Fury Men become the most consistent Men's side of the 18-19 season as they reached the Play-Off final with their Big 4 of Matrakakov (26) and Burroughs (24) sharing 50pts and Leginas (19) and Hammerschmidt (17) sharing 36pts .
With Fury having already won the Scottish Cup Final, and being Runners-Up in the Championship, the Men's side will take their place in the Play-Off Final against Edinburgh Kings, the 4th seed who denied a potential clash between the Cup Winners and the League Champions- Reign, who Fury defeated in the Cup semi-finals.
Fury’s 10pt win over Saints was their 4th win in 4 games over the Paisley side this season, all in double digits.
However this win for Fury was certainly their toughest challenge as Saints, like Fury played great basketball throughout, with the Falkirk side getting the edge going into the final quarter and keeping it till the final whistle.
In what was an unusual scoring game for Fury. who have all season, consistently had 20 plus points from their bench, but it was 4 of Fury’s starters who produced the big numbers throughout. Fury’s former Rocks trio of Boris Matrakov, Bantu Burroughs , Cup Final MVP Adam Hammerschmidt and Fury ‘s own Eddie Leginas, shared the scoring and moreover, played great team basketball for all 4 quarters. 
Fury got off to a stunning start as they went 16-5 ahead, however Saints rallied and eventually took the high scoring opening stanza 32-26, with Matrakov on 10 and Leginas on 9 personal.
The second saw Fury pull back, then Saints take a 10pt lead and look as though they had control of the game. But with tougher defence from the Falkirk side, 12 pts personal from Matrakov , big threes from Burroughs and Leginas and a great close out play at the half from Lithuanian Evaldas Burksiatis, the game ended only 4 pts in Saint's favour at
52-48 and all to play for in the second half.
The third was a typical Fury team period, tougher defence, holding Saints to 16pts and team offence that saw 6 players on the score-sheet and Fury ahead by 4 going into the final quarter. Centre Ross Gibson with key back to back baskets in the third and Bulgarian Ivan Ganchev also getting points on the board and playing some great defence.
The final period saw Fury continue to dig in defensively – again holding Saints to 16pts, while Burroughs took over for Fury offensively, leading the team with 12 personal down the stretch for a team 10pt win and a place in what will be the Men's 7th Play-Off / Scottish Cup Final in 6 seasons and will see Fury go for their 11th Men's title in 7 seasons, a remarkable run of consistency.

SONY CENTRE FURY 92 GLASGOW UNIVERSITY 68
Scottish Senior Men Plays-Off Quarter –Final

A 30-14 opening period paved the way for a solid performance from the Falkirk side as they build towards a Play-Off run. Despite resting 3pt specialist and Captain – Keith Bunyan, Fury were imperious beyond the arc with a total of 14 threes in the 42 point win. Former Rocks pro, Bantu Burroughs hit 5 of the 14 in a 29pt game high personal tally. Bulgarian Ivan Ganchev also put on a show for the Fury fans with 16pts and 4 blocks as he entertained the crowd with his play. Fellow countryman – Boris Matrakov hit 13, with Lithuanian Eddie Leginas on 12.
Fury played two of their Championship winning Junior Men's team – Jack Davidson and Sam Owens, both getting on the score-sheet in what was another solid team performance with 11 of the 12 players on the score-sheet.
 

Fury become the first team in Scottish Cup history to record 100pts in a Senior Men's Final – the treble figure total beat the previous record of 99 held by Fury – again in a win over St.Mirren in 2015. Fury never looked back after taking a 6pt lead at the end of the first quarter, with Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt taking the MVP title after a 24pt haul.
A 29- 17 second period was the quarter that gave Fury a cushion they never looked back from. 
Playing an uptempo game Fury scored 22pts of fast breaks, with the significant stat coming from off the bench, where Fury racked up 26pts to Saints zero. The multi national Falkirk side with players from 6 different countries in their ranks, played team basketball throughout with a switching defensive strategy that worked hard to contain a talented Saints side. 
One of the other keys for the Sony sponsored side was from behind the arc where they hit a solid 50%, 12 from 24 , while their opponents struggled with a 14.8% , 4 from 27. 
At the free throw line, Fury were a big 81.8% , hitting 18 from 22.
Fury’s 12 threes came from MVP Adam Hammerschmidt – 3, point guard Bantu Burroughs – 3, Captain Keith Bunyan and Bulgarian Boris Matrakov, 2 apiece with fellow Bulgarian Ivan Ganchev and Connor Martin on 1 apiece. 
With Burroughs, Eddie Leginas and Bryan Munnoch controlling the offence, Fury were also well served inside with Scottish centre Ross Gibson who had a solid game with 8pts and 10 big rebounds. Eddy Leginas also had a great stat line with 9pts, 9 assists and 8 rebounds for an all round performance for the Fury raised Lithuanian playmaker.
The former 4 pro Glasgow Rocks players also did not fail to deliver with Hammerschmidt’s MVP performance, that included 7 from 10 from the charity stripe – an indication of the problem the Austrian had given Saints when going to the basket; Burroughs 19pts, 4 assists and all round solid defence; Matrakov’s 37 minutes – no rest for Boris till the final 3 minutes, producing 14points, 13 rebounds in a great double –double and 3 assists; with veteran 41yr old Captain Keith Bunyan playing 15 minutes with 2 from 4 behind the arc and of course his continual motivation to his team.
11 of Fury’s 12 players made the score sheet showing the teams strength in depth – Zygi Dauksas, Bryan Munnoch, Ross Munnoch, Connor Martin, Evaldis Bursaitis and Ivan Ganchev all with key contributions and highlight film play from Dauksas and Ganchev getting the large Fury support to their feet.
The win gives Fury Men its 10th Scottish title in 7 seasons and its 4th Scottish Cup Final win in the last 6 seasons – showing the consistency and work in the Men's program.
Fury Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport after the game –
‘ We really played to our strengths today and I am delighted for the players as they have worked really hard to take this title. You cannot underestimate the mental and physical effort that goes into top amateur sport – players working in their day jobs and then going to training or even many times going to games! I am sure all our former pros will agree – yes the level is lower but the effort required is certainly not.
We shot the ball well and clearly we had a big contribution off our bench. It's disappointing Greg Foussas could not play in the Final as he has done as much as anyone to take the team to where it is today. This is a fantastic group of players who really play for each other and as a coach, you can ask for no more. 
St.Mirren as always gave a solid account of themselves and at one stage when it looked as though we could go away from them in the third at 23 ahead, they dug deep and we had to continue to focus throughout the whole of the game.
I would like to thank our loyal fans, who as usual were a big key for us and I would also like to than Gordon, my assistant coach for his work off court with the players. 
We have a big game this Friday – again against Saints to try and tie up second spot in the Championship and then look at having a real go at taking the Play-Offs.’

FURY ‘S CUP FINAL STATS 
23-17 END Q 1
52-34 END Q2
75-57 END Q 3
100 – 78 FINAL

POINTS
ADAM 24
BANTU 19
BORIS 14
EDDY 9
ROSS G 8
KEITH 6 
BRYAN 6
IVAN 5
ZYGI 4
CONNOR 3
EVALDIS 2
ROSS M 0

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Sony Centre Fury are bringing the Scottish Cup back to Falkirk after a convincing win over rivals St Mirren. The Paisley side could not compete with John Bunyan's side who led 52-34 at half-time after an incredible 29 points in the second period. The difference between the sides stayed the same in the third period before Fury stretched clear and hit three figures in the fourth. Adam Hammerschmidt again took the golden ball at the Oriam in Edinburgh. The road to the trophy began against Heriot-Watt University, where the final venue is based, in September. Fury saw off the students convincingly hitting 114 points to win by 40. They then saw off Stirling Knights before inflicting Dunfermline Reign's first defeat of the season in December to seal the final place against their rivals from the west.

Read more at: https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/sport/basketball/falkirk-fury/sony-centre-fury-100-st-mirren-78-silverware-heading-for-falkirk-1-4866760?fbclid=IwAR3ZdrHl-7YpPNer2sVLgcstqp09WTqegXEPcpWBNhyS_HxX4L2WubK3ue0

Fury relinquished the last of the 3 titles they won last season, when an under strength Edinburgh Kings side put paid to their last title chance of the season with a narrow but hard fought win. Kings were missing 3 key players and that should have been enough to send Fury into the Play-Off Final, but Fury were never under any illusions the game was a foregone conclusion. That was endorsed as the Kings led by 7, 40-33 at the half after a tied opening period. 
Captain Keith Bunyan had led Fury during the first half with three 3’s – Fury’s only conversations from behind the arc in these periods – a telling factor for the Sony sponsored side.
However a solid 3rd for the Falkirk side, saw them hold Kings to 10pts and put 19 on the board themselves for a 2pt lead going into the final stanza. At this stage Fury had an unusual line-up on the floor as off the bench Bulgarian Ivan Ganchev and Lithuanian Zygi Dauksas were contributing at both ends off the floor and had been key in Fury now being in front. 
When Ganchev hit his second big three of the night Fury had pushed their lead out to 7pts and the game was entering its final minutes. However a big three for Kings was followed by two that was a crucial 4 pt play as Fury had just missed – in football terms an ‘absolute sitter’ at the other end. With the game now at 2 pts it was anyone’s match and with Zygi Dauksas calmly sinking 2 free throws to take Fury again in front in the final minute Fury looked as though they may sneak the win. But it was not to be as Kings themselves sealed the game from the line for the win.
Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt led Fury with 14, 6 in the final quarter with Zygi Dauksas on 13 and Eddie Leginas on 12. With the Kings scorers in similar numbers, no player had been able to dominate the game which eventually came down to a single basket.
Fury Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport –
‘Firstly you have to give the Kings credit for the win, achieved with 3 key players out. We knew they had the players to battle and get a win and we failed to capitalize on them being short handed. You can only play who is in front of you and we just came up short. It looked like we had the upper hand half way through the fourth but a couple bad plays down the stretch were costly. The team has performed well all season, 3rd in the league and losing out twice to the Kings by a point and 2pts in semi-finals. Its fine margins between success and failure and we have to live with that and start looking at next season. We have a well balanced side and we had players this season who have shown they deserve more minutes and its been a season of integrating that into our overall game plan. I would like to thank all the fans and sponsors who have supported the team, our transition to a new home venue was never going to be easy, we coped well with that and thanks also to Falkirk Trust and the staff at Grangemouth SC for making our venue a place where fans can come along and enjoy top class basketball.’

Fury Men produced a 100pt display in their final home game of the season and hit a season high 17 threes in an impressive performance from the Play-Off title holders. Fury opened with 4 threes from Eddie Leginas open for Fury with another three, Bunyan then scoring back to back 3’s before Greek forward Greg Foussas, changed the pattern with three two point plays in a row. Eddie Leginas continued the run of players racking up consecutive points as he finished the quarter with four 2’s and a free throw. This made the half-time score 45-37 for the Sony sponsored side, so all to play for. But it was a more focused and determined Fury who started the third as they continued to fire on offence but lock down on defence with a 29-13 period. Fury finished the stanza with 5 consecutive 3’s – Leginas scoring the last three of those in a row – his third from almost the half way line to send the 300 Fury fans into raptures .
The final period started with Fury now 24 ahead and with all their squad hitting the court, Zygi Dauksas hit 7pts in a row and Daniel Tran getting the biggest cheers of the night as he scored two fine baskets fro the 98th and 100th points.
Eddie Leginas finished with 27pts ( 6 threes) in his best display of the season with Greg Foussas on 17, Keith Bunyan 15 ( 5 threes) and Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt on 13.
Fury’s Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport after the game – ‘ This was a very solid display from the team, particularly in the second half. To have 7 different players hit 3’s shows the perimeter strength of the side and ending up with 17 on the night gives us a lot of confidence from that offensive perspective going into the semi-finals.
We rested Ross Gibson tonight and are pleased with the progress he has made in the game against Pleasance. We know we will need his strength inside in the Final 4 game and with Kornelius and Greg we are not lacking in the paint.
I was impressed with Ivan Ganchev, our Bulgarian forward tonight and that was his best game for us to date. Daniel Tran showed great skill and execution and the whole team has continued to move forward throughout the season and a display like tonight’s was not only a great finish to the home season for the fans but for the players confidence.’

Despite a strong performance and a convincing win over Edinburgh University last night, Fury have lost their Championship title after St.Mirren – who defeated them two weeks ago by a single point - defeated Blaze by 8pts in a 200 plus points game. Fury who also lost their Scottish Cup title after going down by a point in the semi-finals to eventual winners Kings will now look to retain the last of the 3 titles they won last season the Scottish Play-Offs.
Their performance against the student team, without centre Kornelius Douskas showed they are still very much in contention for that remaining trophy. A closely contested opening period saw Fury lead 23-17 with Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt leading the scoring with 10 personal, but foul trouble saw him sit out most of the second. However this did not stop Fury from extending their lead as Captain Keith Bunyan hit 3 consecutive triples with Lithuanian Eddie Leginasadding a further two and off the bench Bulgarian Ivan Ganchev another from downtown to give the Falkirk side a 15pt half-time lead. A 26-18 third period for Fury saw them move 23pts clear going into the final stanza. Bunyan added a further 3 threes in that period with Hammerschmidt getting back on the court with a further 11pts. Fury’s starters of Bunyan, Hammerschmidt, Leginas, the hard working Bryan Munnoch and Greek forward Greg Foussas sat out most of the final period as the Sony sponsored side stretched their winning margin to 27. 
Hammerschmidt top scored on 21 (4 threes) with Bunyan on 19 (6 threes), Leginas on 14 (4 threes ) .
Fury Men face Boroughmuir Blaze on the road next week as they try and close out a top 3 finish in the Championship.

Despite a stunning 35-17 first quarter lead and a game high 34pts from Austrian forward Adam Hammerschmidt, the Falkirk side could not stop a Saints comeback that saw them top the Championship race with a high scoring 96-95pt win. Saints, today defeated Edinburgh Kings by 20pts as they move 2 games clear of Fury, blaze and Kings.
Fury were roared on by their usual buoyant crowd and got off to a dream start as they hit 6 threes in the opening period - Hammerschmidt 3, Keith Bunyan 2 and Eddie Leginas 1. The Austrian ace seemed unstoppable in that opening stanza with 14pts, Leginas added 9 total with Bunyan and Lithuanian Kornelius Dauksas sharing 12.
But it wasn’t just offence that Fury shoe on – their defence held Saints big guns – Chris Cleary –scoreless and Nick Collins to 4pts. The second period was key for the Paisley side as they managed to pull back Fury’s 18pt lead to 14 at the half and keep themselves in touch. It was more of the same for Fury with Bunyan and Hammerschmidt adding to their 3pt tallies and Leginas and Dauksas continuing to score in the 22-18 stanza for Saints. Coincidently if the game had ended at half-time, the 14points was the target Fury needed to get the head to head on Saints after the Falkirk side’s loss by 13 in the away fixture in Paisley. While Fury were able to add a further 20pts in the third to their 53pt first half tally, Saints came out determined to cut into the Fury lead and by the end of the quarter with 31pts had the game back at 3 with all to play for in the final period. 5 threes in the third had given Saints half their points and as the final period progressed it was anybody’s game, with Fury now just looking for the win, no matter what the scoreline. 
But it was Saints who were ahead going into the final 4 minutes with the score at 86-82. However baskets from teenager Daniel Tran and Dauksas tied the game and then Hammerschmidt hit his 5th three of the night to give Fury the lead on 89-86 on a 7 – 0 run that sent the Fury fans into overdrive. Both teams continued to score and Saints again took the edge as Cleary took his team to 1pt lead at 96-95 with just under 40 seconds left on the clock. 
Fury had endline possession but were unable to convert giving Saints a full possession. With Fury not able to steal and the clock ticking down, Fury fouled with 10 seconds remaining and took a final time-out as Saints went to the end line in possession. With the Sony sponsored side pressing on the inbound, Hammerschmidt came up with a steal and took off for the basket with the clock ticking down. With Saints scrambling back on defence, Hammerschmidt was forced into a running two from the edge of the key that rimmed out – game over.
For Fury the Austrian top scored on 34 with Leginus on 21, Dauksas on 20 and Bunyan on 12. 
Fury Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport after the game-
“ The game became another in the list of Fury-St.Mirren Men’s classic games. We have had at least two others, similar to this – one in Paisley where Jonny and Nick had about 50 apiece and one in Falkirk that was also a 200 point game – great for the fans – not so good for the defensive stats. 
This was a must win game for both teams and we knew we also probably had to win by more than 13pts to get the head to head on Saints. It did not show in the third period but we worked a lot on a defensive game plan in training and in the first and most of the second the players executed it well. 
A key to defeating Saints is always to restrict Nick and Chris to as few points as possible. We had a dream start and I was able to get players off the bench in and take what was a good 14pt lead in at the half. The third proved crucial and we allowed them 31pts. It was anybody’s game right up until Adam’s last shot, but the shot just didn’t drop and its credit to Saints for the win. I cannot fault the effort of my players, they did a great job, Bryan, Eddie and Daniel were solid at the guard spot – we had a record low of only 6 turnovers and actually we shot overall 56% to Saints 55%. Greg Foussas as ever was influential throughout, but a single point separated the teams at the end of the day and it’s the scoreline that ultimately counts. We need to keep focused in the remaining 4 Championship games and have a real push in the Play-Offs.“

Fury’s chances of retaining their Championship title took a blow with a loss in the capital against Edinburgh Kings, making this weeks home tie against – now League leaders – St.Mirren the most crucial game of the season for the Sony sponsored side. 
The Paisley side sit on 2 losses for the season with Fury, Kings and Blaze all on 3- meaning the title race is one of the closest for many years. Fury, who have dominated the Championship, by winning the title for 4 of the past 5 seasons, got off to a solid start in the Kings match with Bryan Munnoch, Adam Hammerschmidt, Eddy Leginas and Kornelius Dauksas scoring the opening baskets for an 8-4 lead. But with Kings staying in the game from the line and then executing well from the perimeter, Fury were forced into a timeout, half-way through the opening period.
The end of the first saw Kings with a 9pt lead at 24-15.
The second was tight with both teams trying to establish control of the game. The 20-17 period in Kings favor, gave the home side a 12 point lead, on the back of some solid scoring from Kyle Jimenez, who Fury had allowed to amass a tally of 19pts. 
The third period, saw a change of defence from the defending Champions with a box and one being played on Jimenez. This proved effective as Fury surged back into the game and with the scoreline at 60-54 for Kings and only a 6pt gap, it appeared Fury were about to make another of their season charges. But while Fury held Jimenez scoreless, a 9-1 run at the end of third to Kings took their lead back to double figures and again left Fury with all to do in the final stanza. But a 20-13 final quarter for Kings took them comfortably through in the end with Ryan Armour and Matt Wilcox taking over for Jimenez on the scoring front. 
For Fury, Eddy Leginas top scored with 21 pts and shared a game high with Jimenez who also finished on 21.
Austrian, Adam Hammerschmidt had 14 for the Falkirk side with Greek forward Greg Foussas on 13.
Fury Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport after the game –
‘ Kings were worthy winners and while we gave 100% and brought the game back to 6 in the third, we just were not able to close down their scorers. Our offence faced a very tough Kings defence, who forced us to make bad decisions and we never got into any real rhythm at that end of the floor. The scorelines in the second and third periods showed how tight the game was, 3pts and 2pts of a difference , but losing the opening period by 9 after getting off to a solid start was key and not being able to come back down the stretch meant it was a comfortable win in the end for them. We have gone from a team who for 5 seasons rarely gave up more than 60pts a game to one that leaks baskets and have this season, relied on our, in the main 3pt shooting to win games. To be fair to our players we are only at 3 losses for the season, we are in joint second spot and there is a lot of pride and experience in the team so we will certainly not be seeing this as the end of our title challenge. We know we need to beat Saints on Friday and we will have an opportunity with the 4 remaining games to win them all and retain our title. Preparation this week will be key and a great home crowd on Friday will be our 6th man, so its still all to play for. The last 5 seasons have set our standards and they have been very high, we were a basket from the Cup Final this season and up until now have led the Championship, so we are still not a bad team by any means. “

The final game and main event of Day 2 of our last event of the season, the SBC Playoff Finals, was our Senior Men’s Playoff Final between the League and Cup Champions Sony Centre Fury, and last years League and Playoff Champions Boroughmuir Blaze. 

It was Blaze who drew first blood in this one, taking a quick 5-0 lead in the game. It wasn’t to last for long though as Fury quickly reversed the lead and before we knew it these teams began to trade basket for basket running up the score in a good show of offense through the quarter. After 1, there was nothing to separate these sides as the score was tied at 21 a piece. 

This trend didn’t change in the 2^nd quarter as again these teams were not letting anything come between them, no clear advantage emerging for either team on the scoreboard. As the half winded to a close Fury began to show their lethal perimeter shooting hitting two 3’s in a row, both from Eddy Leginas, to finally create some separation between these two clubs sparking a late run for Falkirk. Heading into the break, Fury now had a commanding lead, 43-29.

The 3^rdquarter went the same as much of the game had, both these teams going neck and neck, but the Fury run had taken its toll and Blaze knew they had to make their own run, and soon to come back into the match. With only 1 quarter remaining, the score remained in Fury’s favour, 65-50. 

Blaze poured a huge amount of effort to make a comeback in the final quarter. They brought the game down to 11 at one point, before another Eddy Leginas 3 pointer rained in pushing the lead out once more. Ever resilient, Blaze refused to be easily beaten, again making a run at the Fury lead, this time bringing it to 10. Before, once more Fury bounced back quickly with a 7-0 run, capped off by another Leginas 3, his 9^th of the evening. This signalled the end of Blaze’s comeback attempts as they lost out 95-75 in the end. Fury completing the SBC Triple Crown with the Playoff Trophy, their 2^ndin just 3 years. 

The MVP of the Playoff Final was Eddy Leginas who was on fire from 3 point range with 30 points including 9 3’s, many of which killing all Blaze momentum through the game.

http://basketballscotland.co.uk/news_detail/10021732/?tag_id

FURY MEN ARE SCOTTISH TRIPLE CHAMPIONS !
SONY CENTRE FURY 95 BOROUGHMUIR BLAZE 75
Scottish National Senior Men Play-Off Final

A stunning performance from Final MVP Eddy Leginas saw the Sony sponsored Falkirk side add the Scottish Play-Off Champions title to their Scottish Championship and Scottish Cup titles. This was the teams second treble winning season in 3 seasons and the Play-Off Final saw Fury win by 20pts in emphatic fashion against a Blaze side who had been their closest rival all season.
Leginas was an outstanding 9 from 12 from 3pt range for a huge 75% stat line, with the team shooting 16 from 29 from beyond the arc for a stunning 55%. 
Fury, widely regarded all season as having an outstanding group of 3pt shooters that includes Lithuanian Leginas, Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt who had 4 in the Final and Captain Keith Bunyan who had 3 in the Final, certainly lived up to that reputation. But it has been their solid team play at both ends of the floor that has taken them to their second treble in three seasons. That team work exemplified in the opening quarter first 6 baskets cam from different players, showing their willingness to share the ball for the best option. With 4 threes in the opening quarter- 2 from Bunyan and 1 apiece from Leginus and Hammerschmidt, Fury were tied at 21 apiece with Blaze giving as good as Fury were handing out on the offensive end. The second was arguably where the game was won for the Sony sponsored side with a great 22-8 period that included a 14-0 run that took Fury from 29 apiece to 43-19 ahead. With great defence and continued firepower from beyond the arc, that saw Leginas hit 3 threes and Hammerschmidt add another. 
Inside, centre Ross Gibson, who has had breakout season had 8 personal in this key period.
The third was tight at 22-21 for Fury but that 1 pt addition meant a 15pt lead going into the final stanza. Once again Fury were paced with 4 threes in the third, two from MVP Leginas and one apiece from former pro Rocks players Bunyan and Hammerschmidt. The final period saw Blaze twice edge the game back to 10pts with their trademark press, but Fury with great use of Greek forward Greg Foussas never relinquished their double digit lead and then in the closing minutes broke out to a 20pt win. 
The 4th period again saw Fury hit another 4 threes, with Leginas hitting 3 of them to bring his tally to 9 and Hammerschmidt adding another three to a fantastic 11pt personal display in the final quarter. 
Leginas finished a game high 30pts , Hammerscmidt – 27pts, Gibson 16 and 9 rebounds, Bunyan with 9 and starting guard Bryan Munnoch dishing out 11 asssists.
Fury Headcoach told Heraldsport “ This was a great team win, Eddy and Adam were on fire, Ross was great at both ends of the floor with Keith adding key 3pt shots, particularly in that first period when the game was tight.
Greg had a solid game with Walter Lubeigt coming off the bench with some really big rebounds. Connor Martin added energy when we needed it and the whole team throughout the season has contributed to a treble winning season. 
Blaze have been our toughest opponents when it comes to the key games and they are a team we never take lightly and full credit to them for reaching two Finals and being our biggest threat in the Championship title race. 
This Final was one of the few times we have had a full team on court this season, with either Greg or Walter not being available, so our full squad has played a major part in our success. Having a mixture of experienced players and youth has been key in what has been a significant team transition from 2 seasons ago. Its great to give our new sponsors – Sony Centre Falkirk , Falkirk a winning season, as our program would not be at the level its at without them, RJM Sports Ltd.Bee Copy and other vital partners and organisations that surround our club. “

Fury BC Senior Men were presented with their Championship season 16-17 Trophy by Basketball-Scotland Board member and basketball aficionado Sandy Sutherland before their final Championship game of the season against Edinburgh Kings at the Mariner SC, Falkirk.
After some kind words from BS CEO Kevin Pringle, the sellout Fury crowd raised the roof as Men’s Captain Keith Bunyan received the Trophy. The fans have been key in the club regaining the Championship title and a special mention was also paid to Fury’s key sponsors –Sony Centre Falkirk, RJM Sports Ltd. and Bee Copy all local Falkirk companies who support the Fury program.
After the medal presentations, there was the small matter of a game that had the crowd involved right to the final minute.
It was the Kings who took the opening period 17-12, but a 21-12 second stanza saw Fury take a 1pt lead into the second half. The second had seen Bunyan and Austrian Adam Hammerschmidt share 4 threes and Fury go on an 14-0 run that gave them lead 28-19. At this stage it looked as though the Champions were going to pull clear, but the visitors were not about to share the Fury party and brought the game to within 1pt. The third saw Kings centre Ali McKay rack up 11 personal and put the capital side 8 ahead going into the final quarter. The fourth incredibly saw Kings score only two open court baskets but added to their 10 free throws it was enough to take the period and a double digit win over the Champions. 
Hammerschmidt top scored for Fury on 14 with Greek forward Greg Foussas on 11.
Fury Headcoach John Bunyan commented to Heraldsport –
“ This was a great night for the club, the team and the fans. To be presented with our 4th Championship title in 5 seasons was amazing. To lose what is incredibly only our 3rd home game in 5 seasons was tough but we executed poorly and paid the price. Stats on the game showed both teams scored the same number of open court baskets. We hit 8 threes to the Kings 4, but the 19-4 scoreline in the Kings favor from the free throw was too much for us to overcome and I know the our fans were unhappy over the foul stats in what was a physical game. 
Full credit to the Kings for defeating us in both our Championship games and clearly we need to ID how they have lost have 5 games, if we meet them in the Play-Offs, which is of course now our focus as we go for the treble!

I would like to thank the fans for making this season and the other 24, special and for our Men to win 10 titles to date over that period, has been down to them as much as anyone. The atmosphere is always amazing and this season our record to date in both the Championship and the Cup of 20 wins and 2 losses means we have finished our time at the Mariner in style! 

------------------------

We had the final regular season Game of the Week this past weekend and it was set to be a special one for Sony Centre Falkirk Fury who bid farewell to their long-term home, the Mariner Centre. Looking to spoil the party were Fury's long-term rivals, City of Edinburgh. 

Before the game, Fury were presented with the SBC League Trophy, a testament to a successful season in which the Falkirk side were almost unbeatable. 

After the presentation, we had a game to get to, and what a game it would turn out to be. The pace was furious out of the blocks, Kings taking an early advantage with some sharp shooting from Paddy Campbell, who almost single-handedly took down Fury in the previous encounter. 

Ross Gibson responded with a soaring dunk to lift his team and the home crowd. The atmosphere was tense in the first, and even though Kings led 17-12 at the end of the first, it felt an even game.

Into the second quarter and two of Fury’s leaders began to rally. Keith Bunyan and Adam Hammerschmidt spearheaded the Fury attack which went on a 14-0 run to start the quarter. This not only brought the game level, but gave Fury a commanding 9 point lead, Bunyan scoring 8 including a deep 3 and Hammerschimdt 9 including a tough step-back 3 in the quarter. 

Eventually the bleeding was stopped as City of Edinburgh began to force-feed Ali Mackay in the post, to great success then Garreth Lodge and Mackay connected on an alley-oop which Mackay finished with a lovely tomahawk dunk. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, the score was 33-32, and we knew we were in for a toughly contested second half.

Following the break, the tense atmosphere continued and the game started to get very lively. City of Edinburgh continued to ensure Mackay touched the ball in the low post on every possession and this worked to their advantage as Mackay made light work of the Fury defence. Kings were slowly building a lead much to the delight of the Kings bench and small but loud contingent of travelling fans, who were going crazy with every point that they scored. 

Fury looked undeterred by the Kings' momentum and slowly but surely, began to bring the game back again. It wasn’t for long though as after a Kings missed free throw, Mackay rose up and threw down a put-back dunk all over Fury's Walter Llubeigt, sucking the life out of the Mariner once more. With only 10 minutes remaining in the game, Kings led 51-43.

We thought we had seen everything in this game, and still the final quarter was to come. The fourth quarter saw Fury struggle to score over the Kings defence in the opening minutes meaning that the Capital side's lead continued to grow. It looked as though Fury were down and out, Kings holding an 11 point lead with 6 minutes remaining, but Fury came to life and had the deficit at 7 with 3 minutes to play. 

Some more free throws for City of Edinburgh pushed the lead back up, and a Paddy Campbell 3 was the dagger to the heart of Fury that ended the game, Kings taking the victory 67-54. The loss put a slight dampener on the night where Fury secured the SBC League Trophy.

Fury will now look ahead to a first round play-off match-up against Dunfermline Reign, while City of Edinburgh will face Glasgow Storm back in Edinburgh with the potential of these two sides meeting again in the play-off Semi-Final’s.

Sony Centre Fury Head Coach John Bunyan thought his team struggled and will have to work ahead of the play-offs: "We knew it was going to be a tough game, 67-54, while it’s a relatively good defensive performance, offensively we were poor, not shooting the ball well or executing well. I did feel that there was quite a bit of contact that went unchecked however Kings came in looking to win the game and have now beaten us twice this season, but at the end of the day we still have won the league while they finished 4^th. I don’t think we made great decisions early in the game, and ended up playing 5 bigs for a period of time as Eddy and Bryan seemed to be struggling with the pressure. We came back into the game, leading at the half, and again towards the end there. They then made a couple of plays which we struggled to come back from. Full credit to the Kings, of course there’s the possibility of a play-off semi-final matchup and we need to look at how we improve our performances against them, but it doesn’t take anything away from what we’ve done in the league."

City of Edinburgh Head Coach Craig Nicol was happy with his teams performance and added the following after the game: "We executed really well, we put a plan in place during the week and we had a few key players back. I’ve always said that we match up very well against Falkirk, and defensively we did our jobs. We came into this game putting a lot of importance on it, we can’t afford to come into games and act like they don’t matter even if the league positions won’t change. It was obviously a big game for them, having the trophy presentation, and it being the last regular season game at the Mariner and always every Kings – Fury game is always a big one so no-one was under the illusion that this would be anything other than a close, hardly-fought game. We have a focused group of guys who stick to the plan and execute, if they want to rile up the crowd then that’s their own prerogative, but we’ll just focus on playing basketball and doing our own things, and it showed on the court. Our individual defence was fantastic, shutting down their players very well and we were able to get some momentum from them not scoring which helped us massively. Ali Mackay struggled a little bit last week so he came out with a little more fire in him, and they certainly struggled to guard so we continued to exploit that and he delivered so I’m very happy with that. We’ve now got to play Glasgow Storm, and considering how close our games have been with them, we’ve got to have a good week of practice and prepare for that game. Our goal is to win the play-offs, we take every game as it comes and hopefully have 3 more games to play."

Both sides were aware of what was at stake and a win for the Fury team would see them crowned League Champions for the fourth time in five seasons. Boroughmuir Blaze were not only playing to keep their title defence alive, but also knew they would most likely finish in 3^rd if they suffered a defeat. There was a huge crowd and atmosphere to match the occasion with the Mariner truly at capacity.

Fury opened the scoring with two 3’s, quickly setting the crowd into a title party mood. As the quarter progressed it appeared the home side could go on a run at any point, however Blaze didn’t let the game get far away from them, staying calm and composed. At the end of a fast-paced first quarter, the score was 21-17 in favour of Fury.

To start the 2^nd period, Fury began to put some defensive stops together and this was allowed them to get some great opportunities on the opposite end of the floor. The scoring load was being shared throughout the Fury team and quickly it was 30-19, Falkirk looking as though they were about to put the game beyond doubt. 

However, Blaze seemed to flick the switch required to put an unprecedented run together. Suddenly, Blaze really started playing some impressive team basketball. Sam Stott was hitting shots, Jordan Green was making crafty moves to the basket, and Eoghann Dover was coordinating his side at the guard spot. 

In a matter of minutes, Boroughmuir had reduced the lead to 4, and then in the final moments of the half, grabbed their first lead of the game. Fury for almost the first time this season, seemed rattled as Captain Keith Bunyan picked up a Technical foul. The visitors led going into the half, 38-40.

The half-time break gave the crowd and teams alike to take a breath, but the atmosphere remained, as we awaited 20 more minutes of high quality, intense basketball. 

Blaze were able to continue their run that ended the first half, opening the 2^nd with a 6-0 run, stretching their lead to 8. It was time for Fury to step up, perhaps not only the game on the line, but maybe the SBC trophy which they already had one hand on. 

Bryan Munnoch hit a 3 to stop the Blaze momentum which was followed by Adam Hammerschmidt hitting 8 points in a row without a Blaze response, overall an 11-0 run for Fury. Again, Falkirk were in the lead, and then the game went basket-for-basket for the rest of the quarter. With only 10 minutes to play, it was still neck-and-neck, at 59-58.

Blaze struggled to begin the 4^th quarter, and the game started to slip away from them as Fury built a 7 point lead. It was then Fury who started to struggle, finding it hard to get anything to go. This opened the door for Blaze to fight their way back once more.

The scoreline was 69-68 in favour of the home side with just 2:30 left on the clock. There were chances for Blaze to grab the lead but they couldn’t convert setting up an opportunity for Adam Hammerschmidt to have the ball down the stretch and a pivotal and-1 play with just 40 seconds left, gave Falkirk a 73-68 lead. 

After another few efforts from Blaze, they conceded defeat as the clock wound down and the Mariner crowd got to their feet to celebrate a 4^th SBC title in 5 years.

Following the game, Sony Centre Fury Head Coach, John Bunyan, was positive about the game: "Tough game, it was pretty much as we predicted it would be, they would come out and be aggressive, put a lot of pressure on us. Initially we did well, then there was a little spell that pulled them back into the game, and pulled them back into having a chance of the title. It was quite difficult, playing what is almost a two leg tie, you don’t want to go into the game thinking you are 17 up as that’s a policy for disaster. The 3^rd quarter we just focused, got off to a good start and didn’t really look back after that. It came close, but when it got close it was more about winning the game rather than losing the title. Really happy with how this season has went, 4^thtitle in 5 years and the double so far, and we are going for the treble. When we were doing well I was just asking the guys to keep focused but we always know that a team like Blaze more than most teams are going to come back at you. Overall, it was a good performance. This is our last season at the Mariner, we are moving to Grangemouth next season, so to win the title in our final season here is great for us."

Boroughmuir Blaze Captain Eoghann Dover thought his team could’ve won the match: "It was a tough game, I thought we were going to pull it out, but a couple of missed conversions from us combined with big plays from Hammerschmidt got them the win. Consistency in our approach was key, that was the most balanced I’ve seen us. We weren’t too excited when we went on runs, but we also managed to stay together as a unit when things weren’t going well. We went into the game just looking to win it like any other game, It’s always fun to play Falkirk at the Mariner so we were just focused on doing our best to try and win the game. We know we will most likely finish 3^rd, we’re happy enough with that and we’ll just deal with the situation we’re in."

http://basketballscotland.co.uk/news_detail/10019500/

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FURY BLAZE TO 4TH LEAGUE TITLE IN 5 SEASONS
SONY CENTRE FURY 74 BOROUGHMUIR BLAZE 68
Scottish Senior Men’s Division 1 Championship

FURY ARE SCOTTISH CHAMPIONS after a 6pt win over Championship holders Blaze. MVP of the Scottish Cup Final (when Fury defeated Blaze), Austrian ace Adam Hammerschmidt was again the Blaze slayer with 29 personal! that makes a whopping 55 pts AAA has scored against Blaze in a 2 week spell that has decided the Cup & League titles !
The win means Fury have won the Scottish League and Cup double three times in the past 4 seasons and the League title, 4 of the past 5 seasons.
In front of another capacity Mariner SC crowd, the Fury fans were treated to an up-tempo game that saw their side take the opening period 21-17. Back to back threes from Austrian ace Adam Hammerschmidt gave the Falkirk side a 6-0 start, but the teams then traded baskets to the end of the period. Fury were of course playing the game knowing even a 15 pt or less loss to Blaze would still give them the League title, but this cushion appeared to be of no consequence when the Falkirk side stormed to 30-18 game lead a few minutes into the second quarter. Hammerschmidt had added another 6 personal and Captain Keith Bunyan with a long 3 forced Blaze into a timeout now 12 behind and their slim hopes of challenging for the title looking in tatters. 
However as the period progressed Blaze showed why they are so dangerous as they got the better of the Sony sponsored side taking a 40-38 pt lead into the half and reducing the overall points difference, key in the title race. The start of the third saw Fury centre Ross Gibson immediately bring the game level. There then followed a 3 point shooting barrage with both sides hitting 4 threes apiece as the quarter closed out at Fury now back in front at 59-58. Bryan Munnoch, Hammerschmidt and Eddy Leginas with two back to back threes to close the third were key to Fury in this run. As the 4th and final period progressed it was clear the League title was now Fury’s and what was at stake was the game – Fury’s outstanding home court record and to give the 300 plus fans a winning Fury finish. While Scottish Cup Finals MVP Adam Hammerschmidt continued to pile on the points , 7 in the final period, the game was won by former Scotland Junior Connor Martin who took his game to another level with 7 straight points and a series of rebounds, interceptions and sheer energy that secured not just the title but the game for Fury.
As the final whistle sounded it was an ecstatic Mariner crowd who greeted their team – Scottish Champions – again. There was no trophy to present with Basketball-Scotland choosing not to present it on the night – a disappointing decision considering a Fury win was always going to mean that even with 1 game left to play – Fury are Champions, without even needing to play that match. So the Championship League trophy will be officially presented to Fury prior to the start of the Edinburgh Kings game at the Mariner on Friday 3rd March. 
Top scorers for Fury were Adam Hammerschmidt with 29, with Bunyan, Leginas and Martin sharing 27 pts. Munnoch had 8pts with Lubeigt 6 and Gibson 4.

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Sony Centre Fury land Scottish Cup

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SBC 2016/17 MEN’S RECAP: WEEK 19

Fury withstood a late Blaze comeback to earn their first piece of silverware of the season in a thrilling Scottish Cup Final. Fury’s Hammerschmidt (26 points) and Boroughmuir’s  Dover (24 points) both shone but it was the Falkirk sharpshooter who was named the game’s MVP.

The game opened with Blaze looking the stronger squad, the side from Boroughmuir establishing an early 9-4 lead, which continued onto 19-12. A quick couple of made baskets for Fury were able to bring the game back to 3 at the end of the quarter, Blaze leading 19-16. From that point onwards, the quarter was even with both sides going basket for basket in an unusually low scoring half for these two sides. At the half, Fury held a marginal lead, 29-32.

Falkirk began to grow in confidence and this helped them take the lead towards the end of the quarter, finding lay-ups from some great passing. Heading into the final period, Fury led 35-52, and had one hand on the 2017 Men’s Scottish Cup. Boroughmuir started the final quarter with a new-found lease of life, scoring the first 8 points of the quarter while holding Fury scoreless for the first 6 minutes of the period bringing the deficit to single digits. However, it would be Sony Centre Fury who were able to close out the game, Blaze forced to foul, to win the Men’s Scottish Cup once more, the final score 54-59.

Rocks fall short of a Finals spot after Huge effort

Molten BBL Play-Off Semi-Final, second leg
Sheffield Sharks 68 (14,30,52) (Hogg 20, Robinson 17, Brooks 16)
Glasgow Rocks 73 (15,35,55) (Gillis 25, Achara 15, Stephens 10)

Atiba Lyons’ side led by 11 after the first leg, but saw their advantage wiped out in the final quarter as a dramatic finish ensued before the Sharks managed to get over the line despite suffering a 68-73defeat.

Brandon Hogg scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter, while Antone Robinson came up with important scores down the stretch to finish with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jerrold Brooks added 16.

Mike Tuck opened the scoring with a three and the home side led for the majority of the first period, before the Rocks edged ahead in the final minute and began to find their range in the second as they opened up a seven-point advantage following a three from Riley Grabau.

The Rocks would go into the half-time interval with a five-point lead as they cut their overall deficit down to six. However, a trio of three’s from Brooks in an 11-3 start helped Sheffield move ahead by three on the night early in the third.

Warren Gillis scored seven straight on his way to a game-high 25 points in a 9-0 reply to help put the Rocks up 47-41 before their momentum was halted. Hogg landed a 3-pointer on the buzzer as the Sharks halved their deficit to go into the final stanza trailing 52-55, but with an eight-point cushion on aggregate.

A 7-0 run saw the Rocks open up a 10-point lead on the night and a three from Jonny Bunyan followed soon after to tie the encounter on aggregate with the Rocks up 69-58. Bunyan tied the game again to make it 71-60, but the Sharks dug deep down the stretch with a pivotal 6-2 run over the next three minutes before holding on to advance to the Molten BBL Play-Off Final at The O2.

BBL Play-Offs Quarter-Final, second leg
Worcester Wolves 88 (32,49,77) (Aaron 20, Jackman/Blackwell 14)
Glasgow Rocks 83 (15,40,59) (Gillis 14, Grabau/Achara 13)

Rocks win 173-141 on aggregate.

Glasgow Rocks moved into the Semi-Finals of the BBL Play-Offs despite suffering an 88-83 defeat in the second leg away at Worcester Wolves.

Trailing by 37 heading into the tie, Worcester increased hope of an unlikely comeback after building a 22-point lead early in the second.

However, the Rocks fought back and with an impressive 24-11 final quarter effort, they were able to secure an overall 173-141 success. Glasgow had five players in double figures, led by Warren Gillis’ 14-point haul.

Worcester came out fighting early on with a point to prove and quickly established a double-digit advantage with Jordan Aaron scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points in the opening period to help his side into a 32-15 lead.

The home side continued to give themselves hope and a strong finish to the third made it 77-59 in their favour ahead of the final quarter.

However, Jay Couisnard fouled out to all but end any glimmer of hope with the Rocks sealing their progression in style with a 12-2 close including three straight 3-pointers from Riley Grabau.

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 by BBL Media