Lions Trounce Riders by a Fair Degree at the Copper Box

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 1 April 2018 at The Copper Box Arena
Result	London Lions 93 Leicester Riders 72
Competition	British Basketball League (Top tier).
Hopstats	16th venue where I have watched live competitive basketball, my first basketball game for about five years.  Bonus chemistry point if you spotted the pun in the blogpost title.
Context
With Saturday soccer groundhopping washed out, and every prospect of the same again on Monday, this fixture caught my eye.  When the Yapplets were teenagers, we spent many a Sunday afternoon at Bletchley Leisure Centre watching the Milton Keynes Lions.  Since then, I’ve made a few solo diversions to games for this blog, and the Lions have relocated via Crystal Palace to the Copper Box in the Olympic Park.  Leicester Riders have been a very successful side in recent seasons and are comfortably leading the league before the play-offs begin.  London Lions are in mid table but had a good win at home on Friday night against second-placed Newcastle Eagles.  So, I headed for East London expecting a tight and competitive game.
In one sentence
It wasn’t tight and competitive, and I’m not impressed.
So what?
Leicester will have to wait before their league win is confirmed.  London improve their position in the jockeying for the best playoff draws.
Match Report
Lions continued their good form from last week and were leading 23-11 at the end of the first quarter.  They were definitely up for the contest.  Nothing spectacular, just good execution of their attacking plays and good rebounding in their own defence. By half-time the lead had been cut slightly to eight points, at 44-36, and there isn’t a Lions fan anywhere who wouldn’t have bitten your hand off for that score against the league leaders.  Maybe not the best analogy I’ve ever come up with, I’m sure lions can’t really be blamed for hand-biting, but I digress.  A 44-36 lead was remarkable.  Cory Dixon had 16 points personal, and although Riders had briefly threatened to draw level towards the end of the second quarter, Lions nailed a couple of threes to settle any nerves. Having seen Riders coach Rob Paternostro both towards the end of his playing career, and early in his tenure as a coach, I expected better from hair-dried Riders in the second half.  It didn’t happen.  The lead opened out to 50-36, then 55-40 and then 66-46 after an unsportsmanlike foul had been given against Riders.  The third quarter ended with the score at 70-51 and even more surprisingly with Paternostro sitting down rather than pacing the touchline like an angry vulture.  For all the world it looked like they had given up on this one. In the fourth quarter, Lions slowed the game a little with time on their side.  Some of their bench players got court time.  Paternostro, now awake, said something to an official, who promptly awarded a technical foul against him.  The coach must have responded again, because a second T-sign followed and he was ejected.  There were an embarrassing few moments whilst he collected some things and muttered to his staff, before sloping off to the changing rooms.  All very strange and unexpected.  Even the Lions fans were a bit stunned.  It finished 93-72. Cheerio etc etc If you are Vince Macaulay (back once again in charge of the Lions) or a Lions fan, you won’t be unduly concerned.  Three consecutive wins put the team in a better place for the play-off run in.  You will have lost so many times against the Riders in recent seasons that you won’t give a hoot about Paternostro’s departure or the strange lethargy of the opposition today.  You’ll only care if you had money on the odds-on Riders win as part of what I understand the young people of today call an acca.  Their last defeat was in mid-January at Newcastle, and this is only their third league defeat of the season.  I cannot fault the Lions at all – this was a job well done, and they wanted this result.  Leicester, by and large, had the day off.  Five of the Lions ended up with double-digit points tallies, with Justin Robinson’s strong second half taking him to 25 personal.  Dixon finished with 20 and Brandon Peel weighed in with 18.  Pierre Hampton top-scored for Riders with 15.  They have played three top-tier games in less than a week, impressive in any context. As for me, did this rekindle my desire to re-connect with professional basketball in this country?  Frankly, no.  It really didn’t.  Despite Herculean efforts (and I am aware that Mr Macaulay has been centre-stage at times in trying hard to take the game forward in this country), UK basketball seems to be in transition yet again.  It is fighting for national funding.  Superleague netball has a better TV product.  The team at the bottom of this top-tier league is turning up short-handed for fixtures.  My ticket, including Ticketmaster fee AND a bizarre £1 fee for printing my own ticket at home (how can that possibly be justified?), was £22.45.  Most of the regular football groundhopper readers of this blog (hello, both of you) would get at least two non-league games for that.  And a pie.  Sorry about the palpitations I may have caused you two, there.  I feel quite sad in writing this because I really, really wanted it to be better. Any sport that is played with the Benny Hill theme occasionally playing in the background should be encouraged.
Stadium Pix
I never managed to get a ticket for the Copper Box during the 2012 Olympics, so this is a new venue for me.  Externally, it has to be one of the ugliest Boxes around.  Inside, it is spacious and welcoming.  Only the lower tier is needed today.  I made the mistake of bringing the car today and Stratford was gridlocked with roadworks.  I ended up parking a bit further north at Redbridge tube station.  I think on any future occasion I would leave the car even further out.  It is a brisk but interesting 15-minute walk through the Olympic Park from Stratford station to the arena.
Match Pix
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  The preferred plan for tomorrow is to head for Athersley Recreation v Garforth.  However, the weather forecast is for doom, hurricane, avalanche and a plague of frogs or something like that, so it will be a late call.

Storm Rumble as Thunder Crumble

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Monday 11 March 2013 at the Surrey Sports Park
Result	Surrey Storm 62 Manchester Thunder 44
Competition	Superleague – the top tier of netball in England
Hopping	Second netball venue, which is the same as that used for basketball by the Surrey Heat.  However, not the first venue in which I have seen two different sports – that honour went to the Madejski Stadium, Reading (football and rugby union).
Pre-match preparation
The games between these two sides last season were epics, hence my choice. Both teams have a 3-1 record – Storm lost by a point at Yorkshire Jets in their last outing, which was something of a surprise.  Thunder have a certain Tracey of the Neville sporting dynasty as director of netball.
This match in one sentence
Thunder edged the first few minutes before the teams ended all square at the interval, but then Storm blew their opponents off the court with a third quarter demolition and a stunning 18-point margin of victory.
So what?
Storm overtake Thunder in the table and join Team Bath (the only team to defeat Thunder so far) with a 4-1 record.
The drama unfolds
First signs were not great for Storm. They found themselves 2-6 and 4-9 down to some clinical Thunder play, and contributed to their situation with a number of unforced errors.  They clawed their way back to a two-point deficit at the end of the first quarter, with GA Ash Neal catching the eye as GS Rachel Dunn saw less of the ball than usual.  11-13 at the end of the 1st quarter Here’s a scene-setter clip from early in the second, as Storm start to perform and they get back to 16-16.  You will detect from these clips that I am with one of Storm’s best and noisiest young supporters!  Top work, Ed.  Storm are in blue. For my second-time visit to a top netball game, I made more of an effort to watch the tactics and the movement.  Here are 100 seconds in the life of a netball Centre, Storm’s Becky Trippick. The crowd reaction tells you that the teams are trading scores and we finish level at the half-way mark.  23-23 at the end of the 2nd quarter With TV cameras present (this goes out on Thursday), the match was shaping up into the close encounter that everyone expected.  For about another 5 minutes.  Dunn was now firing on all cylinders and Neal continued to impress.  Here are two minutes of GS Dunn, but of course Neal is featured too. It’s 32-30 and Storm have edged into the lead … and then suddenly it was 37-31 and 41-31 as they stepped up a gear and Thunder could not respond. Dunn was now scoring for fun with a near-flawless conversion rate now.  Thunder reorganised, and used a timeout, but they were rattled and down by 11 at the next break.  44-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter Other than a brief period of scrappy play in the fourth, Storm never looked like losing their grip.  I took a couple of clips of Ash Neal at work, though Dunn is scoring heavily at these points too.  For my untutored eyes, Ash Neal was player of the match overall.  The local experts gave that honour to WD Natalie Seaton. It finished 62-44.  That is an 18-point margin in a match that was expected to be close.  Whatever the Storm coaching staff said at half-time should be put on motivational posters with pictures of kittens or something.  Facebook loves that stuff.  Final score 62-44 Ashleigh Neal, Storm's GA, in the blue
The programme
Mars Bar Watch 2013
At BP Wisley North on the A3, a standard 58g bar cost 85p.  I should be outraged really, but I am in such a good mood because of this £1 off cheese voucher picked up at the game.  Awesome.
What Next?
No idea really.  Regular followers on Twitter will know that I am shortly changing jobs and heading back into the secondary school sector with a new challenge, back in the classroom full-time after Easter.  The next few weeks will be very busy and hopping decisions are likely to be last-minute.  Follow @GrahamYapp and be among the first to know, and maybe even help make the decisions.  I shall watch some more netball sometime – athletes performing with both pace and skill in a game in which there is respect for officials, and the ideals of sportsmanship are embedded into the way it all works.  No wonder the school parties are here in force. #letsgostorm is what I say.

Wolves Bite Lions in the BBL

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 16 February 2013 at the University of Worcester Sports Centre
Result	Worcester Wolves 98 London Lions 91 (2OT)
Competition	British Basketball League
Hopping	Court #15 on my hoopshopping list – am here because I was a few miles away in Stourbridge for the football earlier today.
Pre-match preparation
Two mid-table sides, albeit with the hosts in a better position on games played.  Both sides will be hoping to be in the top eight play-off positions but neither have any realistic hope of challenging for the title.  Wolves had a thumping win over bottom team Mersey Tigers last night.
This match in one sentence
Wolves made hard work of beating the Lions, who clawed back deficits in the last seconds of both regulation time and the first period of overtime.
So what?
With Sunday’s results still to come, Wolves are in sixth place with a decent gap, and Lions are edged out of the playoff positions after Cheshire Phoenix nicked a surprise win at league leaders Newcastle Eagles in this round of games.
The drama unfolds
It was an even and fast-paced first quarter.  Lions led at 4-6 with a Mike Martin double and then at 8-9, but there were spectacular blocks from both teams.  Wolves got into foul trouble, but three-pointers kept them just in front.  They opened up a 7pt lead at 18-11 before being pegged back, and it was 20-17 before Arturus Masiulis, who’d had an impressive start to the game, popped in a three on the buzzer.  23-17 at the end of the 1st quarter My scene-setter clip (the lighting isn’t great) has the score going out to 26-17 and Lions getting into foulcount trouble this time.  Wolves are in white. Wolves gradually got on top and had leads of 28-22 and 32-24.  They just executed their plays more efficiently – I imagine their percentages were just a bit higher all-round.  At 42-33, Wolves called a timeout with only 1s left on the clock, only for Lions to steal the ball and Orlan Jackman got an outrageous three-pointer to keep the gap at six.  42-36 at half time A three from Adrien Sturt and a 2+1 from Mike Martin helped to get the Lions back to 44-22 and the next clip ends with the scores level at 49-49 with another Sturt triple. However, Wolves opened the gap to five and then nine again very quickly – a three from Arnas Kaslauskas only just beat the shot clock.  Lions were still not down and out, though, and Tayo Ogedengbe added two on the buzzer to a three so that we had the same gap for the third time in a row.  67-61 at the end of the 3rd quarter The next clip ends at 72-63. Wolves pulled out a gap of 11 and it was still 9 with 6m20s left.  It was down to 7 at 74-67 with 4m24s to go, and then Sturt scored another three to get it back to 74-70.  However, with Lions in foul trouble again the game was still firmly in Wolves’ control – or should have been.  Timeout was called at 77-73 with 46 seconds on the clock.  Ogedengbe hit one from two free-throws and Wolves called a timeout after their next attack left them with only 3s on the shot-clock and 19.6s on the gameclock.  Here are the clips: From the restart, a controversial offensive foul call against Kazlauskas put Wolves in foulcount trouble and we had further TOs at 17.3s and 11.4s after Sturt had been called for a travelling violation. Alexi Owumi hit one of two free-throws to take Wolves to 78-74 with 9s to go. A big three from Ogedengbe led to a TO call with 6.6s and a one-point margin.  A Lions tactical foul on the restart sent Owumi to the line again but once again he only scored the second – and there was just enough time for Lions' Perry Lawson to burst through the middle for a two-point layup to level the scores. I only just catch the moment in Clip 8.  Technical and absorbing.  79-79 at the end of the 4th quarter Overtime is five more minutes.  Ogedengbe was the first player to sit down for the duration has he reached the personal foul limit of five.  Wolves led again at 82-79, but here’s a clip which has the scores levelling at 86-86 with a home timeout called at 2.4s on the clock.  Nothing came of it, so we went into a second spell of overtime.  86-86 at the end of the first period of overtime Wolves had now lost Kaslauskas, and Lions lost Martin.  Two free throws gave a six-point lead to Wolves at 93-87 as other players reached the five-foul limit.  The game ended in last-ditch timeout ploys as finally the Lions ran out of resilience.  Final score 98-91
The programme
What Next?
Half-term week, so could be some last-minute decisions depending on weather and other commitments, so follow @GrahamYapp for details.

Lion Down at the Palace

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Friday 28 December 2012 at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre
Result	London Lions 88 Cheshire Phoenix 92
Competition	BBL Trophy (knockout cup competition)
Hopping	Number 14 on the hoophopping list.  I called it courthopping until today, but like both clubs here, I have changed the name.
Pre-match preparation
This was an impulsive trip in an attempt to put a safe distance between me and an industrial supply of Quality Street and other health foods. Unfortunately it brought be closer to a hotdog stall. The sides have similar league records around the 50:50 mark so it should be a competitive game.
This match in one sentence
The Lions made too many unforced errors and Phoenix kept cool heads at the end of a strange game played in a rather muted atmosphere.
So what?
Phoenix go through and Lions are out.
The drama unfolds
There were only seven Phoenix players suited and booted for action, which did not bode well, and my heart sank when Lions took an early grip on the game, scoring 2 to 1 and opening a healthy lead.  Whether complacency set in, who knows, but Phoenix battled back to 22-22 and then took the lead with a three from Gabe Haskins.  One more Lions score kept the margin at one point at the end of what had turned out to be a high-scoring first quarter.  26-27 at the end of the first quarter In the second, Phoenix pulled their lead out to eight at 29-37 and here is my scene-setter clip which has Lions’  Adrien Sturt scoring one of several personal and Lions threes, but Phoenix matched the scoring rate and the clip ends at 38-45.  Lions are in purple. Another run of threes, however, including two more from Sturt, brought the Lions back level and we reached a beautifully symmetric score at the halfway point.  Sturt’s personal tally was now 22.  50-50 at the end of the second quarter By the time I took my next clip, midway through the third, it was still too close to call at 56-56. The period ended with the visitors holding a narrow two-point lead.  66-68 at the end of the third quarter In the final quarter, Phoenix had the veteran Shaun Myers back on court.  They successfully defended two periods of 24s shotclock time and then Myers hit a three to give them a lead of 71-76.  They were able to hold the lead at somewhere in the five to seven point range as the time ticked away.  Here’s a clip, and by the end of it the score is 78-83. The play became somewhat scrappy and tense and coaches began to utilise the timeouts.  Phoenix still held their 7-point lead at 78-85 with 2min31s on the clock.  The body language of the Lions and their coach increasingly showed frustration as plays were not executed and the unforced error count went up.  This clip takes us down to less than a minute to go, and Lions have got it back to a 4-point game. Phoenix ran down the clock as much as allowed by the shotclock rules.  Chez Marks added a point from a freethrow so the margin was 83-88 as the clock showed 23 seconds of playing time.  Here’s another clip from this critical stage of the game. Sturt’s three got the score to 88-89 with eleven seconds to go but Lions lost possession on a final critical play, and were then forced to foul to stop the clock again with 2.9 seconds remaining.  Chez Marks kept his nerve and sank both free throws to seal a morale-boosting win.  For Lions, Adrien Sturt led all scorers with 31 (and 9 rebounds) and #15 Tayo Ogedengbe (who turns out to be a friend of a friend of a friend I now see from Twitter!) had 20.  The bulk of the Phoenix points came from Jerome Gumbs with 24 and Myers with 23, but the latter's 13 rebounds were also a big factor in the game.  Final score 88-92
The programme
Something random
I continue to get the feeling that top-level basketball is struggling in this country at the moment and the clubs are not as secure as they were a few years back.  Cheshire have had two incarnations in the same season!  Earlier this year I dropped in to see them at the Northgate Arena one Sunday afternoon as Cheshire Jets.  A few weeks later they were under new management and ownership as Cheshire Phoenix, continuing with the fixture list.  Last season, Lions (as MK Lions) had moved to a new arena as plans for a new home alongside the football stadium melted away – but this also proved unsustainable and the franchise has decided to relocate to the Copper Box when it is released as an Olympic legacy venue.  They have become London Lions and so this Crystal Palace season is very much one of transition.  I’d enjoyed many hoops nights in Milton Keynes over the years – but this one had all the atmosphere of Pluto.  The fact that MK has lost a sports team to south London has caused some wry amusement amongst my football followership.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to report – hoops don’t count for this purpose!
What Next?
Maybe, if there is a dry enough bit of England, groundhopping landmark #500 on the lifetime list on Saturday afternoon.  At the time of writing (11.57pm on Friday night) there are pitch inspections scheduled in most places I would be interested in, and I will again be using the randomness of Twitter to decide where, if anywhere, I will be going.

Heat and Flames Visible in Guildford

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 11 November 2012 at the University of Surrey Sports Park followed by the Spectrum Leisure Centre
Results	Surrey Heat 81 Leicester Riders 74 Guildford Flames 3 Basingstoke Bison 2
Competitions	The BBL (top tier basketball) The English Premier League (second tier ice hockey)
Hopping	Number 13 on the courthopping list, and a second visit to an arena already on the rinkhopping list.  My first hoops/hockey daily double.
Pre-match preparation
Leicester Riders are leading the BBL and unbeaten in all competitions.  Surrey Heat are unbeaten at home, so someone’s record has to give today.  The decision to add the ice hockey was impulsive – no prep other than the teams had played each other yesterday at Basingstoke and Bison won 3-1 to stay at the top of the table.
These matches in one sentence each
A very good, solid performance from Heat to hand a first defeat to Riders built on a points/rebounds double from Frank Holmes. Flames came from behind twice and scored a last minute powerplay winner to delight the home crowd.
So what?
If Heat can win their game in hand, they will join Riders and Newcastle Eagles with 8-1 winning records.
The drama unfolds
Heat settled the quicker on their home court and a three by Albert Margai opened up a seven-point gap at 13-6 midway through the first quarter.  Riders’ coach Rob Paternostro took less than three minutes to become Mr Angry on the sidelines and he was to spend much of the afternoon prowling back and forth to the officials.  My scene-setter clip comes from late in the period as Riders close the gap to three points with just over a minute to go.  Heat are in black, Riders in red.  They got one more score before the buzzer and Andrew Sullivan was leading all scorers with 9pts.  24-23 at the end of the 1st quarter Peter Semek continued his good defensive work for Heat, impressing with his rebound count, but Heat got into foul-count trouble in the second quarter.  Riders’ Yorick Williams rolled back the years with a D-to-D break to give them the lead for the first time at 27-28.  This clip is from midway through the second quarter and takes the score from 28-28 to 35-32. Frank Holmes of Heat was definitely fired-up as two scores in quick succession opened a 43-34 gap and prompted a timeout call from Paternostro.  This time, Riders were in foul trouble but a two from Sullivan on the buzzer meant that the gap was only two points at the halfway mark.  46-44 at the end of the 2nd quarter The third period was lower-scoring as Riders took control.  The clip ends with them leading 55-57, and they stretched this to four points by the end of the quarter.  Sullivan (18) and Frank Holmes (14) continued to lead the scoring charts.  57-61 at the end of the third quarter Frank Holmes got the first points of the final period and the next clip is part of the home side’s turnaround.  Julius Joseph got five consecutive points to tie the game at 64-64.  Paternostro was not a happy bunny.  At the end of the clip we have a score of 73-67 with just over 3 minutes to play. Frank Holmes then contributed another timely score as Heat then shut the Riders out of the next 24s on the shot clock and the clip has them holding the gap to 79-74 with seven seconds to play. Although Riders used deliberate fouls to try to get control of the clock, Heat kept their composure from the free-throw line and although the last two from Caylin Raftopoulos bobbled teasingly on the hoop they both dropped in to seal the home win.  Frank Holmes finished with 22 points and Sullivan and Zaire Taylor on 20.  Final score 81-74 A brief car journey took me to the Spectrum where Guildford Flames were hosting table-toppers Basingstoke Bison.  Bison took the lead through Joe Rand and Flames' Curtis Huppe equalised, and the first period finished level at 1-1.  Bison took the lead again in the second with a Doug Sheppard strike, but Flames levelled in the third with Huppe's second score of the game.  Here is the turning point in the last two minutes, as Flames converted a powerplay to take the lead for the first time with 27 seconds left  Jez Lundin is the scorer of the vital goal.  Bison took off their netminder but Flames held on for the win.  Final score 3-2
The programmes
Proof that I folded the Heat programme, which is actually an A3 poster.  Shocking.
Something random
The Guildford zamboni is still going round clockwise, but you knew that.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to report – these fixtures don’t count towards the totals.
What Next?
In one word – dunno.  Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for any revelations.