A thoroughly professional and solid performance from Newcastle Eagles saw them fly to Estonia and complete their European North Basketball League (ENBL) group stage in superb style.

The win sets the Eagles’ 2024/25 ENBL regular season record at seven wins and one solitary loss in what has been a spectacular campaign.

Newcastle have the honour of topping Group A and securing top seeding for the Playoffs Quarter Finals, which means repeat blockbuster clashes against last season’s ENBL Champions, the Bakken Bears of Aarhus Denmark.

The first leg will be played in Aarhus on Tuesday 11 March with the return tie seven days later on Tuesday 18 March at the Vertu Motors Arena.

It will be a great occasion as the Eagles look to go one step further than they managed last season and make the ENBL’s Final Four.

Before the game head coach Marc Steutel had pointed out the importance of new point guard Trey Pulliam and the contribution he could make.

Steutel wasn’t wrong as Pulliam led his side superbly controlling the game throughout to finish with 23 points and 4 assists to take the game MVP award.

With Josh Ward-Hibbert still sidelined through injury and Jordan Spencer leaving the club to pursue a career outside basketball, the Eagles’ play-caller had to rely on a mainly eight-man rotation to negotiate the game.

Those eight did their coach and the club proud, staying disciplined throughout the game, and slowly but surely put the Estonians to the sword as they won every quarter and increased their lead steadily.

The first quarter was tight as is usually the case at this level but Newcastle sneaked it late with a De’Sean Allen-Eikens triple that gave them the opening ten-minute period 16 points to 14. Then in the second period, it was Pulliam who began his takeover of the game.

Great footwork saw him either get to the basket or open up the court for a decisive jump shot as he led his team to a further four-point advantage in the quarter meaning Newcastle led by six points at 36 to 30 as the side’s went to the locker rooms.

Tartu hit back strongly as the second half opened and scored seven straight points to take the lead. But thereafter the mean Eagles defence shut the home side down. Newcastle only allowed their opponents six more points in the quarter and replied with 19 of their own.

It meant a further lengthening of the lead for Steutel’s men as they approached the final ten minutes with a double-digit lead of 55 to 43 with the final quarter to play. And as they had done in the first three they increased their lead further down the stretch.

Newcastle had only hit three triples through the first three quarters but poured in six in those last ten minutes including their last four scores of the game to make the final score an emphatic 21-point road win and complete a superb group phase of the competition.

Following the final buzzer, Paul Blake, managing director of Newcastle Eagles, said: “I’m extremely proud of all the team and what they’ve achieved in European competition so far this season.

“We entered the competition last season with no other goal than to see how we would fair against teams from leagues that were perceived to be of a higher level than ours.

“In that first season, we surprised a lot of people with a winning record and qualification into the Quarter Finals.

“So, to now go a step further this season and win our group, is an achievement that deserves some recognition. It’s a first for the club and something for the North East to be proud of.

“Playing in Europe, with the domestic schedule that we have, is extremely tough and it’s great to see us succeeding.

“Our league, the SLB, and its clubs are doing great things here, building venues, growing our fanbase, our commerciality and importantly our impact in the community. We are moving in the right direction and all making forward steps each season.”

March and its two-legged rematch of 2024 against Bakken Bears now awaits the Eagles. It is going to be a huge occasion and chance for another step forward for the club, but Newcastle have little time to bask in any European glory with lot of domestic commitments to take care of before then.

“I’m elated to finish the group stages the right way. Winning the group is really important and it was one of our goals that we set out at the start of the season”, head coach Marc Steutel added.

“To have been able to get better at each stage of this campaign has been great.

“It was a really professional performance from the squad to finish the ENBL regular season tonight and we look forward to competing against Bakken in the Playoffs Quarter Finals.

“It’s a rematch of last year so we want to try and make sure that we take steps forward.”

“I’m really proud of this team and their performance on a historic night for the club.

“To be seven and one in our second campaign in Europe, and to finish top, is something everyone associated with the club can be really proud of and hopefully we can continue to build upon.”

The SLB Championship campaign continues on Friday night at the Vertu Motors Arena with the visit of fourth-placed Cheshire Phoenix, giving the fifth-placed Eagles the chance to welcome home their ENBL conquering heroes and tickets are available from the box office.