Leopards coach Jon Burnell was delighted after his side sealed a play-off spot with an 81-73 victory at Northampton Neptunes on Sunday.

“They didn’t make it easy for us, always looked like we would win, and we should against a side like that” said Burnell. “The better teams manage to win games like that, but you’re not always going to blow them away. It was the same for Reading at Coventry on Saturday, you just find a way to win the game.

“It was a very pleasing result, we haven’t quite turned the corner, but we’re securing in fourth spot at the moment. The better sides live off team spirit, the ones above us haven’t got it all, and it’s good that we are progressing”
Burnell went with an unfamiliar line-up for the decisive fourth quarter, with regular starters Errol Seaman (who was carrying a knee injury, Calvin Fowler and James Nicholson all sitting out – and Burnell was delighted with the response from the players left on the bench.

“We rested players throughout the game, and in an idea world Errol wouldn’t have played a minute. When we went into the fourth period, it wasn’t the starting line-up, but it was the five that was working at the time. People were hitting shot and making things happen. The attitude of the player was really pleasing, twice I went to put Calvin in the game, but first Sam [Salter] knocked down a three-pointer and then Joe [Ikhnimwin] made a good defensive play before scoring, and Cal was happy to sit down and cheer on his team-mates. He’s a key player for us, but it was pleasing that he was more excited about the team winning than worrying about his own minutes. That’s the kind of attitude that will help us win games.”