Lions 81-70 Besiktas: British Basketball history made as London Lions crowned EuroCup winners

The stage was set and history was to be made. The biggest game in British Basketball History was upon us as London Lions Women became the first team, men or women’s, to win a European final, with the final result set at 81-70.

There was hardly a seat left in the CopperBox Arena with the Stratford stadium bouncing in anticipation of what would be an intensely fought clash. 

The Lions came away from Turkey with a 75-68 defeat thus meaning a win of eight was required if the London side wanted to lift the trophy for the first time in their history. 

Besiktas, however, came with a huge travelling fanbase - which more closely resembled what one might imagine the Besiktas football team’s fanbase looking like - and it was not to be an easy task for the Lions to drown out their endless display of support. 

As tradition states, the crowd remained standing until Lions got their first points on the board and this did not take long. Thanks to the electric efforts of captain Temi Fagbenle, the Lions were 4-0 up inside of 90 seconds and the home crowd were wild with delirium. 

With the ball firing down the other end, shouts of ‘Defence’ were evidently heard with the Lions producing a match-winning defensive display and while Besiktas may have got the better of the three-pointers, they struggled up close with the Lions capitalising seamlessly. 

The end of the first quarter saw the Lions up 23-17 and while the second quarter started in a much more nerve-wracking display, with the away side able to equalise quickly, this would not last long with the home side’s work off the basket once again proving too effective. 

Any mistake the Turkish side deigned to make, the Lions pounced on and at the end of the second quarter they were 45-35 up. 

The drama was certainly nowhere near over with the third quarter offering the first fifth foul and Besikstas’ number 17 was duly sent off, only for her head coach to then receive a caution of his own. With the Turkish side, and their numerous fans, increasingly riled up, the third quarter ended 60-55 and Lions were needing to dig deep if they were to keep the score at least eight points apart. 

As the fourth quarter got underway, any Besiktas fans in the upper stands soon may their way to as close to court as possible with scarves waved ferociously in the air. 

With two minutes left on the clock, three Besiktas players had received five fouls with the manager sent out of the Arena as the home side went seven points up. 

45 seconds remained on the clock, and it felt as if the walls could crumble the crowd created such an atmosphere. Not a single person remained seated for the final seconds of the game and with the stakes never higher for either side, the tension was ungovernable. 

However, London witnessed British Basketball history and Megan Gustafson scored what would prove to be the final points of the game. Two seconds later the whistle went and with a score of 81-70 on the board, the CopperBox Arena was uncontrollable as the London Lions became the first ever British side to win a European trophy. 

Number 44 Karlie Samuelson ended as the Lions highest scorer with 19 points on the board, subsequently being announced as the final’s Most Valuable Player; while Gustafson ended on 18; Temi Fagbenle on 17; Holly Winterburn on 13; Abby Meyers on 7 and Shey Peddy on 6. 

It was a night that will not soon be forgotten in London and it truly feels the game of British Basketball has been changed forever thanks to the work of Fagbenle and the EuroCup winners the London Lions.