Div 1 Men - The Battle For Fourth
 While
the top three places in EBL Division One seem certain to be
filled by (in no particular order) by Manchester Magic, Reading
Rockets and Worthing Thunder, the race for fourth spot and
home advantage in the playoffs is still wide open.
London Leopards would appear to be the favourites, currently
laying fourth in the table having never been outside the top
four this season. They do, however, have a tough run-in starting
with a home game against title-chasing Reading Rockets on
Saturday. They then face what could prove to be a key game
at Derby Trailblazers on Easter Saturday before wrapping up
their campaign with a home game against Worthing Thunder on
Saturday March 29.
The Big Cats have nine wins from 15 games, and hold the head-to-head
tiebreaker with fifth placed Bristol Academy Flyers but would
miss out on points difference if they finished level with
Sheffield Arrows.
Bristol have an 8-7 record, and will go into Saturday’s
home game against Coventry Crusaders knowing that a win is
essential if they are to have a chance of getting home court
advantage. Andreas Kapoulas’ side have a tough trip
to Manchester on Sunday before completing their league season
on Easter Saturday with a home game against Sheffield Arrows.
With Flyers having already beaten Arrows 75-60 in Sheffield,
a win in that game would ensure they finished above the Arrows
regardless of the results in other games. However, Flyers
can still be caught by seventh place Derby who have game in
hand over them, and the head-to-head decider if the two teams
finish level.
In-form Arrows have improved their record to 8-8 with victories
against Leopards and Derby in the last fortnight, but they
only hold the head-to-head decider over the Big Cats, although
a 16-point win at Bristol would give them the advantage over
the Flyers. Before that game at Bristol, Pete Kelly’s
team travel to Worthing Thunder on Saturday where they will
look to repeat their shock 73-71 home win against the league
champions in January. Realistically they probably need to
win both of their remaining games if they are to get home
court advantage in the playoffs.
Having lost at Sheffield last week, Derby Trailblazers are
now outsiders for fourth place, and they would need to win
their three remaining games to stand any chance.
Victory against the Leopards would mean that they would have
the head-to-head record against all of the other three teams
in the hunt for home court, but before that they face a trip
to Reading on Sunday before completing their season with a
home game against strugglers Taunton Tigers. They go into
this weekend with a 6-9 record.
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