Get your £6 tickets for this Sunday’s WBBL Playoff semi-final HERE!
This Sunday, at Emirates Arena, Caledonia Gladiators (WBBL) take on Leicester Riders in the WBBL Playoff semi-final following a convincing 81-53 victory over Cardiff Met Archers in last week’s quarter-finals. The winner of this Sunday’s fixture will travel to The O2, London, to face the winner of London Lions vs Sevenoaks Suns in the other semi-final.
Heading into the game, Leicester finished the regular season as the WBBL’s third seed, whilst Gladiators remained just ahead in second spot, with an identical 17-5 record on their campaign.
Krumesh Patel’s side are coming off a closely contested 83-80 overtime win against Essex Rebels at the Morningside Arena, where Leicester’s leadership and veterans proved pivotal for picking up a victory. Fiona O’Dwyer’s 23-point outing gave her a mention in the week’s all star five.
North of the border, Miguel Ortega’s side convincingly defeated the seventh-seeded Cardiff Met Archers with a dominant 81-53 win. On the day, standout performances from Jamila Thompson (15 points, 15 rebounds) and Téa Adams (13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists) were worthy of an all-star feature.
In regular season fixtures within the WBBL Trophy and Championship, the sides met three times. Leicester took the victory on two occasions, one in the Trophy, knocking Gladiators out with a 54-44 scoreline in February, and the other, a three-point win in October at the Emirates Arena, 65-68. Caledonia got the most recent win, however, defeating Leicester on their home court, 57-67, just last month.
Both sides will be playing with huge amounts of motivation, with the coveted place in the Playoff Finals to play in front of The O2 crowd at stake, and the Gladiators able to push for an even head-to-head on the season – making for an exciting matchup between two of he best teams in the league.
With Gladiators’ BBL side being knocked out in the quarter-finals against Cheshire Phoenix at the weekend, the WBBL fixture will be the only one taking place at the Emirates Arena, and the very last home game of the season. Get your tickets HERE for just £6!
