Basketball: Edinburgh hoping luck continues

The riders and the Rocks begin their private Championship battle tomorrow at Meadowbank, with the final play-off place from the Northern Conference in the balance.

Kevin Wall, the Edinburgh Rocks coach, said: "We spent most of January and February watching the schedule because we knew we needed some luck, and it broke the way we needed it to."

They also made their own luck with four consecutive wins before Wednesday night's defeat at Birmingham, and are two points behind fourth-placed Leicester, with one game in hand.

Leicester's slump has been almost as remarkable as last season's meteoric rise, which saw them lift the National Cup and Championship play-off titles for the first silverware in their history.

They have won only two of their last 14 games, but still have the final game in their series with Edinburgh to come at Loughborough University on Thursday week, and have the easier run-in to the regular season.

Chester Jets moved a step closer to taking the Northern Conference title with Thursday night's 97-73 win at London Towers, whose place at the top of the South is now increasingly under threat from Brighton Bears and Birmingham, who are two points behind with games in hand.