National Cup recap: 24 October 2021

There was an upset in Yorkshire as the National Cup continued this weekend, with no shortage of action across the country.

There were a total of 19 games yesterday, with the Men's competition currently at the third round stage and the Women's tournament working through the second round.

With 14 top division sides in action, most made it safely through as a number of teams from the lower leagues also put their name in the hat for the next round.

NBL National Cup

There was a big shock on Sunday afternoon as D2 hopefuls Doncaster Eagles beat D1 outfit Loughborough Riders 87-76.

A 27-18 opening quarter put the hosts out in front early and gave the second-tier team real hope that an upset could be on the cards.

Baskets from Joe Bialek and Justin Hedley kept the Eagles in check, but the former D1M champs couldn't make any inroads to close their deficit.

23 points from forward Mathew Martin and 22 more from forward Oliver Hylands got the job done for Doncaster, who now move on to an away tie against another D1 side in Team Newcastle University.

Elsewhere, Team Newcastle were able to escape a similar fate as they beat local rivals Teesside Lions 79-64 and Oaklands narrowly avoided being added to the upset list as they squeezed past another D3 team in London Thunder 69-65.

Bradford, Essex and Leicester all put their poor D1M form aside to claim wins, with the Dragons seeing off four-time National Cup winners Manchester Magic 91-80, the Rebels easing past Cardiff Met Archers 90-59 and the Warriors beating University of Chester 72-46.

Johde Campbell's 26 points extended Nottingham's unbeaten start to the season as the Hoods won 96-69 away to Sporting Club Albion, whilst Hemel had no issues at home as they beat Team Birmingham Elite 87-73.

Worthing and London Lions II were the only other D1 teams in action, with Thunder handling Bristol Hurricanes 94-74 and the Lions winning on the road in Sussex, beating the Bears 94-71.

There will be two teams in the draw for the next round from outside of the top flight, with D2's Northamptonshire Titans beating London Greenhouse Pioneers 83-69, and D3 London Elite springing an upset of their own, knocking out D2 strugglers London Westside 84-56.

WNBL National Cup

There were no real surprises in the WNBL, with all three D1W sides securing a safe passage into the next round.

Cardiff Met Archers II were able to rise up and beat Bromsgrove Bears 70-57 as Loughborough also sealed a W, with the Riders defeating West Suffolk Wolves 84-53 to set up an enticing match up against CoLA Southwark Pride

London Lions II were the only top-tier side in action, and Fatmata Janneh's massive 36 point, 10 rebound, 11 assist and four block effort was more than enough for the Londoners to best Northamptonshire Titans 99-77.

There was plenty of success for D2 sides yesterday, led by Sheffield Hatters and their 75-45 win over Tees Valley Mohawks.

Elsewhere, Coventry Flames punched their ticket to the third round with a 55-38 victory over local rivals City of Birmingham Rockets, Team Birmingham Elite went down at home 70-44 to Derby Trailblazers and Stockport Lapwings came out on top in an all-North West battle. They beat Manchester Mystics 78-68.

With a few games still outstanding, the draw for the next round of both competitions is as follows:

NBL National Cup

Team Newcastle University v Doncaster Eagles
Bradford Dragons v Myerscough Basketball Academy/Derby Trailblazers
Leicester Warriors v Nottingham Hoods
Hemel Storm v Northamptonshire Titans
Oaklands Wolves v London Lions II
Brent Bulls/Thames Valley Cavaliers v London Elite
Essex Rebels v Team Solent Kestrels/Team Swindon
Worthing Thunder v 5Reading Rockets/Bristol Basketball United

WNBL National Cup

Bristol Flyers v Derby Trailblazers
Cardiff Met Archers II v Coventry Flames
Nottingham Trent University v Stockport Lapwings
Ipswich v Sheffield Hatters
Worcester Wolves v Team Solent Kestrels
Loughborough Riders v CoLA Southwark Pride
Anglia Ruskin University v London Lions II
Brent Bulls/Thames Valley Cavaliers v Reading Rockets

All ties are provisionally scheduled for Sunday 14 November.

For more info on the National Cup results from this past weekend, please click the button below.