Basketball: The finals meltdown

IN what was a real Capital calamity, not one of the five Edinburgh teams in the Scottish basketball cup finals managed a win at the Pleasance.

The biggest upset was Edinburgh Kings' comprehensive 82-66 defeat in the senior men's final by a Falkirk Fury team who had managed not one win against them in their four league encounters this season.

It was however a thoroughly deserved first Scottish Cup success for Fury, who were bolstered by the Frenchman Walter Lubeigt, inspired by their American Eric Olson – who scarcely missed a shot in a first quarter 20-point blitz – and had two outstanding young Scots in Jonny Bunyan (15pts) and Ali Fraser (14), who went on to take them to a memorable double by beating holders Kings for the junior cup yesterday.

Yet despite Olson's deadly fire – he went on to tally up a game-high 30 – the game was still wide open at half-time when Fury led just 41-39.

Injury-jinxed Paddy Campbell had surprisingly started for Kings despite his bad back but was clearly out of sorts and there was scarcely a player exempt from criticism as the holders disintegrated in the second half.

"We never showed up," lamented coach Danny Costello, who was at a loss to explain why his team shot so badly: "We shot only 16 per cent from the field in the second half and, overall, only nine three-pointers out of 37 attempts while our free throws were atrocious (only seven from 18)."

Those who did hit the target were Mike Kirkpatrick with 18, all three-pointers, Laurie Costello 15, all in the first half, and Simon Flockhart, who toiled for the full 40 minutes for 16 points and 11 rebounds but struggled against the three-pronged assault of Fraser, Roni Gordon, who had 11 points, and Lubeigt.

Kings junior players put up a great fight in contrast after a poor first quarter (12-27). Taking the second 12-4 and the third 18-16, they had the margin back to just two points before the Fraser-Bunyan show again took over, Fraser finishing with 28 points and Bunyan 11.

Niall Mackle had 16 for Kings, Lee Reilly 13 and Grant Mackay 12.

Edinburgh Kool Kats were 36-30 up on Glasgow Rocks in the women's final but then lost the third quarter 25-7, due in no small way to former Kat Mairi McNeill who hit two threes in this spell in a 13-point tally, and to a woeful run of missed shots and lay-ups.

Rocks went on to win 76-61, led by Tony Carvill with 18 and Rona Corkindale with 17. Charlotte King had 17, Sarah O'Brien 12 and Leanne Page and Emma Findlay ten each for Kats.

Capital coach Bobby Merrilees suffered a double blow, his Spartans men hammered 106-34 in the Chairman's Cup final on Friday night by a merciless Glasgow University side full of lithe Lithuanians and his Pentland Star women losing out in the dying seconds to Highland Bears 53-51, despite 20 points from Veronica Walls, 11 from Lithuanian Kristina Skamulyte and ten from Jennifer Robertson.