London Lions savour turnaround and eye Super League Basketball play-off final
London Lions CEO Lenz Balan has hailed the club’s “unbelievable” recovery from the brink of extinction to within touching distance of a fifth consecutive play-off final.
The domestic champions were plucked from administration by new owners, Lithuanian tech incubator Tesonet, in a hugely turbulent few months for British basketball last summer.
Despite shedding star names, they topped the Super League Basketball table this season and face Newcastle Eagles in the play-off semi-finals, with the first leg on Friday at the Copper Box.
“It’s really exciting. I think this has been a very, very, very challenging year, for all SLB clubs. I think we were probably a month and a half behind even those clubs,” Balan told City AM.
“The process of finding new investors, in and of itself, was just insane. It was madness. And to be at the point where we end the season at the top of the table, in the semi-finals, with a team, with the club that we have, with the coaches and the players and the staff that we have and the fan base that’s actually responded quite well despite all of the turmoil, is just like, unbelievable.”
The London Lions booked their Super League Basketball semi-final spot with a comprehensive victory over the Surrey 89ers, clinched with Monday’s 86-69 second-leg win.
It took them a step closer to returning to EuroCup, having been excluded from this year’s competition due to their ownership crisis, and completing a remarkable turnaround.
“I think it would be an achievement for a number of reasons. It would be an achievement, because it’s just tough, the league has gotten a lot better. I don’t think people recognise the step change in the league every year,” said Balan.
London Lions ‘a world-class organisation’
“I think part of that is the success the Lions had in EuroCup. And I think part of that is the number of investor-backed clubs there are. So now seven of the nine clubs are backed by deep pockets, which means the average quality of players just continues to improve. The average quality of the coaching continues to improve. And so it’s really not an easy league.
“To be able to have this success with the existing salary cap is great because I think it was important for us to prove that we built a world-class organisation. And I think this tells us that we’re able to do that.
“And obviously [coach Petar] Bozic, to be able to switch from a lot of veteran players who played elite European competition and have a lot of young players, a lot of young players with British passports, to contribute in the way that they have is really cool.”
The Lions have attracted crowds of around 3,000 to games at the Copper Box and are hoping for another strong turn-out when Newcastle visit for the first leg this week.
“We are ecstatic to be back in the semi-finals, and our group is ready for any challenge thrown our way,” said captain Ovie Soko.
“We want to continue to build a winning culture, and winning is how you do that. The support of the fans at the Copper Box has been incredible, and we love to see all of the support from the fans creating a great atmosphere and being part of the journey.”