The 2025 European North basketball league playoffs continue on Tuesday, March 11, as the 2024 champions Bakken Bears host the 2025 SLB Trophy winners Newcastle Eagles.
Series history: Bakken Bears and Newcastle Eagles will face each other for the third time.
Both teams met...in the 2024 ENBL playoffs.
Bakken Bears won the series on aggregate, 188-179.
Danish champions won at Newcastle, 92-87, and then prevailed on the home floor in overtime, 96-92 (after trailing in regulation 81-86).
Newcastle Eagles posted a 7-1 record and won the Group A.
Bakken Bears posted a 4-4 record and finished fourth in Group B.
Newcastle Eagles are 3-1 on the road, including loss at Valmiera Glass ViA.
Bakken Bears are 2-2 on the home floor after losses against Inter Bratislava and Basket Brno.
The winner of the series will face the best team from the quarterfinal match-up between Dziki Warszawa and Bamberg Baskets.
Key matchup: Terrence Hargrove averages 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists for Bakken Bears.
Saint Louis University graduate forward – wearing number 22 – shoots 51.1 percent from the two point line and 37.1 percent from the three point line.
De`Sean Allen-Eikens averages 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for Newcastle Eagles.
California State University at Northridge graduate forward shoots 48.2 percent from the two point line and 41.2 percent from the three point line.
National championships: Bakken Bears are 16-6 at the Basketligaen.
All teams were split into two groups recently (1-6 and 7-11).
Svendborg Rabbits and FOG Naestved lead the table with a 18-4 record, followed by Horsens, 17-5.
Bakken Bears split the home games against Svendborg Rabbits (88-78 win on February 13 and 89-98 loss on March 6).
2024 ENBL champion Skyler Bowlin returned on the floor on March 1, after missing two months of play.
Center Magnus Larsen also missed multiple games, while Tyson Tucker debuted on February 1.
The regular season will finish on April 21.
Newcastle Eagles won their 28th trophy at the SLB Trophy final in Birmingham, defeating Bristol Flyers.
Darius Defoe has won 28 trophies with his club.
The Eagles are 10-10 at the Superleague Basketball regular season, trailing to London Lions (18-4), Sheffield Sharks and Leicester Riders (14-4).
Marc Steutel and his men won all four games in February but are 0-3 since then.
Newcastle Eagles lost at London Lions, 68-79, on March 9.
Know your referees
Crew chief: Sturla Sand (Norway) – BLNO referee from 2007, FIBA referee 2017-2023, ENBL debut in December 2024.
Umpire 1: Skirmantas Letukas (Denmark) – FIBA referee from 2021, Basketligaen referee from 2017.
Umpire 2: Gavin Williams (United Kingdom) – British Basketball league referee from 2008, FIBA referee from 2011, current member of British Basketball technical commission, has officiated at the FIBA Women`s EuroBasket 2015 in Hungary and Romania.
Observer (at the video): Oskars Lucis (Latvia).
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube
ENBL playoffs 2025 (local time only)
(A1) Newcastle Eagles – Bakken Bears (B4)
Game one: Tuesday, March 11, Aarhus 18:30
Game two: Tuesday, March 18, Newcastle 19:30 (CET 20:30)
(A2) CSO Voluntari – Legia Warszawa (B3)
Game one: Wednesday, March 5, CSO Voluntari win 81-95
Game two: Tuesday, March 18, Bucharest 19:00 (CET 18:00)
(A3) Dziki Warszawa – Bamberg Baskets (B2)
Game one: Wednesday, March 5, Dziki win 95-74
Game two: Wednesday, March 19, Bamberg 20:00
(A4) Valmiera Glass ViA – Inter Bratislava (B1)
Game one: Saturday, March 1, Inter win 83-105
Game two: Tuesday, March 18, Bratislava 18:00
The 2025 Final Four location will be announced immediately after the playoffs.
Final Four 2025
Tuesday, April 8
Semifinal one: Winner A1/B4 – Winner A3/B2
Semifinal two: Winner B1/A4 – Winner B3/A2
Wednesday, April 9
Medal games
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