Towers ready to claim title

London Towers will regroup at Crystal Palace tonight for a second attempt to take the Southern Conference title, with their hopes of European success apparently wrecked by a midweek defeat in Latvia.

London Towers will regroup at Crystal Palace tonight for a second attempt to take the Southern Conference title, with their hopes of European success apparently wrecked by a midweek defeat in Latvia.

A victory over the Chester Jets will give Towers the crown, just as victory at Milton Keynes Lions last Sunday would have done. However, Towers lost that match 82-76 before crashing 97-70 against Ventspils in the first leg of their North European Basketball League play-off quarter-final. Recovering that deficit looks beyond them.

Towers and London Leopards have already qualified for the Championship play-offs from the South, with Milton Keynes and Birmingham Bullets well placed to join them.

Chester Jets and Sheffield Sharks are through from the North, with Newcastle Eagles clear in third place, leaving both Leicester Riders and Manchester Giants contesting fourth spot.

Giants have the hardest run-in, playing Sheffield tonight, while the Riders will play the Thames Valley Tigers.