Cheshire Jets earned a potentially vital victory in the playoffs last night as they won 95-78 at Prestige Homes MK Lions. The victory leaves the Jets eighth with a 10-17 record, two points ahead of Mersey Tigers in ninth and four ahead of the Lions in tenth and with the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker over both sides.

Adam Brown led all scorers, recording a double-double of 25 points and 10 assists as well as pulling down 7 rebounds and earning 4 steals. Bill Cole and Matt Schneck also recorded double-doubles for the Jets. As a team, they made 17/19 free throws, with both misses coming in the final quarter with the game already effectively decided. For the Lions, Daniel Northern top scored with 23. [read more]

Ahead of tonight’s crucial BBL Championship game against the MK Lions we caught up with centre Matt Schneck to find out how he and the team are feeling going in to this one.

Although the Jets are two points ahead of the Lions, a win for the Lions would see them move above the Jets in the table based on their head-to-head record and would put them in pole position for the final playoff spot.

A win for the Jets, however, would almost guarantee them a playoff berth by opening up a four point gap on the Lions and taking the head-to-head battle with only three games to play. [read more]

The race for the final BBL Championship play-off places look likely to go down to the wire and there’s a key game in Milton Keynes tonight when the Jets visit Prestige Homes MK Lions.

A win for both sides is crucial, with Jets heading into the weekend in eighth place with a 9-17 record while Lions are hot on their heals in ninth spot with eight wins from 26 games.

The head-to-head decider could yet prove crucial, and it will be sealed by the winner of tonight’s game. Both previous meetings this season have been at the Northgate Arena, with Lions winning 86-75 in December before Jets gained revenge in February with an 85-76 victory. [read more]

As his side prepare for a crucial test against the Jets that could be decisive in the playoff race, Prestige Homes MK Lions coach Mike New has described the Jets’ starting five as one of the strongest in the BBL.

“Jets are a team with as strong a starting five as there is in the BBL” said New. “With [Matt] Schneck, [Bill] Cole and Colin O’Reilly they have size, athleticism and an array of skills.

“Adam Brown is playing at a high level and Williams has been a good fit for them. We match up well against Jets and we were missing a few players in our last match up, but this is a must win for both teams and we both know it.

“We will have to battle on the boards at both ends because they are relentless on the glass. We aren’t playing bad ourselves at the moment and the game will no doubt be a good one.”

A win for both sides is vital, with Jets heading into the weekend in eighth place with a 9-17 record while Lions are hot on their heels in ninth spot with eight wins from 26 games. The head-to-head decider could yet prove crucial, and it will be sealed by the winner of Friday’s game. Both previous meetings this season have been at Cheshire’s Northgate Arena, with Lions winning 86-75 in December before Jets gained revenge in February with an 85-76 victory.

BBL commentator and Sky Sports columnist Daniel Routledge has tipped the Jets to hold on to the final playoff position on the back of recent form and last week’s double winning weekend.

Speaking in his latest Sky Sports column Routledge notes the Jets “have the look of a team with enough momentum to scramble into at least that final play-off spot”, although he concedes that next Friday’s head-to-head decider against the Lions could prove decisive for the run-in.

You can read Daniel’s full column about the Jets recent form and the play-off run in here.

Last time the Lions were in town, the Jets were in the midst of their injury crisis and they could not find an answer to the inside presence and rebounding  of Daniel Northern and Howard Crawford, nor could they find a way to prevent Demarius Bolds scoring from all over the court and the Milton Keynes outfit exited the Northgate with a fairly comfortable victory under their belts.

[read more]

The Cheshire Jets are hoping that a win this weekend against the MK lions will go somewhere to stabilising the clubs play off dreams. The Jets are on home court this Sunday for the re-arranged championship game against their BBL rivals.

The Jets bench will be missing Australian Dan Briglia after coach Lavery took the decision earlier in the week to release him from his contract. [read more]

The Prestige Homes MK Lions moved themselves up into fifth position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a hard-fought 75-86 victory over the Cheshire Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening. [read more]