An emotional John Coffino expressed his pride in his Cheshire Phoenix players and hailed the magic of the Northgate Arena after watching them narrowly miss out the BBL Play-off final in heartbreaking circumstances.

The Nix came within a whisker of making it to this weekend's showpiece final at the O2 Arena after almost turning over a 13-point first leg deficit against the London Lions at the Northgate on Sunday night in what was the final game ever to be played at the venue which has been home of basketball in Chester for the past 21 years.

New Yorker Coffino almost masterminded a miracle in front of a packed and vocal crowd at the Northgate and, had it not been for a questionable out-of-bounds refereeing decision that chalked off a big three from Nix guard Simeon Naydenov with nine seconds remaining that would have tied the aggregate scores, the fairy tale ending for the venue and the club could have been a reality.

The Nix won the game 85-77 but went down 158-153 on aggregate after suffering an 81-68 reverse in the first leg at the Copper Box, but for Cheshire head coach Coffino, he couldn't have been more proud of what his players achieved in the BBL in what has been a rollercoaster season.

"It has been the mantra of our team and the make up of our team of battling all the way through, through adversity and through challenges," said New Yorker Coffino, who led the team to fourth in the league and equalled a club-record 10-game winning streak during the campaign.

"They made their own challenge today (Sunday) but my guys never give up and it's a shame that we had to end the season like this but that's what they are about, they fight to the end. There is nothing they can't overcome.

"We had a couple of bad breaks but we created some for ourselves too. We fouled out a couple of guys and threw the ball away but I can't say enough about my guys and the heart and character of them. What more can a coach ask for, they gave their all. They scrapped down to the last 1.2 seconds."

Coffino praised the support of the Nix home faithful in making the Northgate a cauldron of noise against the Lions for the final time at the venue, hailing them the best fans in the league.

"That place lifted us, it really did," said Coffino, whose team will take residence at the new 1,400-seater Cheshire Oaks Arena at Ellesmere Port Sports Village from the start of next season.

"Even when the other team was shooting free throws it was so loud that we forgot to box out a couple of times. But this place is magical and I'm going to miss it as it has been an incredible advantage for us.

"This won't be the last time that I say it but these are the best fans in the league and it's been a magical year. We hate to end it this way but no-one ever thought we'd get this far, no-one ever thought we'd win 26 games, 10 in a row.

"We didn't want it to end and there were a lot of unhappy guys in that locker room, but not me. I'm disappointed for them but I'm very proud to be their coach."

The club has enjoyed its most successful season since it's reformation from the ashes of the Cheshire Jets in 2012 and Coffino believes the club and the players can be proud of what they have achieved both on and off the court this season.

He added: "We have shown a brand of basketball that people can be proud of and I also believe that we got into the community. We just have an incredible fan base.

"We had one to begin with and we've added to it and I think that it will be a good springboard for the new arena but I really can't think about that right now.

"The future is bright for this club and I'm glad we had a big crowd tonight. I knew we would as we do every game but I is a shame that there had to be a loser. We actually won the game, by the way, but that's no consolation."