Preview » Bristol Flyers v Newcastle Eagles

Newcastle Eagles are the most decorated team in the BBL, winning the league seven times and the play-offs and the Trophy six times. The North East juggernaut have had the perfect start to their 2017/18 league campaign with a record of 8-0 - their only defeat so far at the hands of Cheshire Phoenix in the quarter-final of the BBL Cup.

Head Coach Fab Flournoy has been with the Eagles since 2001 and took on a new role of player/coach during the 2003/04 season. Flournoy has had success as both a player and a coach. The 6’3 shooting guard was a student at NCAA Division one college McNeese State University and played in the BBL for the Birmingham Bullets and Eagles. Since taking on the role of Head Coach, Newcastle Eagles have won 77% of their games in all competitions.

Bristol Flyers staged a remarkable 30-point fightback at the WISE Arena to ensure it was still all to play for in the play-off quarter-finals.

Last season, the Newcastle Eagles finished second in the BBL with an impressive record of 23-10. In addition to their strong campaign, they captured the BBL Cup by beating Glasgow Rocks 91-83. Eagles also enjoyed a deep play-off run, getting to the finals and losing to the eventual champion Leicester Riders. 

Please note, SGS College has introduced paid parking system, however the club has reached an agreement with Aviva insurance, a short five minute walk away from the WISE campus for fans to use their car park free of charge.

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Eagles’ 6’2 guard, Jaysean Paige has been phenomenal throughout the early goings of the season. The American will be a handful for Flyers’ backcourt on both ends of the court, as he enters Saturday’s contest averaging a staggering 26 points per game on an efficient 52% shooting. Paige has also wreaked havoc on the defensive end of the floor by recording at least two steals per game.

Newcastle boasts a selection of talented players surrounding Paige, including Darius Defoe, Drew Lasker and Kai Williams who have recently returned from Coach Kapoulas’ first Team England training camp ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth games.

Bristol Flyers have never beaten Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Championship, but did run out 41-22 winners in the opening round of the Betway All-Stars Championship at the O2 Arena during pre-season.

Who remembers what happened when #BristolFlyers and @NewcastleEagle met in the @AllStars_BB at @TheO2?

Find tickets » https://t.co/xcONavDavG pic.twitter.com/IuzHuFiWf6

— Bristol Flyers (@BristolFlyers) November 23, 2017

Saturday's game will be available to watch LIVE via the BBL’s official streaming partner, LiveBaketball.TV (subscription) - click here to sign up NOW.