Basketball: Kings and Boroughmuir secure semi-final berths

Two Capital sides are through to the last four of the Scottish Basketball Cup next month.

Edinburgh Kings gave their best performance of the season to trounce Troon Tornadoes 89-50 in their quarter-final at Stewarton on Saturday, while Boroughmuir Blaze avenged a recent league defeat by running out convincing 23-point winners against Glasgow Rocks at the Crags.

Kings will now face unbeaten Scottish League leaders Falkirk Fury in the semi-final at Portobello on Saturday, December 15 in what should be a cracker while Blaze will be at home to Glasgow University on the same date, the students having taken care of Granite City Grizzlies 94-71 in Aberdeen at the weekend.

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There was a minor triumph for the local legends when Boroughmuir Masters tamed Leith Lions 56-44 in the first round of the Scottish Chairman’s Cup but a bitter disappointment for Polonia Phoenix, who lost 
68-63 at home to St Mirren in the Scottish Women’s Cup quarters at the Crags yesterday.

Falkirk Fury faced Grampian League opposition in their men’s quarter-final but found Portlethen Panthers no pushovers and only won 111-97 after leading 59-47 at half-time.

“They would have beaten several National League sides,” claimed Fury coach John Bunyan, whose son Jonny scored 34 points.

Kings romped through their first quarter 26-11 against a Troon team expected to give them stiff opposition. They were 44-22 up at half-time and 76-39 after the third and there was never any doubt of the outcome after that.

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“That’s the best we’ve played this season – I only wish it had come a week sooner,” said coach Doug Reilly, whose team had gone down heavily in the league to Fury the previous weekend but will be desperate for revenge now in the cup.

With the return of coach Simon Turner relieving Chopper Pettett of his temporary player-coach duties, Blaze went on an 18-0 run from 4-8 down to the Rocks and were never behind again.

The highlight of a much-improved team effort was point guard Davy Rowan’s 20 points, Tomas Cicenas top-scoring with 25 and Michael McGregor adding 14. Blaze juniors and cadets also reached the last four and Kings cadets went through but their juniors capitulated to Falkirk.

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