We round off our week of Playoff previews with a look at the senior Finals as City of Edinburgh face Sony Centre Fury in the Men’s Final before Lady Rocks play St Mirren West College Scotland for the Women’s trophy.
City of Edinburgh v Sony Centre Fury
Tipping off at 6pm on Saturday, the Senior Men’s final will be contested between City of Edinburgh Kings and Sony Centre Fury. Sony Centre Fury will be looking to complete the Cup and Playoff double, whilst City of Edinburgh will be looking to retain their trophy to avoid a season with no silverware.
Kings overcame Boroughmuir Blaze 87-70 in the Quarter-Finals before a dramatic 77-75 victory against the League Champions, Dunfermline Reign.
Garreth Lodge, captain of City of Edinburgh Kings, thinks the two differing teams will provide a great match up in the Final:
“We’re really looking forward to Saturday’s playoff final and hopefully retaining the trophy. You’ve got two very different teams facing each other. Falkirk are a very experienced team and have strengthened with the recruitment of players in last few seasons, some of which only last year were playing in professional leagues. We’re a very young team with our average age only 23, but what I’m most proud of is the fact that every player on our team is a product of our Club’s youth system, and our youngest player at 16 is a starter. It’s a great advert for Scottish basketball I think and I’m sure the game on Saturday will be too.”
Sony Centre Fury progressed through the Quarter Finals with a 92-68 victory over Glasgow University. St Mirren West College Scotland awaited in the Semi-Final, with Fury coming out on top 94-84.
Fury’s Head Coach, John Bunyan, believes his team has shown consistency throughout the 2018/19 season and hopes this will lead to the win on Saturday:
“Reaching the final of the Play-Offs has made our team the most consistent in all 3 Men’s competitions this season. We need to take that consistency into what will be a tough game against our long-time rivals the Edinburgh Kings. We have had great production off our bench this season as well as some great numbers from our regular starters and we will have to maintain that team basketball ethic to get the win. I am looking forward to an exciting game, where there will be talented players on show in both teams. The club have 4 teams at the Play-Off week-ends and 3 in Finals on the Saturday, so we know what is always a great Fury support will be on hand to cheer our players on and that’s a positive that we always try to capitalise on.”
Rocks v St Mirren West College Scotland
The 2018/19 SBC Playoffs conclude on Sunday afternoon as Lady Rocks face St Mirren West College Scotland in the Final of the Women’s Playoff. The game is set to be close, with the teams finishing first and second in the League campaign.
Lady Rocks progressed to the Semi-Final without taking to the court and West Lothian Wolves conceded the fixture. There was late drama in the Semi as they overcame City of Edinburgh 56-53 to challenge for the Playoff trophy.
St Mirren West College Scotland faced Glasgow University in the Quarter-Finals, where they took the win by a score of 79-38. In the Semi-Final they welcomed University of Edinburgh to Paisley, running out 73-64 winners.
St Mirren Captain Rebecca Cleary is proud of the progression her team has made in recent years:
“This squad has fought from near relegation a few seasons ago to second place and a spot at the end of season finale. We are all really excited.”
Tickets for the weekend’s action can still be bought here.
