Basketball: Tigers fail to profit from victory

Thames Valley Tigers and Brighton Bears had a BBL Trophy semi-final place in their grasp at the Brighton Centre last night, but succeeded only in handing the prize to the London Towers.

The Tigers won 83-76 to fall short of the 17-point winning margin they needed to qualify, but also knocked out Brighton, who had needed only a win by any score to go through. Towers will now meet Birmingham Bullets in the semi-final at the Aston Events Centre on Saturday 8 February.

The final game in South Group Two was heading Brighton's way until the last two minutes when Thames Valley squared the scores on 76 points each. There was not enough time for Tigers to rack up the 17 points they needed, but Brighton lost their nerve.

Michael Nurse, with a field basket and a single free throw put Tigers 79-76 ahead, after Brighton's Randy Duck missed his shot and then fouled the Thames Valley playmaker.

Desperation crept in as Brighton saw the semi-final place slipping away and they then fouled Brendan Graves, who scored both foul shots before Ed Williams completed Tigers' impressive, but futile, victory.

Bullets must win their two remaining games in the European Champions' Cup to qualify for the next stage, after losing 83-60 to the West Conference leaders Tenerife in Spain last night.