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! 

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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.