In the 2020-21 season, the Lions played in a European competition for the first time in the clubs history.
They were confirmed to have a spot in the qualifying rounds for the fifth season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL).
However, they failed to qualify for the tournament proper, losing 77-73 to Neptunas in the single game qualifying tie.
In the 2021-22 season, the Lions made their debut in the FIBA Europe Cup, which meant their debut in the group stage of a European competition. On October 13th 2021, the Lions beat Donar Groningen away to register their first ever European win.
How They Qualified:
London Lions qualified by finishing in the top five of the British Basketball League (BBL) standings in the previous season. They lost 62-89 to Treviso and 67-56 to Islas Canarias in the qualifying round. They did enough to go through to the FIBA Europe Cup after beating Islas Canarias 76-46.
First European Game:
The London Lions won their first game 60-79 on the road against Donar Groningen on Wednesday 13th October 2021.
The Lions Head coach, Vince Macaulay, had this to say when speaking to thelondonlions.com about the victory in the Netherlands:
“We’re very pleased with the result and the way we played…we put a lot of work into getting that result, and I’m sure we surprised a lot of people.’’
Macaulay added: “It will give us some real confidence, over all our fight was incredible, especially during the final five or six minutes in the first half.’’
https://www.thelondonlions.com/news/macaulay-delighted-with-victory-in-netherlands
How It Will Help London Lions?
Playing in Europe will help London Lions because more people will be interested in British Basketball. Justin Robinson had this to say when speaking to the daily star about putting British Basketball on the map again:
”This is just me speaking but I don’t think a lot of kids realise they can stay home and make a career in the BBL. You can earn a good wage, play at a good level.”
“I also think it definitely puts British basketball on the map. From my own experience of playing around Europe, playing in different leagues, people don’t really respect British basketball as a whole.”
“I think we most definitely can put British basketball on the map and open up people’s eyes. I want to show the BBL is a good league, it has been for a while, and there is potential for it to be on the way up.”
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/justin-robinson-leads-london-lions-22707975
Who Are They Playing?
Kapfenberg Bulls – Kapfenberg Bulls, also known simply as Bulls, is a professional basketball club that is based in Kapfenberg, which is a town in Styria, a state of Austria.
Bayreuth – Medi Bayreuth is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bayreuth, Germany. It was re-founded as BBC Bayreuth in 1999. The team plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the highest division of basketball in Germany. They qualified for the competition after finishing 10th in the 2020-21 Bundesliga season.
Donar – Donar, also known as Donar Groningen, is a professional basketball club based in Groningen, Netherlands. The club competes in the BNXT League and its home arena is MartiniPlaza, which has a seating capacity of 4,350 people. Donar Groningen qualified after finishing 3rd in the 2020-21 DBL season.
Results:
27/10/2021 : London Lions 91-81 Bayreuth
20/10/2021 : London Lions 68-58 Kapfenberg
13/10/2021 : Donar Groningen 55-79 London lions
Feature Image Credit: Brandon Thacker
