There was to be no fairy tale ending for the Northgate Arena on Sunday night as Cheshire Phoenix's hopes of an appearance at the O2 Arena next weekend were dashed by London Lions, despite a display full of guts, heart and determination.

John Coffino's side almost completed a comeback of Herculean proportions against the Lions at a packed Northgate as they fought back from a 13-point deficit in the first leg to come a within a whisker of taking the tie.

The Nix won 85-77 on the night but it was the 81-68 loss at the Copper Box in the first leg that was to prove their undoing and prevented them progressing to the BBL Play-off final in London on Sunday, May 10, as they went down 158-153 on aggregate.

But the story could have been so different had it not been for Simeon Naydenov's big three ball with nine seconds left on the clock in the final quarter being chalked off after the Bulgarian guard was adjudged to have stepped out of bounds.

There was little remonstration from the Lions bench when Naydenov landed what would have been his third bucket in succession from beyond the arc, but officials ruled out the basket, which would have tied the scores on aggregate and left the Nix with the chance to take the clash.

But, alas, it was not to be. Naydenov's three didn't count and the Lions held their slender advantage to the death to break Cheshire hearts and extinguish hopes of a miraculous fightback that seemed wholly unlikely midway through the third quarter.

The home side started the contest slowly as London opened up with an 8-0 run before stretching it to 12-2. But Coffino's men regained their composure and went in to the huddle at the end of the first all square at 23-23.

But Vince Macauley's London, who were paced by the excellent Zaire Taylor's 32 points, stymied the Nix's offensive efforts with some dogged defensive work, with Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan starring.

The Lions took the second quarter by two points to leave the scores 42-20 in the visitors favour at the half-time interval, giving them a 15-point aggregate advantage going into the final 20 minutes of play.

The Nix, who were led in scoring by Dustin Salisbery's 24, needed a big third quarter but they failed to spark and hit just 12 points in the 10-minute spell to London's 16 to leave them with a mountain to climb going into the final quarter with Macauley's men leading 58-52 and holding what looked to be an unassailable 18-point advantage.

But for the past 21-years there has been one constant weapon in the arsenal of the Jets and now the Phoenix - the Northgate Arena crowd.

Teams have hated visiting the Northgate with its yellow lighting and hard floor, but the noise levels created by the vocal home fans have made even the coolest customers in the BBL get hot under the collar when the chips are down.

And that was very nearly the case on Sunday night as the Phoenix faithful, sensing an upset after the Nix began to strip away at the the Lions advantage and brought it to single digits as, needing to put points on the board, they attempted the three ball with regularity, with Taylor King, who hit 19 points on the night, Salisbery, Naydenov and captain David Aliu hitting some big shots from deep.

There have been many magic moments at the Northgate Arena over the past two decades, but when Aliu hit a deep three to make it 69-61 on the night and bring the Nix to within five on aggregate, the roar was deafening as the home fans believed that the impossible just might be able to happen.

The Nix kicked on and led by 11 with 40 seconds left but London made some key plays to keep the home side at bay.

And with nine seconds left, Naydenov's huge three from the corner sank and the home fans were sent, momentarily, into raptures, knowing that the aggregate scores were tied. But as soon as the Bulgarian was adjudged, harshly, to have stepped out of bounds, Nix fans sensed that the perfect send off for the Northgate may not be in the offing.

There was the initial silent disappointment when the final buzzer went on the game and the Nix's season, but that soon turned into rapturous applause for a team and a coach that, despite all the adversity faced this season, came so close to making it to the BBL's grandest stage.

It wasn't the outcome that people wanted for the Nix and the Northgate Arena but the final quarter roof-raising the the home fans managed against the Lions will live long in the memory for many.

Next stop, the Cheshire Oaks Arena.

Phoenix scorers (Sunday): Sailsbery 24pts, King 19pts, Watt 17pts, Aliu 11pts, Naydenov 6pts, Sturgess 6pts, Gayle 2pts

Lions scorers (Sunday): Taylor 32pts, Stibbins 14pts, Sullivan 10pts, Cook 7pts, Brown 7pts, Oyedeji 5pts, Salter 2pts