Home > Information > National Cup Final 2011/12 Archive

As part of the Leopards build up to the National Cup Final on Sunday, 29th January, Tony Shorey catches up with some of the players who were part of the Cup winning side in 2005. Starting with the Finals MVP on the day, Troy Selvey and 3 out of 4 National Cup Final winning player Errol Seaman.  Follow his latest interview with ex-Leopard Cup Finalist, Sam Salter... and Coach Jon Burnell.

Leopards fans are by far the most loyal and have an unending trust that their team will always do well.  One of (or possibly) the loudest home and away fan base in the League, it is only befitting that someone should give a fans perspective of that momentus day way back in 2005... so here is loyal fan Mike Head's account of the National Cup Final 2005.

NATIONAL CUP 2011/12 – ROUTE TO THE FINAL

Round 1

Leopards 80 Brentwood Fire 62 – Krubally 26
Bristol – bye

Round 2

Leopards 80 London Westside 79 – Krubally 29
Bristol 81 Worcester Wolves II 39 – Garcia 28

Round 3

Leopards 96 Westminster Warriors 86 – Teel 32
Bristol 78 Worthing Thunder 60 - McLaughlin-Williams 25

Quarter-final

Bradford Dragons 66 Leopards 86 – Krubally 29
Bristol 59 Hemel Storm 46 - Treasure 14

Semi-final

Tees Valley Mohawks 84 Leopards 96 – Teel 45
Bristol 76 Newham (NASSA) Neptunes 60 - Treaure 23

COUNTDOWN FACTS TO THE NATIONAL CUP FINAL 2011/12 SUNDAY, 29th JANUARY 2012

Fact of the Day (1):

Leopards are the only team to have won the National Cup as a BBL team (in the 1996/7 season) and as an EBL club (in the 2005/6 season).

Fact of the Day (2):

Leopards’ record win came in the Cup second round in 2006 when they started their defence of the trophy with a 102-29 victory against Wellingborough Phoenix.

Fact of the Day (3):

Leopards have reached at least the quarter-final of the competition in six of the last seven seasons.

Fact of the Day (4):

The new Leopards have a 22-6 record in the competition, while the original Big Cats were 19-8 during their nine years in the BBL.

Fact of the Day (5):

The National Cup is the oldest piece of silverware in English basketball and was first competed for in 1936. Until 1979 it was an end of season competition and since 2004 has been competed for by all EBL clubs.

30 January 2012
Leopards win Cup

Leopards 64 (10,26,38) Bristol Academy Flyers 63 (24,38,50)

A stunning final five minutes saw Leopards come from behind to the win 2012 National Cup final with a 64-63 victory against Bristol Academy Flyers.

In front of a packed house at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, the Big Cats recovered from a poor first half to lift the oldest piece of silverware in English basketball.

Vernon Teel picked up the Most Valuable Player award as he finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Ousman Krubally came up with another big double-double, finishing with 15 points and as many boards, while five of David Buchberger’s 11 points came in the final 80 seconds as the Big Cats finished strongly. Dejan Mihevc’s team couldn’t buy a basket in the first period as Enrique Garcia opened the scoring for the Flyers, and they hit the first eight points before Teel finally broke the duck with 200 seconds gone.

Zak Wells doubled the Big Cats’ total to leave them trailing by nine, but they missed four of their six foul shots in what proved to be a prelude to a woeful display at the foul line as they scored just seven of their 21 attempts.

Douglas McLaughlin-Williams sent the West Country side into the first break with a 24-10 lead and another shot from downtown by the same player saw Bristol’s lead grow to 17 at the start of the second period.

Krubally and Lukas Volskis added to Leopards’ score, but they still trailed 30-14 before Buchberger made it a 30-16 game at the five minute mark.

The closest Leopards came in the rest of the first half was when Volskis made it a ten point game heading into the final minute, but Davis Bowne grabbed his own rebound and scored to put Bristol 38-26 ahead going into the locker room.

Leopards started the second half brightly, and Wells – who did an excellent defensive job despite picking up four first half fouls - made it a six point game with 4:17 remaining in the third period, but Bristol replied with a 6-0 run to keep their 12 point lead alive going into the final period.

The fourth period finally saw Leopards spark into life. All 26 points were scored by Teel, Krubally and Buchberger, but there was some excellent defensive work from Dominic Norton and the Big Cats noticeably wore the Flyers down.

Teel started and finished a 10-2 run to open the fourth period and make it a four point game with three minutes gone.

Garcia broke the tear, but Krubally responded immediately before Teel tied the score at 54with 4:34 remaining n the game.

Greg Streete restored Bristol’s lead and , but it wasn’t until the 3:30 mark that Leopards took their first lead of the game when Krubally scored off Volskis’ assist.

McLaughlin-Williams – who led Flyers with 21 points – put the West Country side back up by one with three minutes remaining, and after Leopards had forced a shot clock violation, Buchberger scored off Teel’s assist with 80 seconds left on the clock to level the score at 59.

Greete missed a two pointer and Buchberger saw a trey rim out before the latter sunk what proved to be the biggest shot of the game as three sweetly dropped to put Leopards 62-59 ahead with 48 seconds remaining.

Flyers called a timeout, and Buchberger sent Streete to the line where he hit one of two foul shots to make it a three point game.

Teel was then fouled, and scored the first before missing the second but Tyrone Treasure’s shot rimmed out and led to a jump ball.

The possession arrow was in Bristol’s favour, but McLaughlin-Williams saw his three-pointer miss, and Krubally grabbed the rebound before being sent to the line by Garcia.

The Leopards captain hit the first foul shot but missed the second, and although Treasure hit a three that just beat the buzzer it was too late to prevent the Leopards’ celebrations starting in earnest.

Leopards: V Teel (23), O Krubally (15), D Buchberger (11), L Volskis (6), Z Wells (6), J Lister (3), D Norton, J Lockwood, B Wilkinson, S Bublys (DNP), J Steel (DNP), R Addison (DNP).

30 January 2012
Dejan's delight at Cup win

COACH Mihevc couldn’t hide his delight after Leopards won the National Cup with a 64-63 victory against Bristol Academy Flyers: “It couldn't be better! I am very happy for all the fans that really support us all the way, for our programme and all the people that are working hard around it and especially happy for our players who are working hard for each other everyday.

“To win a competition like cup is always something special, because you are not allowed to lose and the champion is the team that is perfect in the whole tournament. And to do it with basically the youngest team in the league was even bigger challenge and great experience for all the players and everybody around them.

“I would like to thank and to congratulate to all the players once again because for that group of players I can only finish with a sentence that when all is said and done, it's not the shots that won the championship that you remember, but the friendships you made along the way.”

Vernon Teel picked up the Most Valuable Player award as he finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Ousman Krubally came up with another big double-double, finishing with 15 points and as many boards, while five of David Buchberger’s 11 points came in the final 80 seconds as the Big Cats finished strongly.

Leopards return to league action on Sunday when they make their debut at Basildon Sports Village to face Brixton Topcats. Tip-off is at 4 pm, with the National Cup expected to be on display.

28 January 2012
Krubally aims for gold

LEOPARDS’ captain Ousman Krubally is determined to pick up a winners’ medal as the Big Cats prepare to face Bristol Academy Flyers in the National Cup final. 

“It means a great deal to me and my team-mates to be in the Cup final. It has been a very long time since I’ve been in this position involved with basketball. Winning the National Cup would be a great feeling.

“I can't remember the last time I earned a championship from a basketball competition besides adi slam. My basketball archive don't show much championship victories but it is never to late for winning. Personally, I have not played in many finals during my time in high school and college. I played in more football finals than basketball.”

With Krubally being one of the few returning Leopards this season, he knows what to expect from Flyers: “ Bristol is an experienced team with key players that has been playing together over the past seasons. We have to respect them, be prepared for Bristol to play hard and do everything to win Sunday. It is championship game. How often do they come around?

“The season started really tough for us. However, in spite of all that we been through. We are in a cup final. We are in a trophy semi final. We are moving up in the league.”

28 January 2012
Big Cats looking to double the pain

LEOPARDS will be looking to inflict a second straight National Cup final defeat on Bristol Academy Flyers when the teams meet at Ponds Forge, on Sunday.

The Flyers won an overtime thriller 63-61 against Manchester Magic in the 2010 final before losing 77-63 against Broxton Topcats, and coach Andreas Kapoulas admits the Cup is very important to the club: "The National Cup has a special meaning to our club," he said. "It's the first major national title that we won and in a way it was the one that put us on the map for English basketball. Going to the 2010 Final we were the underdogs versus a very strong Manchester side and no one was expecting us to perform as well as we did."

Kapoulas and the Flyers will be sweating on the fitness of their star guard, British under-23 international Tyrone Treasure, who has been struggling with an ankle injury this year. Treasure has had a string of bad luck with injuries in the National Cup as he was forced to leave the 2011 final in the opening minutes with the same problem. He is the team's top scorer this season (18 points per game) so coach Kapoulas knows how important his contribution will be:

"Ty has been working with our physio staff every day the last two weeks and should hopefully be fit for the big game," he said. "At the moment it looks very positive, however we do not want to risk a more severe injury so we are going to be cautious and make a final decision on his availability towards the end of the week."

Like Leopards though, Bristol have several players who can put up big numbers. Their American duo, Doug McLaughlin-Williams and Davis Bowne, have been with the club since their Cup win in 2010 and along with English guard Greg Streete form a nucleus that has stayed together for several seasons.

Coach Kapoulas is expecting another great game when the two teams are set to tip off this coming Sunday: ”Leopards are coming to the Cup Final with great confidence. They had two great results this past weekend and all their main players played very well. They possess three of the best players in the league in Teel, Krubally and Lister. However it’s not just the three of them, they have a number of young players from the Barking Abbey basketball programme and a very experienced coaching staff.”

The Greek Coach highlighted defence as the key of the game: “We will prepare for the game as we always do with particular attention to our defence. A lot will depend on how well we execute our game plan. Sticking to the plan is very important however in-game adjustments are also crucial and will determine the final result.”

Both sides come into the game on a good run of form, Flyers have won six of their seven games since that loss at Brentwood, while Leopards are on a six game winning streak and have eight wins in their last nine games.

Leopards had home draws in the first three rounds of the competition beating Brentwood Fire, London Westside and Westminster Warriors to reach the quarter-final. But they had to do it the hard way after that with away victories at Bradford Dragons and Tees Valley.

In contrast, Flyers have been at home throughout their run to the final, and faced only one fellow Division One side on the way to the title game. The Bristol side have a good record in the competition having won the 2010 final by beating Manchester Magic in overtime before finishing runners-up to Brixton Topcats last season.

27 January 2012
Joe's up for the Cup

JOE Lockwood, the youngest regular member of the Leopards side that has reached the National Cup final, admits that he is surprised to have made the breakthrough so quickly into the Big Cats’ first team.

The 17-year-old was expected to play mainly for Leopards’ Division Four team after signing at the Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, but made his first team debut against Derby Trailblazers in early October before starting in the National Trophy win at Medway Park Crusaders the following week.

He has remained in the Division One side ever since. . “No, I didn't expect to be a regular part of the Division One team” he said.

“But I appreciate the coach's belief in my ability and treasure every minute of court time I am given. I now want to maintain and improve my role on the team to help us carry on moving forward.”

The 6’ 7” forward is clearly looking forward to facing Bristol Academy Flyers on Sunday: “I’m totally excited and more, can't wait for Sunday. It would mean everything to lift the National Cup with the team, coaches and everyone supporting the club. We have all worked hard and it would be great to bring home the trophy.

“I have played in final fours and county school finals as a junior, and I know how good it feels when the goal the team is striving for is reached.

Lockwood has a good idea what to expect “I know that Bristol are a well-rounded team and all their players are key in their performance. They play very much a team game which is clearly doing them well as they are currently heading the division. However, we were the first team to beat them this season and I believe we can do it again.”

The English forward is hoping that Sunday’s game can be the beginning of a strong finish to the season for the Big Cats: “The season didn't start the way we had hoped, but coming off a six game winning streak things are starting to work the way we want them to. We were a new, young team but are now settling and working well together. I believe we can win this Cup, the National Trophy and finish high up in the division.”

27 January 2012
John looks to put final defeat behind him

AFTER a 31 point performance in Sunday’s 103-70 victory against Tees Valley Mohawks, Leopards’ shooting guard John Lister is ready for Sunday’s National Cup final against Bristol Academy Flyers.

Lister buried six of his seven three-point efforts in Sunday’s blow-out, but is now looking forward to playing in front of his Sheffield-based family on Sunday:

“I’m really looking forward to this weekend in Sheffield playing off in the National Cup final” said the Australian/Brit dual national, “I understand there is a lot of history behind this competition and given the Leopards are in great form at the moment I expect us to win! It will mean even more to me as I'll be playing in front of some family for the first time with my new club!

“Bristol will certainly take some beating, they're at the top of the league for good reason, they are well organised and shoot the ball really well.”

Lister joined the Big Cats after a successful career with Australian side Eltham Warriors, and he will be playing in his second final in just six months: “Last season back in Australia we lost the league Grand Final in overtime so I'm desperate for success this season with the Leopards!”

Don’t forget to log on every day this week for more build-up towards the National Cup final.

26 January 2012
Lukas' excited about facing Flyers

BIG Cats’ guard Lukas Volskis can’t wait for Sunday’s National Cup final against Bristol Academy Flyers as the Leopards look to win the oldest piece of silverware in English basketball for the second time.

“Being in any final is always an exciting time for a basketball player as you know yourself how hard you had to work to get there” said the 22-year-old.

“The whole point of playing sport is to compete against others and establish yourself at the top so playing in a championship game is a perfect opportunity to do just that. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to the final a lot and will do everything to help my team win.”

The former Barking Abbey Academy player clearly isn’t going to Sheffield just for the ride: “Winning is always the most rewarding part of basketball so to win a final will be a great honour. In my opinion you don't play a final just to play, you play it to win. At the end of the day winning is everything and we wouldn't be playing every day if we didn't want success so I guess you can say winning the Cup would mean everything to us”

While it is the biggest game of his club career, it won’t be the first time that the Basildon-based guard has played in an EBL final: “I played most of my finals in my junior years with East London Royals and Hackney White Heat winning the under-15 National Play-offs as well as finishing as runners up on a few occasions. It will be great to be able to play another final again.

“Last year we lost in the conference tournament with college I played for in the NJCAA and it wasn't a good experience so I definitely want to take this opportunity all the way.”

Volskis is expecting the Flyers to provide tough opposition on Sunday: “Bristol has always been a strong side in the EBL and playing them will always be a tough challenge. I think you can pretty much tell how good they are by seeing that they are at the top of our league. I know they have a few key players but at the same time I always see the whole team as a threat no matter who we play and not just a few individuals.”

This is Volskis’ fourth season with the Big Cats, and he’s pleased with how the campaign is going: “In terms of the season I think we are coming along pretty well. We've been on a good run and certainly want to keep it going. I think we are capable of achieving anything that's put in front of us as I believe in what we do and know how hard the whole Leopards organisation work week in week out. It all starts this Sunday, where I'm expecting to lift my first EBL Senior competition title and I think this will drive us forward for the year and allow us to bring about more success to the London Leopards.”

26 January 2012
Dave's ready for the final

AFTER a fine performance in Saturday’s 37 point win at Worthing Thunder, Leopards shooting guard Dave Buchberger is excited about playing in Sunday’s National Cup final Bristol Academy Flyers.

Buchberger hit four three-pointers on the way to a 19 point, eight rebound double-double on Saturday and added 13 points and five assists in Sunday’s 103-70 win against Tees Valley Mohawks, but now he’s turning his attention to the Cup final:

"Being in a final is a great privilege” he said. “It is the culmination of a lot of hard work for the team--and I am thrilled to have this opportunity.

“To win the Cup final would really mean a lot. It would be a great accomplishment for our team, and really give us a lot of momentum going into the second half of the season.”

Sunday’s game at Ponds Forge won’t be the first time that the 24-year-old has been involved in a big game: “My senior year in college at Lehigh University I was privileged enough to play in and win a Patriot League Championship. Because we won our conference championship we were also granted an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. The whole experience was one of the best of my life--there is nothing like winning a championship.”

Buchberger is expecting a difficult game against the Flyers, but believes the season is going well for the Big Cats: “Bristol is at the top of the table, currently sitting at first place in the league. They are a very deep team, and all of their players deserve attention and respect.

“So far this season we have had our ups and downs as a team, due to roster changes and injury, but now that our roster is set and everyone is healthy I think things will get more and more positive. We definitely should be able to come together as a team and compete for some silverware.”

Don’t forget to log on every day this week for more build-up towards the National Cup final.

26 January 2012
Leopards look for win number nine

WHEN Leopards meet Bristol Academy Flyers in the National Cup final at Ponds Forge on Sunday afternoon it will be the latest in a long line of games between the two sides.

The Big Cats lead the all-time series between the clubs 8-5, although Flyers have also chalked up a couple of pre-season wins in tournament at Medway Park Crusaders.

The most recent meeting came at Brentwood in late November and the Big Cats ended Flyers’ unbeaten start to the league season with a 91-87 victory. They did it the hard way, though, letting a 20 point lead with five minutes remaining slip before Krubally sealed the win. Captain Ousman Krubally finished with a 25 point, 11 rebound double-double, while Vernon Teel also had 25 points, adding 11 assists and seven boards.

Last season saw the clubs meet four times – splitting the series in both Division One and Trophy games. The first two games came in the early part of the season with the Big Cats still in transitional state, and Flyers comfortably won 82-63 in the Trophy in the West Country and also chalked up was proved to be a key 78-67 victory in the league at Barking Abbey.

Bristol were still flying high when Leopards returned to Filton Academy in January for the quarter-finals of the Trophy, but with Krubally recording a 26 point, 12 rebound double-double they were swept aside as the Big Cats ran out 78-56 winners.

We returned to the West Country a fortnight later and an injury-hit Flyers side saw their unbeaten start to the league season ended with a crushing 80-51 Leopards victory.

Krubally led the scoring for Mark Clark’s team for a seventh straight game with 23 points and 16 rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes. But it was the first half performance from Barking Abbey pair Simeon Esprit and Keelan Cairns which laid the foundations for the win. They each only scored two points in the second half, but Esprit had 15 in the first half and Cairns eight to keep the visitors in front.

The win gave Leopards the head-to-head in the league series between the teams, but the poor start to the season had left them with too much to do, and they had to settle for the runners-up spot behind the Flyers.

The 2009/10 season was a tough one for Leopards as they missed out on the play-offs for the first time, but their only away win of the Division One campaign came at Bristol as a stunning display from big men Leigh Greenan and Ignazio De Ferrari saw them combine for 55 points in a 90-85 victory. The return at Barking Abbey saw Flyers gain revenge with an 83-79 victory as they outscored Jon Burnell’s side 24-9 in the final quarter.

Arguably the most famous meeting between the two teams came in the 2008/9 season when the game started at one venue and finished at a different one the following year! The original game at the Brentwood Centre in November was called to a halt with 24 seconds remaining due to a serious neck injury to Leopards’ point guard Carl Latham-Henry.

The teams agreed to finish the game ten weeks later when Leopards travelled to Bristol for a National Trophy game. With Flyers leading by seven points, and in possession of the ball at the re-start, it was always going to be hard for Leopards to win. A quick foul sent Greg Streete to the line and one point added to the score. Gareth Laws hit back with a three-pointer, and the Big Cats again sent Flyers to the line with captain Gareth Till sinking one of two free-throws. A Lukas Volskis three rimmed out, and Rob Loftman also scored one of two free-throws to seal the 95-89 win for the Flyers.

There was some consolation for the Big Cats as they gained immediate revenge with as 27 H Pervan points led them to a 73-63 victory in the Trophy and sealed a semi-final spot. When the big Cats returned to Bristol a couple of weeks later they repeated the trick with an 81-72 victory to take the Division One points.

The 2007/8 season saw Flyers’ Division One debut, and Leopards came out on top in the regular season games, winning 81-74 on the road before Gareth Laws sink two free throws with under a second remaining to seal a 91-90 win for Leopards at Wodson Park.

Those two wins weren’t enough to prevent Flyers edging out the Big Cats for fourth place in Division and home court advantage in the play-offs proved key as they defeated us 105-96 to end a season where we’d battled against the odds with an all-British team to challenge for honours.

25 January 2012
Vernon looks for a winner's medal

LEOPARDS' point guard Vernon Teel is looking to pick up his first winner’s medal as a professional when the Big Cats take on Bristol Academy Flyers in Sunday’s National Cup final.

The 6’4” American joins the Big Cats after a glittering career at Loyola Marymount where he averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 assists per game in his final season with the Lions, and he is currently leading EBL Division One in both scoring and assists.

“I am excited to play in the finals of the Cup” he said. “It’s the first opportunity in my professional career to win some hardware, so I will be ready. It would mean a lot to this team as we have made so many improvements since October going into this game we are on a six game winning streak so we will be well prepared and want to keep our streak alive.”

“I think Tyronne Treasure and Doug McLaughlin-Williams are Bristol’s key players.”

Teel isn’t just looking at Sunday’s Cup final, and is aiming for a clean sweep of EBL titles: “Right now we are in eighth place in the league and it bothers me that we are that low. So we have a lot of work to do in league were we are 5-4.

“I think we are capable of winning it all Cup , National Trophy and playoffs. We have a very dangerous team and we have a lot of depth. We have the best bench production in the EBL - John Lister, Dave Buchberger, Bradley Wilkinson and Joe Lockwood are all capable of being double figure scorers.”

Don’t forget to log on every day this week for more build-up towards the National Cup final.

24 January 2012
Dejan ready for final test

LEOPARDS' coach Dejan Mihevc is determined to pick up the first piece of silverware in the 2011/12 season as his side prepare to face Bristol Academy Flyers in Sunday’s National Cup final.

“I would lie if I would say that it won't mean a lot because it will, but as any game we play I like to win and when we win I feel happy and for sure I wanna’ feel happy on Sunday” he said.

“Playing in a final is always something special and I very excited that we are one of two teams in the country that has a pleasure to play in it. We worked hard to get there and we will work even harder to win it, because this is not just a game, it is a Cup championship game. And those games you don't play, you win them.”

It won’t be the first title game for Mihevc as he has experience with the Slovenian junior national team: “As head coach I have coached in two finals with under-16 national team where we once lost to Turkey in Turkey and once won in Spain , where we in the semi-final we beat Spain in overtime and in the final we defeated Croatia”

The Leopards’ play-caller expects a tough test against the Flyers: “Bristol is for sure one of the best teams in the league with great continuity and great coach. They are not in the final by accident. They are at the top of the table in the league which already won last year, they are in Trophy semi-finals and Cup final. I think that that tells us everything.”

Mihevc is in his first year as head coach at Leopards after taking over from Mark Clark in the summer, and he’s happy with how the season has gone: “I am very pleased how the season is going on and I am really happy that we have a group of players that work hard and get along really well.

“Our senior players are not just doing their jobs as players but their are also all very good as mentors to our young guys what is very important for our program.

"And even with the youngest team in the league where our average age is under 20 years old we have a team that is competitive to everyone. We, for sure, have a lot of challenges in front of us and we are ready to be challenged with all of them.

“Yes because of youth and some injuries we struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season, but we all knew that with hard work we will develop and become better and that results will be shown and by that I don't mean just wins and good games, but that everyone will be better than he was at the beginning of the season.”

Don’t forget to log on every day this week for more build-up towards the National Cup final.