Barking Abbey Leopards head coach Dejan Mihevc

Big wins give Big Cats a boost

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After winning their weekend games by a combined margin of 70 points, Leopards coach Dejan Mihevc was a happy man this week.

The Big Cats thrashed second-placed Worthing Thunder 89-52 on their own court on Saturday before strolling to a 103-70 home win against Tees Valley Mohawks.

And they go into Sunday’s National Cup final against Bristol Academy Flyers at Ponds Forge in high spirits.

“This weekend for us was a special test,” said Mihevc. “After a long time we played one of many double headers in the next two months and I wanted to see how we will respond.

“I was really happy because in both games we did great as a team. The players worked really hard and the only thing they deserve right now is a lot of respect and praise from me.

“It was great to see how everybody contributed and how our senior players are helping our young guys to get better every practice and every game.”

Vernon Teel put the Leopards 4-3 ahead with just over three minutes gone at Worthing, and they never trailed again.

But it was a 12-2 run at the start of the second half which did most of the damage as Leopards recorded their first ever away win over Thunder.

Dave Buchberger had his best game for the club, scoring four three-pointers in a 19-point, eight rebound double-double.

Bradley Wilkinson also put on his best display since returning to the club with ten points and seven boards in just 11 minutes of action.

Teel led the Big Cats’ scoring with 21 points and nine boards, with Ousman Krubally adding a 15-point, ten rebound double-double.

Leopards made it eight wins in nine games as the Mohawks were hammered at Brentwood.

The game was effectively over by the end of the first quarter as Leopards closed on a 15-4 run to lead 29-11.

Mihevc was able to run his bench from the start of the second quarter, giving 11 of his 12 players double-digit court time.

Shooting guard John Lister was in scintillating form, hitting seven three pointers and finishing with 12/14 shooting as he poured in a season-high 31 points in just 18 minutes.

Zak Wells added a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double, with Buchberger finishing with 13 points.

Krubally and Teel each finished with 10 points in under 17 minutes, with the former adding nine rebounds and the latter an incredible 11 assists.

Sunday’s final is the second in eight years for the current Leopards club, who beat Reading in 2005/6.

Flyers pipped Leopards to the league title last year, but the Big Cats hammered them on their own court in the National Trophy quarter-final.

The sides met at Brentwood in late November and Leopards ended their rivals unbeaten start to the league season with a 91-87 victory.

They did it the hard way, though, letting a 20-point lead slip with five minutes left before Krubally made sure.

Krubally finished with a 25-point, 11 rebound double-double, while Teel had 25 points, 11 assists and seven boards.

American guard Teel, who leads Division One in scoring and assists, said: “I’m excited to play in the finals of the Cup. 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. We are on a winning streak so we will be well prepared and want to keep our streak alive.”

Leopards beat Brentwood Fire, London Westside and Westminster Warriors to reach the last eight, then defeated hosts Bradford Dragons and Tees Valley.

Flyers have been at home throughout their run to the final, and faced only one fellow Division One side along the way.

Bristol have a good record in the competition and won the 2010 final against Manchester Magic in overtime before losing to Brixton Topcats last season.