The City of Sheffield Hatters and Bristol Academy Flyers are the 2010 National Cup Finals champions after both teams recorded wins Sunday afternoon at the English Institute of Sport-Sheffield.

 

Britain's most successful basketball team, the Sheffield Hatters, won their record 13th National Cup title with a 67-54 win over the Nottingham Wildcats, the only team to have beaten them so far this season. American centre Shanna Oaddams had one of her best performances of 09/10 for the Hatters, recording 17 points and 17 rebounds to take home the game's Most Valuable Player award.

 

It took a period of overtime, but the Bristol Academy Flyers managed to upset the Manchester Magic in front of a loud, faithful following who travelled from England's south west. A balanced offensive display saw four Bristol players record double digits on the scoreboard, but it was big man Davis Bowne who was selected as the game MVP. The second year Flyer had a 12 point, 13 rebound double-double in Bristol's first trophy win in Division One.

 

 

 

 

The experience and depth of the Sheffield Hatters were simply too much for the Nottingham Wildcats, as they went down 67-54 in the first National Cup Final of 2010.

 

Nottingham coach Chris Prior used his bench sparingly against Sheffield, relying heavily on the starters, four of whom played over 35 minutes each in the game. Despite Wildcats guard Sabra Wrice top scoring with 27 points, Sheffield managed to lock down their other top point getters - Caitlin Flood, Siobhan Prior and Emma Pass - who all stayed in single digits for the game.

 

The Hatters, on the other hand, were superbly quarterbacked by Great Britain guard Lisa Hutchinson, who recorded 10 assists in the win, including a dazzling midcourt court no-look pass to Emma Camp that gave Sheffield a second period lead they never lost.

 

Hutchinson's British teammates Rosalee Mason and Helen Naylor were also in fine form, with the former hitting a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards and the latter leading Sheffield with 19, including two of two from behind the arc.

 

The game's eight lead changes all came in period number one, as the Wildcats did their best to keep pace with the Hatters. Although Sheffield did lead for the remainder of the game, it was by no means a one-sided loss. Wrice's deuce with just under three minutes left in the half cut the Sheffield lead to 4 (29-25), but the hometown Hatters struck a 9-2 run ending the second quarter up 38-27.

 

The highlight of quarter three belonged to Wrice, as she pulled up from NBA range to beat the period buzzer and send her team into the final quarter down 10, 50-40.

 

Sheffield managed to maintain the double digit lead for most of the fourth, however, and Hutchinson's 10th assist came as she set up Sarah Taylor for a three with 6 six seconds left, giving the Hatters the win, 67-54.

 

 

 

 

With an ending that rivals any basketball game from this season, the Bristol Academy Flyers won their first major trophy after defeating the Manchester Magic 63-61 in overtime.

 

In a highly defensive battle that saw a lot of shots taken and few drop, the Flyers and Magic gave the Sheffield crowd something to shout about as time ticked away in the fourth quarter.

 

With the score locked at 55, Stefan Gill's floater gave the Magic a two point lead with just over a minute remaining. A series of misses at both ends followed until, with two seconds left, Bristol's Doug McLaughlin-Williams pulled up for a three but was fouled by the Magic's Yann Fasbender. The result was three free throws for McLaughlin-Williams, with all pressure on the Bristol forward.

 

The travelling Bristol faithful were left with their hearts in their throats as the American missed his first, but he regained composure to sink the last two leaving the game tied at 57.

 

Coach Jeff Jones called timeout with just enough time to run an inbounds play from the halfway mark. An almost perfectly executed lob pass was sent to Gill, but he rimmed out forcing the extra period.

 

Youngster Josh Houghton made up for a couple of missed threes in the final minute of the fourth as he drove with the left hand to open the overtime scoring. Bowne replied nearly two minutes later to level, but Gill's 28th point at the minute and a half mark gave the Magic a 61-59 lead.

 

Bristol's Anthony Berry was sent to the line by Lee Goldsbrough, where he converted one of two, but the Flyers regained possession and Berry's hook in the paint gave them the 62-61 lead. Houghton missed from long range at the other end leaving the Magic forced to foul Jack Stannard, whose one of two free throws was enough to secure the win.

 

Bristol Academy Flyers coach Andreas Kapoulas was a delighted man:

 

"Winning the National Cup is a major milestone in our club's history," he said. "It is such a great achievement and a huge recognition for our players, supporters, coaches and Bristol basketball in general. I am so proud of our players' commitment, work ethic and determination. They really deserve this recognition."

 

"The win was a product of our hard work and demonstrated the depth and toughness our team possesses. I am so happy to be part of this group. The Cup means a lot to the Flyers and Bristol basketball. We now hope to continue our success in the league campaign.

 

"I would like to thank our sponsors Big Tall Order, DTM LTD, Yaskin Sports and Initially Yours for the support they have given us. Most importantly, though, I would like to thank Filton College and the Principal Kevin Hamblin who have been vital to our success and the rise to the top of English Basketball."

 

Despite Bowne's MVP performance, Gill was the game's high scorer with 28 points and an impressive 11 rebounds from the 5'8" Magic guard, whose leaping ability was shown with his work on the glass.