Chester Phoenix saw off Leicester Riders 108:94 in the British Basketball League on Saturday evening. The hosts kept their side in it from the opening tip and never really let the visitors get within striking distance. 20 wins from 32 games puts them second in the table, and this result keeps them there.
And here's the thing — we'd tipped the home side to win, and it came off. Fifty-eight per cent confidence felt right, because Chester have one foot in the next phase of the season and Leicester have been struggling to find consistency. The visitors turned up with more energy in the middle quarters, but they couldn't spring a surprise when it mattered.
Chester shot better from distance — 15 successful three-pointers to Leicester's 10 — and that made the difference. They also took care of the ball, committing just eight turnovers compared to twelve from the visitors. Leicester did more with their assists, twenty-three to twenty, but they couldn't convert those opportunities into points.
To be fair, Leicester had their moments. They grabbed more defensive rebounds, twenty-four to twenty-two, and blocked five shots to four. But they were punished on the other end, allowing forty-three field goals compared to their own thirty-seven. By then the game was already out of reach.
The hosts put the game to bed early enough that Leicester never had to chase. Four steals and seven blocks from Chester disrupted the visitors' rhythm whenever they tried to build momentum. Leicester's recent form had been mixed — they'd lost their last two before this, and this result extends that run.
For Chester, it's a fourth straight win on home court. They sit two points clear of whoever is below them, and with three games left they can raise the tempo when they need to. Leicester remain sixth, seventeen defeats deep, and the gap to the top four is now too wide to bridge.
