just a 6 point deficit at 30 - 24. During the Quarter we would see the first new "possession arrow" with the rocks gaining possession off the ball even after they had lost it when Rod Brown picked McGee's pocket. Again in this quarter the Towers defence went completely AWOL on 2 separate occasions, both times allowing Keith Bunyan to make massive three's. On the second occasion Bunyan was left with so much time that he could have had a picnic before nailing the shot.

The Second quarter would give Towers another chance to make further inroads to the deficit, something they never did and ultimately went behind even further to go 41-28 down before a slight run bought them back into the game. Again the defence would go somewhere exotic no-doubt. It certainly wasn't at the Braehead arena. The Main Concern for Robbie Peers was an injury to Rod Brown where he knocked knees with Jeff Masudi. Brown actually came off better of the 2 - Masudi was taken to hospital. After all this Rocks would still go in at Half time 61 - 49 to the good.

The Third Period would see Towers begin to make a comeback into the game. They could see that they were now in with a real chance after yet another lethargic first half. Rod Brown would now prove the inspiration. A 9-0 run would bring the Towers within striking distance at 76 - 75 down. However, as seems frequent this season they would blow their big chance as the managed only one more shot to end the quarter down by 11 at 88 - 77. A major disappointment for Robbie Peers when Towers had their best chance of the season to get that elusive first win.

The fourth quarter would prove decisive for both teams. Towers absolutely stormed out of the blocks whilst the Rocks, seemingly believing that they were home and dry ended up looking absolutely shell-shocked. As Rod Brown would spearhead another 8 - 0 run as Towers got closer than the 1 point they had been earlier, they tied the game at 93 - 93. Rocks Coach Steve Swanson called a timeout, his players looking at the scoreboard constantly - trying to work out where the 16 - point advantage they had 2 minutes earlier had evaporated to. Now was the time for Towers to go for it, 1 basket would surely have broken the Rocks resistance, but again it all went wrong. Ralph Blalock and Sterling Davis missed easy lay-ups and Rocks would nail 6 straight to take the lead out to 99-93 and end the Towers’ hopes for sure. Towers would have to resort to tippy-tap fouls to try and stop the clock. This failed and Rocks would sink all the free throws they needed to keep the Towers at Arms length to come out on top 114-103.

Towers MVP would have to be Rod Brown, the guy literally played his heart out, the full 40 minutes and looked like he will improve the team if they are capable of playing a run and gun offence.

Again things are getting better for the Towers and there is a win somewhere around the corner. It will take a bit of time for it all to come together but there is something there. Brighton next will be a massive game for the team and one that they are capable of winning and winning well.

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Sunday October 5th
BBL Championship

TCS Chester Jets 84 (16, 39, 64)
(Singleton 23, McCord 18, Hamilton 15)

London Towers 77 (11, 28, 38)
(Greer 31, Davis 18, Whorton 15)

They say homecomings are meant to be wonderful things, but for Robbie Peers' return to the Northgate it was far from wonderful - in fact it turned out to be a complete nightmare. Peers' introduction as coach of the Towers was met by a chorus of boos from the staunch Chester fans, still bitter about his departure from the Jets to the Towers. The one man desperate to ruin the party was former apprentice Paul Smith, and what a job he did of ruining the Peers' party!

Towers lost the tip and quickly found themselves on the end of an 8 - 2 run by the jets - 4 points coming from Calvin Davis. Towers were soon to hit back at the jets with a 7 - 0 run of their own to give them their first and indeed only lead of the night at 9 - 8.

Then the wheels came flying right off the wagon at this point as Jets gained the lead back, and then never really looked over their shoulder until the 4th quarter. Towers would manage only 2 more points in the period as Jets extended out to the biggest lead of the game at 16 - 9 before a John Whorton shot brought it back to 16 - 11 at the end of the first ten minutes of the game.

Towers would have first bite of the cherry in the second quarter having lost the jump to start the game. However nothing came to fruition for what seemed like an eternity for the men from London as Jets seemed to carry on where they left off racing out to 35 - 16, before an unsportsmanlike foul called by referee Neil Wilkinson allowed London to storm back on an 8 - 0 run and another 4-3 run allowing them to be down just 11 at the half time buzzer at 39 - 28. Main concerns for Peers at half time were that Ralph Blalock seemed unable to find any range on his shots - 1 three pointer attempt that seemed to fall about 2 foot from the basket.

Towers again lost the jump ball to start the second half but managed to carry on where they left off with a 4-0 run to bring them inside ten to 38-32. Jets response was to go on a massive 16-2 run to finally kill off any lingering Towers hopes that may have existed allowing Jets to get out as far as 59 - 34. Towers managed 4 more in a period ending up down by 27 points at 64 - 38.

Peers seemed to have lost total hope at about half way through the 3rd and spent the remainder of the game with head in hands trying to avoid the abuse being directed at him by the Jets fans. All credit to Peers he did keep his head admirably.

4th period was the first time Towers seemed to realise any true potential, admittedly against 4 men who had played the full 30 minutes so far and one who spent about 3 minutes on the bench in Davis after getting into early foul trouble. Sterling Davis and Ricky Greer both managed to find their long range shooting boots, and Ralph Blalock even got in on the act with a 3, which seemed a big confidence booster. Towers managed runs of 10-2 and 14-1 to get back within 6 but Jets finally closed out the game to run out victors by 7 by a score of 84 - 77.

Looking at the game in greater depth:

Plus Points: There is a large amount of potential in the Towers team - its just a case of realising. If the fourth quarter performance was anything to go by and Davis, Greer and Blalock get going, then Towers will be a major force all of a sudden.

Minus Points: Hearing Robbie booed by the Jets fans - considering how he transformed the team, hearing the team subjected to chants of "Can we play you every week!", must be incredibly disheartening for the team more than anyone.

MVPs: Chester: Pure and simple Big Billy Singleton - Billy looks to have put on some weight over the summer, but regardless of this he still gave John Whorton an absolute lesson on how to play the post and topped the jets scoring with 23 and managed the whole 40 minutes. He showed that experience counts over talent on occasions. Whorton was left looking shell-shocked for periods of time!

Towers: Ricky Greer - the man is playing a position he does not naturally play and could well prove to be the best signing of the summer if he keeps his free scoring up and may take towers to at least 1 or more trophies once a point guard comes in and he can revert to his natural position.

To sum up: People should not be fooled by the score suggesting it was a close game - it wasn't. Towers were poor in the extreme for the first 3 periods managing just 38 points in 3 quarters, they managed 39 in the whole 4th quarter! And one can only hope that the arrival of a point guard will pull the team up and make them achieve their full potential. For the team that started as odds on favourites to win the league this year it looks as though Robbie's title dream is in complete tatters at this early stage of the season unless something is done and fast. Towers must pick themselves up, dust themselves down and really come to play for the next 3 games.

Everyone must get behind the team and really try to spur them on at the Palace on October 18th against the Bears. This is a game that can kick start our season and what better way to do it than to beat 3 former Towers?? If you can bring a friend, if you have any musical instruments, bring them - I know I will be!!!!!!!!!!! We need to get the Palace absolutely packed out and rocking on that night - scream and shout, do anything just make noise! We must all believe in the team because things are going to get better and it is preferable to get the bad games out of the way at the start rather than the end!

Report by Jack Yeomanson

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Saturday October 4th
BBL Championship

London Towers 81 (18, 36, 59)
(Whorton, 24, Greer 19, Blalock 15)

Newcastle Eagles 92 (24, 43, 69)
(Myers 25, Robinson 19, Smith 17)

London Towers ran out disappointing losers in their opening game of the new BBL season at Crystal Palace tonight, losing to Newcastle Eagles, fresh from their defeat by Sheffield on Friday night.

The first basket of the Tower's season was scored by Sterling Davis, but it was the Eagles who edged in front, getting ahead by 8 points in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter, the Towers were down by 6.

The Eagles started the second quarter with a 6 point tear taking them into a 14 point lead. Coach Robbie Peers called a time out and Towers came back with an 8 - 3 run of their own, pulling back to within 7 points at the end of the half.

Early in the third quarter, Towers went on a 6 point run ending with a spectacular one handed slam dunk from John Whorton bringing Towers to within 3 points. Twice in the quarter, Towers got to within 3 points, but another 6 point tear from the Eagles helped Fab Flournoy's side to pull away once again. At the end of the third quarter, Towers were down by 10 .

The Eagles were soaring at the start of the fourth and final quarter with a pair of threes putting them up by 16. Sterling Davis scored Towers' only three pointer of the game, but the gap was too wide and Towers ended up the losers by 11 points. John Whorton topped scored for the Towers with 24 points, but the game high scorer was Newcastle's Shaun Myers.

Report by Phil Redman

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