Manchester Basketball fell 74-82 to the London Lions in the Super League Basketball Championship.

It was a hard-fought battle against the league leaders, which was decided in the fourth quarter. Manchester led going into the final period, but a late London surge won the game for the Lions.

Max Jones had 25 points and 5 rebounds to lead Manchester in front of their home crowd, and Jordan Johnson, who is becoming one of the most consistently brilliant performers in Super League Basketball, had 18 points and 4 assists off the bench.

The pair combined for all of Manchester’s fourth-quarter points in an effort to get the victory over the line, but the final buzzer didn’t quite come quickly enough.

Manchester’s struggles to knock down their attempts from deep were a key difference in the stat sheet, and London were effective at limiting Manchester’s potent fastbreak offence, which has given them so much success throughout the season.

Meanwhile, London, who had strong performances up and down the roster, caught fire from three in the fourth to get the win over the line. They were led by 20 points from Chaundee Brown Jr.

While it’s not the result Manchester wanted, there are plenty of positives to take into the rest of the season, and the SLB Cup Final against the Lions in March.

And there’s an immediate opportunity for revenge in Manchester’s next matchup. They had to travel to the capital to face the Lions again on Wednesday, March 4, in their next SLB action.

They then return home to the National Basketball Performance Centre to play the Caledonia Gladiators on Friday, March 6, at 7:30 pm.

You can get your tickets here!

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