Basketball: Newcastle Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy reflects on BBL Cup final win
IT HAS been a whirlwind few weeks for Newcastle Eagles' player-coach Fab Flournoy.
Student basketball player breaks back board with huge dunk
Just over a fortnight ago, he was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List and over the weekend he was back to doing what he does so well – winning trophies.
Once again the Eagles showed why they are the best team in the BBL after they overcame a slow start to win a record-breaking third straight BBL Cup final.
The Eagles found themselves 10-0 down in the early stages against close rivals Glasgow Rocks but ended up dominating the contest 91-83 behind a game-high 29 points from three-time MVP Rahmon Fletcher.
"I'm just happy - it's difficult being a player-coach and controlling emotions at times,” said Flournoy, whose side held off a late Rocks rescue mission to lift the coveted silverware.
Fab Flournoy helped Newcastle Eagles win a third BBL Cup
Newcastle Eagles celebrate their cup win
“There have been some close games around the league of late, and in a Cup Final, I didn't expect anything less than a battle on our hands.
“We knew [the Rocks] weren’t just going to go away and limiting their runs was key for us.”
The victory was the eighteenth straight win for the Eagles over their Scottish rivals, a fact Flournoy admitted he was unaware of.
“In all honesty, I didn’t know,” he said.
“They are a real, true, derby team in the sense that back in 2002 or 2003 when I was first starting out, our games were going both ways and I actually believe they beat us a lot then.
“I think that moulded the healthy rivalry that we have and every game we’ve had is always going to the wire.”
“I don’t see it as 18 [straight] wins, I see it as we’re going to have to battle for everything,"said Flournoy, whose side is also at the forefront of the BBL title race.