Eagles bag BBL cup

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle claimed the first silverware of the season on Sunday after defeating Glasgow Rocks, 84-71, in the BBL Cup final at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham.


After losing the previous two BBL Cup finals, it was third time lucky as the favourites got ahead early in the game and held firm despite a number of Rocks’ rallies in the second half.

Once again Eagles’ veteran Charles Smith put in a big performance with 21 points, while Rahmon Fletcher, who had 15 points, won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

The Rocks were led by JaJuan Smith’s 17 points and a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds from Kieron Achara.


“It feels good to have won a final again and I can’t wait to see what this team is now capable of doing from this point onwards,” said Eagles’ player-coach Fab Flournoy.

“I thought Charles was tremendous for us and could have been MVP. Having said that, Rahmon was also great in his first final.”

The Eagles’ cup win came less than 48 hours after their 19-game winning streak came to an end with a BBL Championship defeat at title rivals Worcester Wolves.