NBL: Playoffs underway as D3 kick off 2022/23 post-season

Teesside Lions will be out to defend their NBL Division Three Playoff crown this weekend as the NBL playoffs get underway for 2022/23.

Teesside beat Worcester 65-56 a year ago and as North Conference champs, the Lions will head to the post-season once again.

The North East side will be the league's #2 seeds, with Milton Keynes Breakers winning the East Conference with an identical 18-0 record but collecting a superior points difference to take the tie breaker with the Lions.

Overall, 16 teams form this year's playoff field, with the Division Three action getting underway a week before the other senior leagues.

D3 line-up

Top seeds Milton Keynes will welcome East conference counterparts Kent Crusaders, who they've already dispatched twice this season.

Teesside's playoff defence begins with a home tie against Liverpool BC, whilst #3 seeds Cobham Cobras are at home against Derby Trailblazers II.

Tees Valley Mohawks face a trip to Wales to face South West champs and #4 seeds Cardiff Met Archers II, and Myerscough Academy II are at home to London United.

Manchester Swarm came second in the North West conference with a 16-4 record and head to Loughborough Riders II, who snagged the #6 seed as Midlands Conference victors.

UEL London Lions are the final conference winners with a home tie, the #7 seeds will entertain University of Hertfordshire Storm.

Cardiff City finished 15-3 in the South West and as the best placed runners up across D3, they're the #8 seeds with a home game against CoLA Southwark Pride.

One more week

The opening round of the playoffs in NBL and WNBL Divisions One and Two will be 8 & 9 April 2023, with the just the NBL Division Three playoffs getting underway this weekend.

That means those sides still have a week to go to secure their post-season spots, though the playoff fields are now set in both D1 Men and D1 Women.

The U18, U16 and U14 men plus the U14 girls will all start their playoff journeys this weekend though, whilst the U16 girls and U18 women will get underway on 15/16 April.

All paths lead to the Senior Playoff Finals at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester on 22/23 April, and the Jnr. NBL Final Fours are scheduled for the following weekend, 29/30 April, at the same venue.

Tickets for those events are now on sale from the BE shop, which can be accessed using the button below.

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