Eagles drop ball in dress rehearsal for trophy final

AS a dress rehearsal for the upcoming SLB Trophy Final in February against London Lions, the Newcastle Eagles’ 50-76 defeat on Friday night in the Vertu Arena was not a good audition.

- By Jeff King

Coach Marc Steutel criticised his team's 'lack of rhythm'

(GARY FORSTER)

With the Lions also visiting Newcastle in a fortnight in the SLB Cup it sends out a worrying message.

But basketball has a funny way of turning things around and no matter how much London dominated on Friday, a different day will bring a different game.

Eagles head coach Marc Steutel, who won the SLB December Coach of the Month award, was a disappointed man at the end of the game.

“We held them to 76 points, which was within our defensive target, but offensively I had a specific focus for this group on trying to maximise who they are and to do that I've had to take a little step back here and there.

“That comes from the responsibility of the players and I don’t think they stepped up to that responsibility in this game.

“It's disappointing as I feel like we've been taking steps in the right direction. Really finding a clear way to play.