NEWCASTLE Eagles coach Fab Flournoy has admitted he had no idea his side had made history when they became the first BBL team to have won three overtime games in a row.

For one so used to breaking new ground during his sparkling reign, it was noticeable the New Yorker was genuinely surprised at this latest achievement.

He claimed: “I was sat with Andrew Bridge after the Milton Keynes game and we were trying to calculate how many minutes we had played as a team in seven days.

“I think we just about lost count, but on the subject of us being the first club in the history of the BBL to win three consecutive overtime games my reaction is just – wow!

“I had no idea when we had finished the game what we had done.

“You need luck to accomplish something like that and I guess we did get it but. although it is a cliché, we did make our own luck and not least because we worked and battled so incredibly hard.

“The funniest thing is after two overtime games at Everton, and of course when we won the title at Guildford, overtime at Milton Keynes was the furthest thing from my mind and then we go and get a double period!

“I did not think we would be able to follow up the Guildford game with another achievement like this and it shows our character of late.

“It is testament to our never-say-die spirit.”

Flournoy added: “In a strange way, I wish this had happened near the start of the season, because it might have brought us together as a team even more quickly.

“Winning close games and particularly overtime games is character-building, and we have been smarter in tight games of late.

“It looks like we have finally learned to win big games, too.”

With the season now entering the final few weeks, Flournoy is hoping his team’s strength and stamina will see them over the line, even if that means delaying rest and title celebrations for a little longer.

He said: “I want to pay a lot of respect to our conditioning coaches and the club doctors because they have worked us really hard this year – and especially recently.

“Without hard work and being in the right shape you achieve nothing.

“It is so easy to take your mind off things and lose focus if you are successful, but we have no intention of doing that.

“Everyone can celebrate and party when the season is over.”