London Lions successfully defended its British Basketball League Playoff title by edging Cheshire Phoenix 88-85 at The O2. Sam Dekker buried the go-ahead three-pointer in crunch time.
London Lions is the British League playoff champion!
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Dekker paced the winners with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, earning MVP honors. Matt Morgan added 16 points while Gabe Olaseni and Tarik Phillip each added 12 for London, which had 23 assists, 7 steals and 7 blocks in this game. London used a 13-0 run that Dekker capped with a driving layup to get its first double-digit lead, 24-12, late in the first quarter, and still led 52-41 at halftime. Cheshire returned to the game in the third quarter and Laquincy Rideau's late heroics allowed their team to tie the game, 85-85, already in the final minute. Morgan found Dekker for a corner three-pointer and after a timeout, Maceo Jack and Aaryn Rai each missed from downtown at the other end.
London won the British League title with a 33-3 regular season record, adding the playoff crown to round a near-perfect domestic season. It lost 82-98 against Cheshire in the British Trophy final in late January. Added to its domestic success, London made it to the BKT EuroCup semifinals, becoming the first British team to reach this far in European competitions.