Breakers on the brink of British basketball history as they reach final

Jordan Spencer continued his excellent form this season with a fine display in the semi-final with Derby Trailblazers. Pic: Josh Nesden

British basketball history could be made later this month when MK Breakers bid to become the first club from outside the top flight to win the National Cup.

The team became the first NBL Division 2 side to make the final when they edged past Derby Trailblazers 83-80 on Sunday, setting up a mouth-watering encounter with Reading Rockets at the National Basketball Centre in Manchester on January 21.

Despite the difference in divisions, Breakers rose to the occasion and their 48 rebounds were crucial to their win. Their collaborative scoring was also key in securing a spot in the Final as five separate players reached double figure points. Billy Beddow’s side also had an impressive 28 points from the bench.

Nate Robinson's points helped Breakers keep up with Derby in the first-half. Pics: Josh Nesden

Although they would run out winners, the Breakers got off to a slow start as they trailed by seven points after the opening quarter.

The break arguably came at the wrong time for the hosts and worked in favour of the Breakers who played some of their best Basketball all season to outscore Derby 23-15 in the second quarter. Dante Langley and Nate Robinson started the comeback as the duo combined for seven points to reduce the gap to just two. Derby’s two successful free throws pushed the momentum back but, Luke Gregory was on hand to half the lead.

Chris Tawiah’s lay up with five minutes left gave Breakers the lead for the first time with Jordan Spencer and Blayne Freckleton pushing the advantage to three points – giving the side from MK a cushion of three points the first time. The gap came in handy when Derby’s late lay up pulled them to within one point at the break.

The second-half would be a tense affair, only made more dramatic with a brilliant third quarter, which would end with the sides locked together on 60 points heading into the final stint.

With a little over two minutes to go, Derby had a narrow two-point lead, but the advantage would swing back and forth until Tawiah’s lay up put Breakers in the driving seat to advance and with just 14-seconds remaining they led 83-80.

Derby attempted a late play to send the semi-final into overtime, but it would come up short as Breakers celebrated reaching the final.

Tickets for the final are now on sale, available HERE