Mixed Month But Gladiators Maintain Top Three Challenge
Caledonia Gladiators remain in the mix for the top three places in the British Basketball League despite the Macklin Motors-backed enduring a mixed November on the court.
After a near perfect October, the month kicked off with a trip to Spain in the Champions League to face off against Bilbao Basket, but the Scottish side would slip to a first defeat in the competition as Bilbao picked up the points with a 106:58 victory.
Returning to league action, the Gladiators came away from the long trip to Plymouth with a vital victory – helped by 19 points from Fahro Alihodzic – before a week of action away from home drew to a close in Bristol, where the Scottish side slipped to defeat despite a MVP performance from Patrick Whelen.
An emphatic victory against BC CSU Sibiu made it three wins from four in European competition and was followed up by a home success against the Sheffield Sharks – mainly thanks to a storming third quarter where the Gladiators outscored their rivals by ten points having earlier overhauled a first quarter deficit.
A crucial game followed as the Gladiators headed for Poland for the return fixture with Anwil Włocławek, and the home side was able to come out on top with a 93:72 win that meant it would go down to the final group game to determine whether or not Caledonia would progress to the next round.
A narrow loss to Newcastle Eagles came before the crucial game against Bilbao, with the Gladiators needing to win to stand any chance of making it through the group stage. Unfortunately, the European adventure would come to an end as the Spanish side took victory 78:59, leaving Caledonia to focus on challenging for domestic honours instead.
An aggressive second quarter from Cheshire Phoenix allowed the visitors to come out on top in the first of back-to-back games as they won in Scotland, but the following game saw the Gladiators win on their rivals patch as they immediately gained revenge – winning by an almost identical score.
A narrow victory against Bristol rounded out the month to leave the Gladiators still sitting third in the table with 15 games gone.
November Results:
- Bilbao Basket (A) – Lost 106:58
- Plymouth City Patriots (A) – Won 82:72
- Bristol Flyers (A) – Lost 94:77
- BC CSU Sibiu (H) – Won 91:67
- Sheffield Sharks (H) – Won 73:64
- Anwil Włocławek (A) – Lost 93:72
- Newcastle Eagles (H) – Lost 82:73
- Bilbao Basket (H) – Lost 78:59
- Cheshire Phoenix (H) – Lost 92:83
- Cheshire Phoenix (A) – Won 92:82
- Bristol Flyers (H) – Won 85:82