Tees Valley Mohawks vs Gloucester City Kings: NBL Division 2 Playoff Semi-final preview

Tees Valley Mohawks make the long trip down to Gloucester this Sunday for the semi-final stage of the division 2 playoffs. This comes after the Mohawks beat Bath Basketball 87-71 and the City Kings beat West Yorkshire Hawks 79-47 at the quarter-final stage.

It's a finely poised affair with both sides having finished as the top seed in their pools with Gloucester having a slightly better record, going 18-0 and the Mohawks going 17-1.

Tees Valley Mohawks will have to put on a attacking masterclass as the City Kings have proven to be a formidable defensive side. Finishing as the number 1 ranked defence in their pool and holding the Hawks to just 47 points in the previous round.

Alfie Merifield and Cam Schainfield will be key to unlocking Gloucester this Sunday. They combined for 36 points against Bath. With Schainfield scoring style revolving around aggressively driving for layups on fast breaks and using his handle to blow by his opponents against set defences. Merifield's archtype is a sharp shooter, he dashes into open spots on the perimeter and shoots the ball quickly off the pass.

The other semi-final fixture will take place on the same day and is Milton Keynes Breakers vs East London Phoenix. The final will take place on either the 16th-17th May at Pride Park in Derby.