In dramatic fashion, the Lions completea trademark EuroCup comeback to win at the death against a defiant Prometey inLondon.
Sam Dekker sealed the deal with a last-gasp three-pointer that confirmed another latevictory against European opposition.
In the final EuroCup game of the calendaryear, the Copper Box Arena was packed out with support for a London Lions teamthat has continued to defy the odds this season.
The British side came into the game on ahigh, having survived an overtime thriller in Manchester on Sunday. With theirEuropean record standing at 8-3, the Lions knew that a victory would solidifytheir spot in third place heading into the New Year.
Prometey were also eager to taste victoryon the evening, as they looked to seek revenge over a team that had beaten themback in October.
The Lions brought the game to PromoteySlobozhanske with the intention of avoiding the need to force a comeback in thelatter stages of the match. London has built a reputation of starting game’sslow before stealing victories in the latter stages, which is something theyhad recently done against Cheshire and Manchester.
It was end-to-end action in East London,however – the hosts found their range with deep shots from Conor Morgan and SamDekker. The pair sunk back-to-back three-pointers and signalled their intent tothe Ukrainian side from the offset.
Despite Prometey’s best efforts, coachBožić’s side continued to put together great plays on both ends of the courtwhich saw the British side pull away.
The Lions’ offense was showcasing theirchemistry as they collaborated well to break down the Prometey defence. It was SamDekker who once again led London’s charge, scoring 16 points on the night.
As a result, the reigning British championswent into the dressing room at halftime with a 51-42 lead.
Prometey, however, certainly did not godown without a fight. Much to the home fans surprise, the Ukrainian sidenarrowed the nine-point deficit at the half to just one point by the end of thethird quarter.
Ronald March had an exceptional thirdquarter for Prometey as the American small forward was the protagonist inclawing back the deficit, scoring 14 points in the third quarter.
It was a tense final quarter as the leadwent back and forth between the European powerhouses with nothing to separatethem.
Eventually, Prometey found a gap and theirlead grew to 7 points when Oleksandr Lypovvy scored a three-pointer to silencethe home support. However, the comeback looked on once again for the hosts whenConor Morgan struck from behind-the-arc to give the Lions a glimpse of hope.
The Lions came back from seven points downwith less than two minutes remaining on the clock. A game-winning three pointerfrom the reigning British Basketball League MVP Sam Dekker allowed London to clinchan invaluable victory at the death.
While the Lions can celebrate another closewin and move to 9-3 in this season’s EuroCup, they will now have to turn theirfocus to group leaders, Paris. After a thrilling double-overtime classic wasplayed at the Copper Box in October, Boxing Day’s second meeting between thetwo teams should be nothing short of a battle between two of the strongestteams in this season’s EuroCup.
Watch the highlights from London Lions vsPromotey Slobozhanske here.
