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The Gladiators fell short against Newcastle Eagles in the second game of the SLB trophy group stages.
The Gladiators were coming off a blowout victory against Manchester in the season opener while Newcastle were looking to keep their 100% record in their third game of the season.
There was one change from the starting five against Manchester as MVP from the season opener Patrick Whelan moved to the bench and Fraser Malcolm joined the starting five.
The game started off sloppy with both teams struggling to shoot from the perimeter with only one made three in the first quarter.
Turnovers were the real killer for the Gladiators throughout the game and it started early with Toto picking up three early on.
Fahro was a force to be reckoned with in the first half however, putting the team on his back and scoring at will in the post against whatever defender the Eagles threw at him.
Newcastle found their shooting and began to heat up in the second quarter while the Gladiators began to dominate the glass and win the 50/50 hustle balls; which was needed as the Eagles defence proved to be a tougher test than Manchester were.
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At the half despite the shooting and turnovers woes (10 vs Newcastle’s 4), the Gladiators were only down by three.
As the second half began, the Gladiators sloppiness on offence continued and turnovers continued to rise and even when saved resulted in breakdowns on offence.
The rebounding battle continued to weigh heavily in their favour and that combined with some timely buckets from Fahro and Whelan meant that going into the fourth, the Gladiators were still firmly in the game.
In the fourth however, the Eagles began to pull away. Despite both teams continuing to struggle from the three-point line, the Eagles were able to capitalise off turnovers and score in transition.
Overall, the Eagles had 23 points from turnovers versus the Gladiators’ six and 26 fast break points to the Gladiators 15.
It’s a tough loss for the Gladiators who remained in touching distance all night long, a testament to their work ethic and perseverance on a tough night against a strong opponent.
MVP for the Gladiators was captain Fahro Alihodzic, who put in a Captain Marvel performance to try to will the team to victory but it unfortunately was not enough.
The gladiators will look to bounce back on Sunday when they are away against last week’s opponents Manchester.
Thank you to Jed Forson for the match report
