The latest BBL All-Star 5 is dominated by teams who got back to winning ways over the weekend, led by big scoring nights from a starting five that combined for 124 points as Bristol Flyers, Newcastle Eagles, Plymouth City Patriots and Caledonia Gladiators bounced back from defeats, while London Lions remained unbeaten.
Thomas Bell III – Bristol Flyers
Flyers improved to 5-1 with their first road win of the campaign on Sunday, coming through overtime to beat Cheshire Phoenix behind a dominant performance from American forward Thomas Bell III. He finished with 27 points on 9-13 (69%) shooting, knocking down 4-7 (57%) from beyond the three-point line, to go with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, including seven of Bristol’s 12 points in the additional period and the ‘and-one’ play that broke a tie and put them ahead for good.
David Cohn – Newcastle Eagles
On Friday night, Newcastle got their first win on the board by inflicting a first defeat on Bristol, with point guard David Cohn producing a near-perfect shooting night and pulling the strings throughout as he makes his second All-Star 5 appearance of the season – the only player in the team not to be debuting. He missed just one free-throw on his way to 20 points, shooting 4-4 from beyond the arc and 2-2 inside, while handing out nine assists and nabbing two steals. Eagles led almost throughout the game with Cohn’s consistency a hallmark, including four points and three assists midway through the fourth as the lead went from just two shots to double-figures on a 14-3 run.
Troy Simons – Plymouth City Patriots
Patriots got their first win since the opening game in front of a packed house on Sunday, beating Surrey Scorchers in convincing fashion as American guard Troy Simons went off from three-point range and did a bit of everything for his team. He hit 6-13 (46%) threes en route to 24 points, with six assists, five rebounds, three steals and a block; including a pair of threes among 10 second stanza points as the hosts broke the game open, before three triples in just over a minute and a half to send the lead from single-figures to more than 20 points midway through the third.
David Sloan – Caledonia Gladiators
The weekend’s biggest scorer, point guard David Sloan led Caledonia Gladiators to a significant win over treble-holders Leicester Riders following a sensational fourth quarter at the Emirates Arena. Sloan finished on 36 points in 29 minutes as he shot 5-10 (50%) from long-range, 7-11 (63%) inside and 7-8 (87%) at the free-throw line, including an unbelievable 19 points in the fourth quarter as Gladiators poured in 32 to come from behind and take victory, Sloan hitting the go-ahead triple with two and a half minutes to play.
Vojtech Hruban – London Lions
London Lions are a perfect 7-0 after two wins at the Copper Box Arena over the weekend, starting on Friday night as Vojtech Hruban was slick in leading them past Cheshire Phoenix live on Sky Sports. In just 20 minutes of play, he finished with 17 points on 6-8 (75%) shooting, with three assists, three rebounds and two blocks, including eight points in a fourth quarter that Lions won 25-12 to settle a game that had otherwise been tight throughout.
Off the bench: Elvisi Dusha (Plymouth City Patriots), Rahmon Fletcher (Manchester Giants), Jermel Kennedy (Newcastle Eagles), Tomislav Zubcic (London Lions), Zach Jackson (Leicester Riders), VJ King (Bristol Flyers), William Lee (Manchester Giants).
