Tees Valley Mohawks A vs East Durham Lions A: Durham County Basketball Mens Cup Final preview

Tees Valley Mohawks A and East Durham Lions A face off in the Durham County Basketball Men’s Cup Final at Sunderland CitySpace this Saturday, with tip-off at 3:35 pm.

The Teams

This Cup final comes on the back of a highly contested title race in Durham Men's Division 1. Tees Valley Mohawks A and East Durham Lions A both finished with identical records of 13-1 and both beat each other during the regular season. However, Tees Valley were given the title as they won their game against the Lions by a larger points margin (88-70 compared to 83-76). The win made it back-to-back league titles for the Mohawks.

The bad blood between the sides doesn't stop there as this is a repeat of last year's County Cup final where East Durham came out on top in a 91-83 win. Expect a fiery match-up with both sides out for revenge.

Road to the Final

Tees Valley Mohawks A secured their place in the final with a 75-69 victory over Golden Smog Warriors in the County Cup Quarter-Final, followed by a 98-84 win against East Cleveland A in the Semi-Final.

East Durham Lions A advanced to the County Cup Final after receiving a forfeit win over Vikings Men in the Quarter-Final and securing a narrow 75-71 victory against Teesside Lions A in the Semi-Final.

Playoff Availability Advantage

Both sides are known as 'A' as they are the second teams in the National Basketball Leagues. It is common practice for players to play for the second teams to gain experience and sharpness. A potential advantage for East Durham is that they did not qualify for the post-season playoffs of their division while Tees Valley Mohawks did, and they play Gloucester City Kings this Sunday.

This makes it less likely for first-teamers from the Mohawks to participate than East Durham first-teamers.

Key Players

For the Tees Valley Mohawks, Jake Butler could be key as he had a 38-point explosion in the semi-finals and scored 130 points over 3 games in the regular season. However, given he is a starter for the first team, he is doubtful to play, which will be a blow for them.

In terms of purely second-teamers, Christopher Jordinson is a great shooter who dropped 15 points with 3 three-pointers in the semi-final game. He largely operates as a guard and as a forward. Jordinson averaged 8.3 PPG over the regular season and 11 PPG in the County Cup. If the Mohawks are without their first-teamers, they will be giving Jordinson the green light and hope he thrives from it.

For East Durham Lions, Thomas Wylie will be the one they look to fire them to Cup final glory. He led East Durham in scoring with 24 points in the last round, which they narrowly won 88-85 against Teesside Lions A. Wylie plays as a point guard and shooting guard for the Lions. He averaged 9.6 PPG over the regular season and has experience of higher-level play with the East Durham first team.