BIG Storage Cheshire Jets suffered their third league defeat in a row on Saturday – but bounced back to reach the quarter finals of the BBL Cup yesterday.
Paul Smith’s men booked a meeting with Newcastle Eagles in the last eight by beating London Capital 88-72 at the Northgate Arena.
Chez Marks displayed his fine scoring credentials, leading the Jets’ scoring with 20 points.
By half-time Jets were 48-28 in front and cruising – but Capital raised their game to close the gap a little, finishing up 15 points behind.
Coach Smith said: “A victory is a victory and that is the most important thing after a disappointing run. It may not have been pretty, but at least the Jets are in the next round.”
That result was a relief for the Jets after their third straight BBL Championship defeat at Guildford Heat the night before.
Marks sank a mammoth 30 points, supported by 18 from Calvin Davis and 13 from Alto Virgil, but it wasn’t enough as the Jets lost 96-86.
Having been behind in the first quarter, the Jets led 49-48 at half-time, but they couldn’t kick-on from there and the Heat regained control.
Meanwhile, Shuan Stegall has been released by the Jets. The 6ft 7in forward from Atlanta, Georgia, has not fitted into Paul Smith’s plans as he had hoped.
“Shuan did everything we asked of him both in playing and in training, but it became clear over the last couple of games that the balance of the squad was not right,” said Smith.
