Basketball: Leopards hold Towers at bay in second leg

The Towers lost their Classic Cola National Cup title last night when the Leopards, their London rivals, won the second leg of their semi-final 72-70 at Wembley to complete a 165-162 aggregate win.

The Leopards sprinted to a 13-5 lead after five minutes and never relinquished it. They have now won all three encounters this season against the Towers, following an 82-80 victory over the Budweiser League champions in October and last week's 93-92 first-leg cup victory.

Successive three-pointers from John White, who top-scored with 28 points, and Eric Burks pushed the Leopards to a 65-54 advantage before Tony Windless inspired a 10-0 Towers reply which cut the lead to 70-68 with one minute to play.

Sheffield Sharks, last season's beaten finalists, lead Newcastle Eagles 91-80 from the first leg of their semi-final.

The Leicester City Riders coach, Bob Donewald, lost his temper but Chester Jets kept their heads to score five free-throws with one second on the clock in their 7-Up Trophy game at the Granby Halls to beat the home side 104-100 and guarantee their place in the quarter-finals.