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TIGERS FIRED UP TO FINISH FINAL JOB

Everton Tigers’ head coach Tony Garbelotto is proud of his team’s historic victory over Newcastle Eagles in the Playoff semi-finals but says the job is not complete.

The club upset the odds and beat the Eagles twice last weekend to put them one step away from becoming playoff champions and make up for the team’s fifth place in the league.

Garbelotto insists the achievement against the BBL’s dominant force won’t be recognised if the team don’t go on to beat Glasgow Rocks in the final at Birmingham this Saturday – the Tigers’ second in three seasons as a professional club.

He said: “The team is playing at it’s very best at the moment. I think Newcastle weren’t prepared for the level we were playing at and we fully deserved our victory over two legs.

“No-one has achieved that sort of result against the Eagles in the last few years, but that will be to no avail if we don’t beat Glasgow in the final. The job will only be done when we bring home the Playoff trophy.”

And he also praised the impact of Kevin Bell in spurring the Tigers to seven consecutive wins to tee up a season finale, adding: “Since Kevin Bell has come back we have clicked in a way which we hadn’t managed up to now. “Kevin’s helping scoring easy baskets, giving us confidence, as well as letting Trey Moore really play to his level."

“All the team are focussed and we are playing at a peak intensity in defence to make us almost unpressable – closing down shooters, getting to the ball first and winning rebounds.”

The Tigers have released details of tickets for the final. The club is organising travel to the game, with a match and coach ticket package costing £30 for adults, £25 for concessions. The coach leaves Greenbank at 1.00pm Saturday, with supporters able to pay for and receive tickets before boarding.

For those travelling separately to Birmingham tickets can be purchased from the bar at Greenbank between 6.00pm and 7.00pm on Thursday and Friday nights this week. Tickets cost £21 adults and £16 concessions. Supporters can give their ticket requirements to the club through the website, www.everton-tigers.com, or through Facebook, www.facebook.com/evertontigers, all requests will be confirmed in writing.

TIGERS DEMOLISH EAGLES AND SEND THEM ON VACATION

NIA HERE WE COME !!!!

BBL Championship Play-off Semi-Final, second Leg

Newcastle Eagles 79 (20,36,58) (Stewart 17, Smith 15, Chapman 14)

Everton Tigers 95 (21,41,67) (Babalola 24, Gumbs 17, Jones 16)

Everton Tigers are the first team through to the BBL play-offs final after comprehensively seeing off regular season title winners Newcastle Eagles 190-158 on aggregate.

Tony Garbelotto's men repeated their 95-79 victory on Friday in another excellent display. Former Eagles forward Olu Babalola (pictured) led all scorers with 24 points for Everton and he received great support from Jerome Gumbs (17 points) and James Jones (16 points).

Newcastle had needed to put the pressure on Tigers from the start but the largest lead they could muster was 15-11. The final time they led was 28-27 midway through the second quarter. After that it was all Everton as they put together a 12-2 burst to blow open the match.

Eagles led for the majority of the first quarter with Lynard Stewart's bucket making it 15-11. A 10-5 close to the period, including threes from Jones and last season's MVP with the Eagles Trey Moore, gave Tigers a 20-21 lead.

After the break Jones continued to cause problems from beyond the arc as Eagles own three-point attempts fell off target. His second triple of the quarter made it 31-41 before Eagles trimmed the gap to 36-41 at half time.

Tigers extended their advantage to 45-59 late in the third, which gave them a huge overall margin of 30 points. A Kevin Bell three on the third quarter buzzer gave Everton a 58-67 lead.

There was no way back for Newcastle in the final stanza as Tigers' advantage on the night only slipped below double-digits twice. Their lead peaked at 76-95 before Stewart ended the Eagles season with a three point shot - only their seventh in 29 attempts.

NOW TIGERS CRUSH EAGLES TO TAKE A 16 POINT LEAD

2010 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME JUST ONE WIN AWAY

BBL Championship Play-off Semi-Final, First Leg

Everton Tigers 95 (26,46,72) (Moore 33, Babalola 14, Bell/Gumbs 11)

Newcastle Eagles 79 (23,38,57) (Sullivan 25, Stewart 13, Smith 11)

Everton Tigers produced a highly-impressive display to take a 16 point lead into the second leg of their BBL Championship Play-off semi-final on Saturday night thanks to an awesome 95-79 victory over the BBL League Champions Newcastle Eagles at the Greenbank Academy on Friday evening.

In a tight opening to the game both sides traded baskets throughout the early exchanges with the lead changing hands on a couple of occassions. A 9-3 burst from the visitors gave them a 20-21 lead with 1:25 left in the first quarter, but that was the last time they would lead in the game as the Tigers came back at them to end the first period leading 26-23.

In the second quarter the home side continued to mount a strong offence and a 10-2 run midway through the period took the score out to 42-31. The Tigers maintained their lead for the remainder of the half and headed into the locker rooms with an eight point advantage at 46-38 going into the second half.

The Tigers started the stronger in the third period and a 7-2 start gave them a 53-40 advantage over the Eagles. The home side continued to pile on the pressure and extended their lead still further as the quarter progressed and a 14-3 tear towards the end of the third quarter gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the game at 70-50.

The visitors closed the gap slightly at the end of the third after scoring seven of the last nine points of the period to trail 72-57 heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter, the Tigers maintained their advantage throughout as the Eagles had no response for a tenacious Everton outfit that played hard at both ends of the floor and ultimately ended up securing the all-important victory.

Former Eagles man Trey Moore led all scorers in the game with an impressive 33 points for the Tigers, while Andrew Sullivan led the Eagles in scoring with 25 points of his own.

SECOND LEG TONIGHT AT METRO RADIO ARENA, NEWCASTLE. TIP OFF 7:30pm

SENSATIONAL TIGERS BLOW JETS AWAY TO ADVANCE TO SEMIS

Cheshire Jets 79 (25,43,63) (Davis 20, Myers 16, Young 12, O'Reilly 12)

Everton Tigers 94 (37,59,74) (Moore 25, Bell 22, Jones 17)

Everton Tigers won the battle of the north-west as they destroyed Cheshire Jets 79-94 to reach the BBL Play-offs semi-finals.

Jets old-boy Trey Moore felt right at home at the Northgate Arena scoring a game high 25 points and dishing up 5 assists. Moore will now face his former team-mates Newcastle Eagles in the last four.

Tigers used a 28-10 run over the first quarter break to open up a 29-48 lead midway through the second period.

Jets reduced the gap to 61-66 in the third quarter, but another James Jones three and five points from Moore put Everton back in control again at 63-74 heading into the final stanza.

With Jets forced to foul Kevin Bell shook off a few nerves to make enough free throws to keep Cheshire at bay. Bell ended the match with 22 points and 5 assists, while Jerome Gumbs served up a double double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 56% from the field and a sensational 48% from beyond the arc going 12 for 25. The only thing that will have been a concern to Head Coach Tony Garbelotto after this sensational performance will have been the Tiger's free throw shooting down to 53%. The Tigers went to the line on an amazing 34 occasions making only 18.

For Cheshire the veteran pair of Calvin Davis and Shawn Myers led the offence with 20 points and 16 points respectively.

HOME LEG	AWAY LEG
FRIDAY 30th APRIL	SATURDAY 1st MAY
AT GREENBANK	AT METRO RADIO ARENA
TIP OFF 7:30	TIP OFF 7:30

TIGERS WIN BUT MISS OUT ON HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

Everton Tigers set up an all north-west play-off quarter final with Cheshire Jets after pulling away from Essex Pirates in Southend 86-108.

Olu Babalola was once again in sparkling form for Everton as he led Tigers scorers with 21. Kevin Bell continued his comeback with 19 points and Andy Thomson weighed in with 16.

The match was tight throughout the first half as Pirates one point first quarter lead of 29-28 was overturned by the interval (53-54). Tigers moved away towards the end of the third quarter to take a 72-78 advantage into the final stanza.

And the superior experience of the visitors began to show as they managed to keep their cool once a 14 point lead had been cut to six. In the end it was a comfy margin of victory for Tigers and one that sets up an eagerly awaited play-off match.

TIGERS WIN AGAIN TO KEEP HOME COURT DREAM ALIVE

Everton Tigers kept their hopes of snatching a fourth place finish alive thanks to a 97-78 victory over the Glasgow Rocks at the Greenbank Academy on Friday evening.

The result means that the Tigers need to beat the Essex Pirates tomorrow night and hope that both the Cheshire Jets and the Riders fail to win any of their remaining games in order for them to take fourth position.

The Tigers started the game the stronger and a 16-4 burst gave them an early 24-9 advantage, but the Rocks got themselves back into the game with a 14-4 tear of their own to trim the deficit to five points to end the first period at 28-23.

The second quarter saw the Tigers extend their lead to ten points at 38-28 off the back of a 10-3 run, but Gareth Murray was in fine shooting form at the end of the first half as he helped the Rocks tie the game up at 49-49 as the visitors netted 14 of the last 24 points of the half, with Murray netting eight of them, as the sides headed into the locker room at the half.

In the second half, both sides traded baskets in the early going, but it was the Tigers who broke the game open with a 17-8 tear to take the score out to 72-63 as the teams headed into the final stanza.

In the final quarter the Rocks tried to keep themselves in touch with their hosts as they closed to within ten points at 82-72, but a 15-2 burst from the home side to take the score out to 97-74 and the Tigers held on for the comfortable victory.

Trey Moore led all scorers in the game with an impressive 32-point haul for the Tigers, while the Rocks were led by Murray with 16 points.

Everton Tigers 97 (28,49,72) (Moore 32, Bell 23, Babalola 18)

Glasgow Rocks 78 (23,49,63) (Murray 17, Yanders 16, Parillon 16)

TIGERS WIN ON THE ROAD AT LONDON TO GO TO 18 & 15

PAWS London Capital 90 (25,47,66) (Gariba 24, Jivens 19, Janusauskas 18)

Everton Tigers 113 (29,53,85) (Moore 25, M. Jones 18, J. Jones 17)

The Everton Tigers beat the PAWS London Capital 90-113 to make it two wins in consecutive nights in their chase for a top-four spot in the BBL Championship table.

Trey Moore led all scorers with 25 points, while Marcel Jones added 18 and James Jones scored 17 for the Tigers. Ibrahim Gariba led the hosts with 24 points.

The game was tight throughout the first half as both teams were connecting from beyond the three-point line. The Tigers led 47-53 at the half as they hit seven out of ten three-pointers in the first half, with James Jones scoring 12 points from 4/4 shooting. Milek Jivens was going toe-to-toe with him for the hosts, as he also had 12 points from four triples.

The game was won early in the third period as the Tigers opened with the first ten points to lead 47-63, and they pushed that out to 66-85 heading into the final ten minutes. And it was a comfortable win for the visitors as they broke through the century mark to move to within two points of local rivals the Cheshire Jets in fifth place.

TIGERS STAY STRONG TO RECORD FAMOUS VICTORY

Everton Tigers 75 (11,39,58) (Babalola 17, Gumbs 15, Jones 14)

Cheshire Jets 63 (15,28,55) (Young 20, Peterson 16, O'Reilly 9)

Everton Tigers won the battle of the north-west coming back from a substantial deficit to record a famous 75-63 win over Cheshire Jets on Merseyside.

Seventeen points from Olu Babalola (pictured) and 15 from Jerome Gumbs provided the backbone for a Tigers offence that keeps the Liverpool club's hopes of a home play-off berth alive.

There was nothing between the clubs in the first quarter as the lead exchanged hands nine times. Jets seized the initiative with a 5-0 run to close the period, which included three Steven Gayle free throws to give the visitors an 11-15 advantage.

Paul Peterson stretched the Jets lead to 11-18 at the start of the second but it inspired a 15-6 run by Tigers to level the match at 26-26 on James Jones's three. The burst continued through to half time with Tigers scoring a further 13 points to just a solitary bucket from Cheshire.

Tigers stretched out their lead to 53-35 on another Jones three before Jets fought back. Attacking the basket at every opportunity Cheshire began to get to the free throw line.

Ten free throws helped Jets close to 56-55 before Everton's Chris Haslem made it 58-55 to end the third quarter.

Everton shut down Jets' offence in the final stanza after Peterson had made it 63-60. Jerome Gumbs sparked a 12-3 run to end the match with Tigers last six points all scored from the charity stripe.

TIGERS SUFFER 2 DEFEATS OVER DIFFICULT EASTER WEEKEND

Everton Tigers 77 (17,36,54) (Babalola 20, Bell 19, Moore 13
Newcastle Eagles 91 (24,39,63) (Smith 20, Jackson 19, Chapman 18)

Newcastle Eagles kept up the pressure on the Sheffield Sharks at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a somewhat comfortable 77-91 victory over the Everton Tigers at the Greenbank Academy on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.

The first quarter saw both teams try to stamp their authority on the game but it was the visitors who made the first move as they lead 17-24 at the end of the opening period.

The second quarter continued in much the same vain as the first with both sides trading baskets in the early going as the Eagles led 22-31 with seven minutes left in the half. The Tigers got themselves back into the game thanks a 10-1 burst to tie the game up at 32-32, but seven points from Eagles player/coach Fab Flournoy helped the visitors take a slender three-point advantage at 36-39 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Eagles enjoyed a 9-2 tear to take the score out to 38-48 midway through the third period. The home side fought their way back into the game and closed to within five points at 50-55, but eight points from Reggie Jackson to close out the third period sent the Eagles into the final stanza leading 54-63.

In the final period the Eagles broke the game open thanks to a 12-2 burst to take the score out to their biggest lead of the game at 61-81 with six minutes remaining. The Tigers valiantly tried to get themselves back into the game and despite a 10-2 burst to bring them back to within 12 points at 77-89, the Eagles secured the comfortable victory.

Olu Babalola led the Everton scorers with 20 points, while Charles Smith enjoyed a successful day as he lead the scoring for the Eagles with 20 points while Jackson chipped in with 19 points of his own for the victors.

Sheffield Sharks 101 (25,42,72) (Cook 29, Lyons 16, Gorman 15)
Everton Tigers 95 (23,43,59) (Babalola 23, Gumbs 23, Moore 20)

The Sheffield Sharks will spend the weekend alone atop the BBL Championship table after beating the Everton Tigers 101-95; the win, which came courtesy of a strong second half performance, puts them just ahead of the Newcastle Eagles, who don't play until Monday.

Mike Cook led all scorers with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists; Atiba Lyons scored 16 points and Matt Gorman made 15 for the Sharks. The Tigers were led by 23 points each from Olu Babalola and Jerome Gumbs.

The teams could barely be separated early on, despite the Sharks taking a 12-6 lead after triples from Cook and Perry Lawson; but James Jones and Gumbs responded in kind to see the teams tied at 14 soon afterwards. They would go on to be knotted at 16, 19 and 21 until consecutive scores from Cook helped the Sharks to edge the first period by 25-23.

But Jones tied the teams once more, at 26, with a three-pointer early in the second stanza. Todd Cauthorn replied to spark a 6-0 run and not long after the Sharks had the biggest first half lead at 35-28. The teams would then trade runs up to half time as Gumbs scored 6 points in a row to bring Everton back, before a 7-2 run from the Sharks and, finally, a 7-0 finish to the period that gave the Tigers the lead at 42-43.

The hosts turned the screw in the third quarter, despite the fact that the Tigers still led 53-54 with four minutes left. But they would score just three points in the last three minutes as a triple from Lyons and two from Lawson ignited a 16-3 finish to the quarter and sent the Sharks into the decisive period with a 72-59 lead.

In a high-scoring fourth, the Sharks kept their visitors at arm's length and saw the game out by scoring 14 free-throws. The Tigers got as close as 91-85 with two minutes left after a 9-2 push, which included 6 for Babalola, but Cook kept his nerve at the charity stripe and Everton would get no closer.

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