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2019–20 London Lions season

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2019–20 London Lions season
logo
Head coachUnited Kingdom Vince Macaulay
CaptainUnited Kingdom Joe Ikhinmwin
ArenaCopper Box Arena
BBL results
Record10–4 (.714)
Ladder2nd
BBL CupQuarterfinalist
(lost to Riders 72–63)
BBL TrophyFirst round
(lost to Kestrels 82–92)
Playoff finishN/A[1]
Stats at BBL.org.uk
Player records
PointsUnited Kingdom Soko
20.2
ReboundsUnited States Peel
8.9
AssistsUnited Kingdom Robinson
4.9
← 2018–19
2020–21 →

The 2019–20 BBL season was the 43rd season for the London Lions in the BBL, and the 8th under the banner of London Lions.

The club won its first regular season title with a 99–80 victory over the Newcastle Eagles at the Eagles Community Arena on April 26, 2019.[2]

The London Lions played their home games at the 7,000 seat Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

Following a strong 2018-19 season where the Lions finished 27-6, they had many players depart the club such as Kervin Bristol, Ladarius Tabb, Jordan Spencer and Dzaflo Larkai.

In the 2019-20 season the Lions quickly resigned two-time BBL MVP Justin Robinson, Andre Lockhart and Lions captain Joe Ikhinmwin with the return of American forward Brandon Peel.[3][4][5][6]

The Lions made one of the biggest signings in the BBL history and signed Ovie Soko to start at the small-forward position, along with new signings of Spanish guard Jorge Romero, Jordan Whelan from Worcester Wolves, Americans Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan from Cheshire Phoenix and Jordan Jackson.[7][8][9][10][11]

The Lions also, signed Jules Dang-Akodo and Samuel Toluwase from the inaugural London City Royals team from the 2018–19 BBL season.[12][13] Lions later signed French big man Alioune Tew at the center position.[14]

On December 13, 2019, the Lions announced that the Club and guard/forward Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan have “mutually” agreed to part ways.[15] With the departure of Allen-Jordan the Lions signed promising Ethiopian/American forward Buay Tuach on January, 10th, 2020.[16] On January 17, 2020, the Lions signed British point guard Ogo Adegboye to replace Spanish guard Jorge Romero.[17]

With the withdrawal of the London City Royals, Edmir Lucas signed with the London Lions to replace Ogo Adegboye on February 12, 2020, for the remainder of the 2019–20 BBL season.[18] On February 14, 2020, Lucas scored 8 points in 14 minutes of action in a 66-75 away win against the Bristol Flyers in only his second game with the team.

On 17 March 2020, the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. On 1 June 2020, the season was cancelled, with no League or Playoffs champions declared.[19]

Roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

2019–20 London Lions roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
F 00 United Kingdom Soko, Ovie 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
F 1 Nigeria Toluwase, Samuel 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 102 kg (225 lb)
G 2 Angola Lucas, Edmir 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
C 5 United States Jackson, Jordan (DP) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 99 kg (218 lb)
G 6 Barbados Lockhart, Andre 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
F 7 United Kingdom Ikhinmwin, Joe (C) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
F 9 United Kingdom Whelan, Jordan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 91 kg (201 lb)
G 10 United Kingdom Robinson, Justin 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 81 kg (179 lb)
G 17 Cameroon Dang-Akodo, Jules 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb)
F 21 Ethiopia Tuach, Buay 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 84 kg (185 lb)
F 22 United States Peel, Brandon 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
C 33 France Tew, Alioune 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: February 12, 2020

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Development
C Ovie Soko Alioune Tew Jordan Jackson
PF Brandon Peel Samuel Toluwase
SF Buay Tuach Joe Ikhinmwin Jordan Whelan
SG Jules Dang-Akodo Edmir Lucas
PG Justin Robinson Andre Lockhart

Cup

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The newly-formatted BBL Cup will begin the 2019–20 season on Friday 20 September, with the group stages running until Sunday 24 November. The 12 teams have been split into 2 geographical groups, North and South. Each team will play each other twice (once home, once away) with the top 4 teams in each group progressing to the Quarter Finals. Single-legged quarter finals and two-legged semi finals matches will determine the two finalists who will contest the Cup Final on Sunday 26 January at the Arena Birmingham.

South Group

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Qualification
1 London City Royals 10 8 2 860 793 +67 Quarter Finals
2 Worcester Wolves 10 6 4 798 798 0
3 Bristol Flyers 10 6 4 835 837 −2
4 London Lions 10 5 5 892 872 +20
5 Surrey Scorchers 10 3 7 829 862 −33
6 Plymouth Raiders 10 2 8 849 901 −52
Source: http://www.bbl.org.uk/

Game log

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2019–20 game log
BBL Cup Qualification Stage: 5–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
1 September 20 @ Worcester Wolves L 92–67 Brandon Peel (30) Brandon Peel (15) Lockhart, Robinson (4) Worcester Arena 0–1
2 October 5 @ London City Royals L 92–77 Brandon Peel (19) Brandon Peel (13) Justin Robinson (7) Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 0–2
3 October 19 @ Bristol Flyers L 97–94 Brandon Peel (35) Brandon Peel (7) Justin Robinson (7) SGS College Arena 0–3
4 October 23 Plymouth Raiders W 101–86 Dang-Akodo, Robinson (17) Allen-Jordan, Peel (9) Justin Robinson (7) Copper Box Arena 1–3
5 October 26 @ Surrey Scorchers L 80–77 Brandon Peel (25) Brandon Peel (14) Justin Robinson (6) Surrey Sports Park 1–4
6 November 1 London City Royals W 100–99 Justin Robinson (23) Brandon Peel (11) Justin Robinson (10) Copper Box Arena 2–4
7 November 3 @ Plymouth Raiders W 80–90 Brandon Peel (23) Brandon Peel (11) Jorge Romero (5) Plymouth Pavilions 3–4
8 November 8 Worcester Wolves L 85–90 Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan (31) Jorge Romero (7) Jorge Romero (4) University of East London 3–5
9 November 20 Bristol Flyers W 103–69 Brandon Peel (27) Brandon Peel (12) Jorge Romero (4) Copper Box Arena 4–5
10 November 23 Surrey Scorchers W 98–87 Brandon Peel (25) Brandon Peel (11) Justin Robinson (8) Copper Box Arena 5–5
BBL Cup Quarter Finals: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
11 November 29 @ Leicester Riders L 72–63 Brandon Peel (23) Alioune Tew (9) Justin Robinson (2) Morningside Arena 5–6

Trophy

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The BBL Trophy retains the same format as introduced in 2018–19. The 12 BBL teams are joined in the first round draw by 4 invited teams; Solent Kestrels and Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League, Dunfermline Reign from the Scottish Basketball Championship and Basketball Wales. There is an open draw to form a bracket, mapping out each team's path to the final which will be held, for the 8th consecutive year, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Game log

[edit]
2019–20 game log
BBL Trophy 1st Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
1 January 4 Solent Kestrels L 82-92 Justin Robinson (19) Brandon Peel (8) Dang Akodo, Robinson (4) University of East London 0-1

Championship

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Ladder

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The BBL Championship will run from Friday 6 December – Sunday 19 April. All 12 teams will play each other twice, once home once away, for a 22-game regular season. The top 8 teams will qualify for the end of season Playoffs. London City Royals withdrew from the league,[20] and their 1–3 record was expunged.[N 1]

On 17 March 2020, the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. On 1 June 2020, the season was cancelled, with no League or Playoffs champions declared.[19]

Regular-season standings

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Glasgow Rocks 15 12 3 1275 1089 +186 24
2 London Lions 14 10 4 1280 1159 +121 20 Basketball Champions League qualifying rounds[22]
3 Worcester Wolves 14 9 5 1173 1106 +67 18
4 Leicester Riders 12 8 4 1048 975 +73 16
5 Newcastle Eagles 13 7 6 1147 1119 +28 14
6 Cheshire Phoenix 13 7 6 1079 1060 +19 14
7 Sheffield Sharks 13 7 6 1060 1060 0 14
8 Bristol Flyers 12 5 7 937 992 −55 10
9 Surrey Scorchers 14 5 9 1243 1340 −97 10
10 Plymouth Raiders 13 3 10 1098 1185 −87 6
11 Manchester Giants 13 0 13 1003 1258 −255 0
12 London City Royals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew from the league
Updated to match(es) played on 14 March 2020. Source: BBC Sport

Game log

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2019–20 game log
December: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
1 December 8 Glasgow Rocks W 88-72 Brandon Peel (18) Ovie Soko (13) Jorge Romero (4) Copper Box Arena 1-0
2 December 15 @ Manchester Giants W 73-103 Justin Robinson (17) Brandon Peel (8) Dang-Akodo, Robinson (5) George H. Carnall Sports Centre 2-0
3 December 18 Bristol Flyers W 99-88 Ovie Soko (22) Peel, Soko (7) Lockhart, Robinson (4) Copper Box Arena 3-0
4 December 22 Sheffield Sharks W 87-79 Ovie Soko (17) Alioune Tew (10) Justin Robinson (6) Copper Box Arena 4-0
5 December 27 @ Worcester Wolves L 80-78 Peel, Robinson (18) Brandon Peel (14) Justin Robinson (5) Worcester Arena 4-1
January: 3–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
6 January 10 @ Plymouth Raiders W 82-91 Ovie Soko (21) Brandon Peel (12) Justin Robinson (7) Plymouth Pavilions 5-1
7 January 17 Surrey Scorchers W 107-98 Ovie Soko (27) Buay Tuach (9) Justin Robinson (6) Copper Box Arena 6-1
8 January 19 @ Sheffield Sharks W 86-91 Justin Robinson (27) Ovie Soko (11) Ikhinmwin, Robinson (3) Ponds Forge 7-1
9 January 31 @ Leicester Riders L 83-76 Ovie Soko (21) Ovie Soko (9) Dang-Akodo, Robinson, Soko, Whelan (3) Morningside Arena 7-2
February: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
10 February 7 @ Newcastle Eagles L 108-97 Ovie Soko (33) Buay Tuach (10) Lockhart, Robinson (6) Eagles Community Arena 7-3
11 February 12 Cheshire Phoenix W 94-78 Justin Robinson (19) Joe Ikhinmwin (8) Justin Robinson (6) Copper Box Arena 8-3
12 February 14 @ Bristol Flyers W 66-75 Peel, Robinson (14) Alioune Tew (11) Dang-Akodo, Robinson (5) SGS College Arena 9-3
March: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
13 March 1 Leicester Riders W 99-65 Brandon Peel (23) Brandon Peel (13) Justin Robinson (6) Copper Box Arena 10-3
14 March 7 @ Surrey Scorchers L 101-95 Ovie Soko (25) Peel, Soko (12) Peel, Soko, Tuach (3) Surrey Sports Park 10-4
April: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
15 April 1 Newcastle Eagles boxscore N/A N/A N/A Copper Box Arena N/A
16 April 4 Worcester Wolves boxscore N/A N/A N/A Copper Box Arena N/A
17 April 5 @ Cheshire Phoenix boxscore N/A N/A N/A Cheshire Oaks Arena N/A
18 April 8 Manchester Giants boxscore N/A N/A N/A Copper Box Arena N/A
19 April 12 @ Glasgow Rocks boxscore N/A N/A N/A Emirates Arena N/A
20 April 17 Plymouth Raiders boxscore N/A N/A N/A Copper Box Arena N/A

Player statistics

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BBL Championship statistics

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Category Player Pld Totals Average
Points per game Ovie Soko 12 242 20.2
Rebounds per game Brandon Peel 14 125 8.9
Assists per game Justin Robinson 13 64 4.9
Steals per game Justin Robinson 13 19 1.5
Blocks per game Alioune Tew 14 13 0.9
FG% Samuel Toluwase 11 11-17 64.7%
3FG% Samuel Toluwase 11 4-7 57.1%
FT% Justin Robinson 13 35-40 87.5%

BBL Cup statistics

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Category Player Pld Totals Average
Points per game Brandon Peel 11 252 22.9
Rebounds per game Brandon Peel 11 117 10.6
Assists per game Justin Robinson 11 58 5.3
Steals per game Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan 11 20 1.8
Justin Robinson 11 20 1.8
Blocks per game Brandon Peel 11 12 1.1
FG% Alioune Tew 4 16-24 66.7%
3FG% Brandon Peel 11 17-32 53.1%
FT% Justin Robinson 11 38-42 90.5%

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The results expunged were a 98–90 victory over Plymouth Raiders, and losses of 104–89 against London Lions, 95–71 to Bristol Flyers and a 20–0 forfeit[21] against Glasgow Rocks.

References

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  1. ^ Sutherland, Jonathan (1 June 2020). "Basketball: Glasgow upset as BBL ends season without awarding title". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. ^ "London Lions crowned BBL champions". Newham Recorder. Archant. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. ^ "IT'S A THREE FROM ROBINSON". thelondonlions.com. August 30, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  4. ^ "LOCKHART RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON". thelondonlions.com. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  5. ^ "NUMBER 7 JOE IKHINMWIN MAKES IT 7". thelondonlions.com. September 3, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "BRANDON PEEL RE-SIGNS WITH THE LIONS!". thelondonlions.com. July 15, 2018. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "LOVE IS IN THE AIR AS LIONS SIGN UP OVIE SOKO". thelondonlions.com. November 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Lions Go Spanish With Romero". thelondonlions.com. August 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "Lions Acquire Whelan". thelondonlions.com. August 27, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "JORDAN JETS IN". thelondonlions.com. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "BRIT JORDAN JACKSON CHECKS IN". thelondonlions.com. September 9, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  12. ^ "DANG-AKODO STRENGTHENS LIONS". thelondonlions.com. October 18, 2019. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "Toluwase Inked For Season". thelondonlions.com. October 18, 2019. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  14. ^ "TEW JOINS THE LIONS". thelondonlions.com. November 7, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  15. ^ "Dii'Jon Allen-Jordan and London Lions Part Company". thelondonlions.com. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  16. ^ "Lions Acquire Tuach". thelondonlions.com. January 10, 2020. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  17. ^ "GB International Ogo Joins Lions". thelondonlions.com. January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Edmir Lucas signs at London Lions". afrobasket.com. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "BBL Cancels Remainder 2019/20 Season; Looks Ahead to 2020/21". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Royals withdraw from the BBL". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Disciplinary Panel findings on Royals v Rocks". British Basketball League. The Basketball League Ltd. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019. Based on these findings and in line with the BBL regulations, the Disciplinary Panel has awarded the game to Glasgow Rocks with a score of 20 to 0, and the Royals have been fined an undisclosed sum.
  22. ^ "Strongest BCL lineup to date ahead of season 5". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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