Basketball: Walker leads the way as Eagles swoop on Cup

Newcastle Eagles added to their haul of silverware by beating London Towers 83-69 to win the British Basketball League Cup final at Birmingham's National Indoor Arenalast night. Eagles won their first titles last season with the Play-off and Trophy prizes, and their player-coach Fab Flournoy took this season's first honours on the back of a most valuable player performance from point guard T J Walker, who led their scorers with 28 points and pulled 12 rebounds.

Quincey Wadley led Towers with 24 points, but his seven three-pointers were from a wasteful 16 attempts and London were rarely in contention.

Essex and Herts Leopards rekindled former glory at the Birmingham venue when they won the National Cup by beating the holders Reading Rockets 79-75. The Leopards won the cup as the BBL franchise London Leopards in 1997, but dropped out of the league in 2003. A year later the club entered the second-tier English Basketball League.

Leicester Riders moved joint top of the BBL alongside Scottish Rocks, beating defending champions Chester Jets for an 81-78 win at the Northgate Arena on Saturday night. The Jets are third from bottom with only three wins from 10 games.