Eagles’ fading title hopes are Scorched out

A DISAPPOINTING 93-79 road loss for Newcastle Eagles in Surrey all but extinguished their hopes of landing the BBL Championship, writes JEFF KING.

It was at best a long shot in any event, but failing to stop the Scorchers from racking up their seventh consecutive home win means the Eagles will be looking more towards consolidating second place in the table than thinking about catching champions-elect Leicester Riders.

The home side had not lost on the own court in 2018, while the Eagles’ away record for the year was also perfect.

Something had to give and, in the end, it was the short-handed Eagles, shorn of their experienced backbone, who gave way.

Assistant coaches Dave Forrester and Ian Macleod did their best on the sidelines to stem the red-hot Surrey side but they could not come up with any answers to douse the home fire’s heat. Their players likewise failed to respond to the pressure and pace of Surrey.

The Eagles opened the game with the first points, Jure Gunjina’s lay-up getting the scoring under way.

Surrey stormed back and a 7-0 run gave them a lead they would never relinquish.

The visitors looked weak inside and the home side took full advantage with Gerald Robinson starting strong and dominating, something he did all day when on court.

The normally deadly Eagles’ shooting was well off early with leading scorer Jaysean Paige struggling.

Paige struggled throughout the 40 minutes and failed to have any impact on the game.

It was left to his back-court partner Saah Nimley to try to rally his team but, although the little point guard stood as tall as he could, even his efforts were in vain.

Zarko Jukic got into early foul trouble, which did not help his short-handed roster, and when Robinson stepped outside and drained a three-point shot on the first quarter buzzer Surrey led 26-19.

It was 47-38 to Surrey as the sides headed to the locker rooms and as the third period opened Newcastle knew their defensive transition had to be better.

They also knew if it was they also had to be set up better inside and grab rebounds.

Unfortunately, neither happened and the play-off-bound Scorchers took full advantage.