Newcastle Eagles are on the brink of conquering Europe after Marc Steutel’s men wrote the latest chapter in the famous franchise’s storied history.

The most successful club in British basketball left it late to make their mark overseas despite dominating the domestic scene for the best part of two decades.

But in only their second campaign in the European North Basketball League (ENBL) Newcastle are making up for lost time… and stand just 40 minutes away from another prized title.

For the second time this season the Eagles out-fought and out-thought Dziki Warszawa to set up a winner-takes-all clash against CSO Voluntari.

And Steutel’s men boast the psychological edge against the dangerous Romanians after defeating Ainars Bagatskis’s men at the Vertu Motors Arena in December.

Around 60 travelling fans will return to the Gopass Arena full of confidence after Trey Pulliam and Christian James leapt off the bench to steer their side to victory.

But Newcastle will need more from Mike Okauru and Seneca Knight if CSO are to be sent packing in Slovakia.

Both of this season’s star men struggled to impose their games on a hard-nosed Dziki defence.

And it took until the fourth quarter before Okauru finally exploded into life — eight clutch points down the stretch sucking the life out of an increasingly weary Warszawa.

That the Eagles won in spite of an off night for both of their big two revealed the fight and passion at the heart of a roster that left its Super League Basketball woes in the rearview mirror.

A vibrant and focused Newcastle looked nothing like the team that’s lost its way back home in recent weeks.

In fact, this was much more like the Eagles side that stormed to victory in the 2025 SLB Trophy final and the team that’s won all but two of its 11 ENBL games this season.

The red hot favourites raced out of the blocks to open up a 23-9 first quarter lead.

And although Dziki won each of the next two periods — closing to within five points after 30 minutes — the Poles never looked like overhauling their locked-in rivals.

What could have been a tense final period turned out to be a relative stroll as Cole Long and Okauru combined for the first six points of the fourth quarter.

De’Sean Allen-Eikens drained key baskets at critical points and Pulliam — the most fouled player in the game — stayed cool in the face of late pressure.

On a night when Darius Defoe was hamstrung by early fouls and Josh Ward-Hibbert lacked his usual offensive threat, Steutel managed his stretched roster to perfection.

And the watching CSO contingent were left with plenty to ponder as they try to predict where Newcastle’s threat will come from in the final.

Only two teams have found a way to beat the Eagles in European competition all season and big games are when this talented team tends to excel.

Newcastle tackle Voluntari from 7.30pm tonight, Wednesday 9 April, with the action screened live and for free from 7.30pm (BST) / 8:30pm (CEST) on the ENBL YouTube channel and in the official fan zone at the Maldron Hotel Newcastle where doors open from 3:30pm.