IN T' NET
An occasional Basketball Diary ... (from Yorkshire, in case tha'd not noticed)
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12/12/05
There's so much routine admin to do on a weekly basis (keeping fixtures and results up to date) that I keep finding that I don't have time to fit in the more proactive items, such as reports and commentary.
However, with the BBL Trophy Groups reaching their climax this week I can't let the opportunity pass without passing some comment.
I'm by no means a fan of the format of four qualifiers from three groups, with the three winners joined in the semi-finals by the "fastest loser" (the second placed team with the best record), but since that's what we're stuck with we'll just have to live with it (though, hopefully, only for this season!).
So, how do the permutations stack up?
Pl W. L. For Agt. Pts PD 1 Guildford Heat 3 3 0 274 244 6 2 Brighton Bears 4 3 1 384 348 6 36 3 Plymouth Raiders 3 1 2 263 249 2 4 London United [EBL] 3 1 2 245 290 2 5 Worthing Thunder [EBL] 3 0 3 234 284 0 The South Group is very straightforward, with Guildford having already qualified, as Group winners. They still have to play at home to London United on Sunday, but even if they should lose they would still finish above Brighton, as they beat them in early November.
The Bears, having finished their Group matches, have set the standard for qualification from second place, with a 3&1 record and a +36 points difference in all their Group games. Any other second-placed team must better that record in order to reach the semis.
It's unfortunate that the North Group contains the two teams which are, arguably, the best two in the country at the moment - Newcastle Eagles and the Scottish Rocks, as one of these two may yet fail to qualify.
Pl W. L. For Agt. Pts PD 1= Newcastle Eagles 2 2 0 202 142 4 60 1= Scottish Rocks 2 2 0 151 114 4 37 3 Sheffield Sharks 4 2 2 323 273 4 4 Chester Jets 2 0 2 132 170 0 5 Teesside Mohawks [EBL] 2 0 2 127 233 0 The crunch game comes this Thursday, when the Rocks travel to the MetroRadio Arena, with the winner qualifying as Group winner, regardless of what they do in their final game.
Since the winner will have three victories, the other three teams cannot win the Group, and with two defeats each already, they cannot beat Brighton to the fastest-loser berth.
The loser of the Eagles/Rocks game must then win their remaining fixture in order to still have a chance of qualifying ... and ensure that their total points difference exceeds 36 at the minimum.
For the Eagles this would mean needing to win at Chester on Sunday, while if it is the Rocks who need the final victory they have the slightly more straightforward task of trying to pick up a victory at EBL participants Teesside!
Pl W. L. For Agt. Pts PD 1= Leicester Riders 3 2 1 235 209 4 26 1= Birmingham Bullets 3 2 1 274 231 4 43 1= London Towers 3 2 1 227 207 4 20 4 Milton Keynes Lions 2 1 1 151 146 2 5 5 Essex & Herts Leopards [EBL] 3 0 3 182 201 0 If you think that Group is complicated, the Midlands Group makes it seem a model of simplicity!
Three teams are currently tied with 2&1 records, while Milton Keynes are likely to join them following their visit to EBL's Essex & Herts Leopards on Wednesday.
Then, on Sunday, the two remaining matches pair off the top four, with Birmingham Bullets hosting London Towers, and Leicester Riders visiting the Lions.
Whichever two win their respective matches, the automatic qualifier will depend on the result of the earlier game between them.
So, if Birmingham and Milton Keynes win, then Bullets top the Group and qualify; if Birmingham and Leicester finish on 3&1, it will be the Riders who go through automatically.
If Towers and Lions succeed on Sunday the Lions will win the Group; if it's Towers and Riders then Towers make it to the semis.
For the team that wins on Sunday but fails to top the Group, their fate will then depend on their total points difference. If it's Birmingham, then they already have a +43 difference and would qualify ahead of Brighton; if it's Leicester they will have needed to win by 11 or more to put Brighton out, while Towers need a 17 point victory to do so. Milton Keynes need to win their two games by a combined margin of 32.
Even then qualification would not be certain for the second placed Midlands team. Unless the Eagles/Rocks game in the North is very one-sided (which seems unlikely both on current form and past meetings) then the loser's points difference would probably be good enough to see them through if they win their respective final game. If it's the Rocks who are in that position, then the Midlands runners-up could face an agonising wait, until the Scots' game at Teesside is finally rearranged!
So, that's really quite straightforward, isn't it? Bring back the four-group format ... PLEASE!