This Saturday, Gladiators welcome Cardiff Met Archers and Cheshire Phoenix to the Emirates Arena in the first round (quarter final) of the WBBL and BBL Playoffs respectively.
Caledonia Gladiators vs Cardiff Met Archers WBBL – Saturday, 12PM.
Heading into the game, Gladiators’ WBBL side are coming off a huge 93-55 win over sixth-seeded Essex Rebels, who they faced off against on Sunday to secure the second spot in the Championship table, and a quarter final fixture against Wales’ Cardiff Met Archers, placed in seventh. In that game, it was Chantelle Handy who stood out with 23 points, four rebounds and two assists. However, Robyn Lewis was awarded the team MVP with an all-round eight point, eight assist and five rebound outing.
This regular season, Caledonia picked up two wins, 72-41 at home, and 71-75 on the road, to gain a 2-0 advantage in the head-to-head on their Welsh counterparts. Led by Stef Collins at the helm, Met Archers, led by Shannon Hatch, Lauren Saiki and youngster Issy Bunyan, pushed hard until the very end to secure their playoff spot, following a 3-2 finish in their final five games.
At 12PM on Saturday afternoon, the sides will face off at the Emirates Arena in a one-off game, with a semi-final spot at stake, which both sides will be keen to earn. Get your tickets HERE!
Caledonia Gladiators vs Cheshire Phoenix BBL – Saturday, 3PM
In the second of two quarter-final matchups with Cheshire, Gareth Murray’s Gladiators welcome Phoenix to the Emirates Arena at 3PM, immediately after the WBBL fixture. It will be a quick turnaround for both sides, who battle against each other the night before, at Cheshire’s home arena at 7.30PM. Heading into the double-header, Gladiators have lost their last two games, against London Lions and Newcastle respectively, but will remain confident having secured fourth spot and the home advantage in the second leg. Phoenix, on the other hand, have won their last two, against Leicester and Plymouth, securing their spot in fifth after making their way up the table with a few good results in the couple of months of the regular season.
In the clubs’ last matchup, Gladiators came out with a historic BBL Trophy Final win thanks to an incredible David Sloan shot, to win the game 73-70, in what will be regarded as one of the greatest plays in league history. Of course, Gareth Murray and co. will be keen to repeat this feat, but Ben Thomas’ Phoenix will hope to avenge the difficult loss, having picked up form since.
At 3PM on Saturday, the sides play at Emirates Arena following the WBBL game, in the second of two games on the weekend. Get your tickets HERE!
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Both sides need your support again, following a great showing from fans at last weekends double-header, which saw a near sell-out crowd for our BBL fixture vs London Lions, and a high-energy crowd for our WBBL fixture vs Essex Rebels.
