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And an all-bot match up means for the first time ever(probably), there'll be a bot in round 6.

Yeah I saw that, someone will be happy next week when they get drawn against them.

FIFTH ROUND SUMMARY
The all-EBBL match that was the stand out fixture in the draw turned out to be an anti-climax with Gauson handing the win to new jersey2 who won the game by the score of 117-44. EBBL side, The Arrelles, prevailed against a tough opponent in Arab City winning by a margin of 17 points. Surrey Heat of division II caused the upset of the round defeating EBBL side Phoenix Warriors with a very impressive second half display to win 98-87. The other EBBL sides in action saw Tatatallfella ease past Spikey Pumpkins whilst Stinkilemons produced a remarkable scoring display in the last quarter to edge the game against Whetstone Wizards by 5 points.

The last 32 draw has thrown up two matches with EBBL teams competing against each other giving the remaining division II and III teams hope of making history by winning the cup. These games see The Myrmidons take on The Arrelles whilst Galaxy Walkers will host new jersey2. There are tough games for the two highest ranked teams in England also with Tide of Fire travelling to The Admirals and Tatatallfella making an appearance at the home of Halucagenic Dayglo. The last BOT remaining in the round will also host division III side and 166th seed, BC Hermis.

Teams are as follows:
EBBL (8/16)
II.1 (4/16)
II.2 (7/16)
II.3 (5/16)
II.4 (2/16)

Good luck to all teams next week.

D3 team has the bot!.

Yes, nice bit of luck for the division III side, bet he/she is chuffed.

I must say I feel extremely lucky to have gone through this round...I think this is the lowest count for EBBL teams at this point in the cup in the last few seasons and they keep getting match-ups against each other! Good chance for many D2 teams to make it to the all star week and perhaps even to the semis.

Your game looked a very good one and yes it does definitely give hope to the teams in division II.

Three D2 teams have won the Cup in England. In season 2 (first season in England) Tony Utd won the cup before going bot. In season 5 The Random Dunkers won; they lasted until season 9 before going bot. In season 23 Risk and Reward became the third D2 team to win a cup, though interestingly, they did so without facing an EBBL team from the quarter final onwards. That was the season D2 teams filled all the semi final slots. It should be noted that in the early seasons there wouldn't have been as big a gap between the EBBL and D2 (if any, especially in season 2), so Risk and Reward's achievement is the greater.

In season 8, Fat Lever Leechers made the final as a D2 team. They also made the semi final the year after, a feat not repeated until season 23, when my own Durham Wasps did the same, though the Wasps lost both their semi finals.

Los Mikitos, made the final as a D2 team in Season 9. They of course went on to grace the EBBL for many seasons.

There was quite a long wait before another D2 team appeared in a final. Vitamin Power, soon to be a D2 opponent of mine, did it in season 17, before inevitably succumbing to the dominant Swindon Bulls. The Bulls had actually earlier made a final as a D3 team.

Season 24 saw Bolo Towers of D2 lose to Ashington Showboaters, the last time a D2 team made the final.

Other notable D2 cup runs include my Wasps' three consecutive quarter finals from season 22 to 24; JR Knights who did the same from 24-26; and most recently Stinkilemons' from 29-31. While that run is current, "unfortunately" Stinkilemons are now in the EBBL and though they may make the QF again, it won't be as a D2 team. The Wasps and the Knights have both made another QF appearance since their hat tricks.

Since season 5 when a D3 team made the final, there have been few D3 teams that have featured in the later rounds. Angel Tigers in season 13, BC Giants in season 17, Detroit Pistons UK in season 18, Droxford (The) Admirals in season 20, JA Miami in season 26, M Dogs in season 27, and lastly Shandies Dandies (now sadly a bot) last season (season 31).

The difficulty once you get to the quarter finals for D2 teams in the loss of the chance of having home court advantage. The last D2 team to shock an EBBL opponent on neutral ground was our NT coach's Myrmidons in season 28, when they knocked out Los Mikitos. Prior to that, it hadn't been done since season 23 when two teams did it. Of course the dwindling number of EBBL teams left might make it easier for a D2 team to perhaps make the semi final, but all it really does is help the few EBBL teams that are left by giving them easier draws.

Last edited by Gully Foyle at 9/11/2015 12:34:06 PM

Fantastic report on the history of the tournament for us all to acknowledge the achievements of previous managers and give managers left in the competition the motivation to add their name to the records books.

Agreed, great stuff Gully.

SIXTH ROUND SUMMARY
Prior to the round, the two all-EBBL clashes were definitely the standout games however both ended in slight anti-climaxes with Galaxy Walkers and The Myrmidons convincingly beating new jersey2 and The Arrelles respectively. Both of England's top two sides also advanced with relative ease with Tide of Fire thrashing the Admirals and Tatatallfella cruising past Halucagenic Dayglo. Division II side, JR Knights, caused the upset of the round defeating EBBL side Sabre of Valiente in overtime by a score of 85-76; however in my opinion, the pick of the games saw two II.2 sides in BC Snaiperiai and Doncaster Hawks which saw the latter snatch the win within the last minute.

The last 16 draw does no favours to the division II teams with all EBBL sides avoiding each other. Despite this, some enthralling match ups still remain with The Myrmidons hosting Durham Wasps the pick of them. Galaxy Walkers is also in for another tough shift travelling to the home of Bc Giants whilst Stinkilemons will face off against Vector BC. The last division III side remaining, BC Hermis will bid for a spot in the last 8 with a home game against JR Knights.

Teams are as follows:
EBBL (5/16)
II.1 (1/16)
II.2 (3/16)
II.3 (4/16)
II.4 (2/16)

Last edited by js8 at 9/17/2015 5:42:58 PM

I was looking forward to at least 80k next week from the Cup but it looks like its not going to happen now.