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Record seventh NBL title for Urban Knights
July 02, 2025
The Urban Knights successfully defended their National Basketball League (NBL) championship title as they defeated the Upper Room Eagles 67-56 to sweep the best-of-three series at the National Stadium courts last night.
In the opening match of the afternoon, the St George's Slayers took the third-place match with a 63-45 win over the UWI Runnin' Rebels.
In a repeat of last season's finals, the Urban Knights turned back the Upper Room Eagles once again in end-to-end action.
Oneil Brown, head coach of the Urban Knights, praised his players for their character throughout the season and holding their nerves to see out the series.
With a record seventh title, Brown said they overcame a lot of obstacles on their march to the championship.
"They stuck to the task all season long and a lot of things happened to this team," he said.
"A lot of teams counted us out, a lot of players went overseas but we're right here again as champions."
Entering the game having already won game one, the Knights knew they were one win away from claiming the crown.
However, it was the Eagles who started the better of the two as they were off to the races in the opening minutes of the contest.
Capitalising on loose passes, poor turnovers and ill-timed shots from their opponents, the Eagles ended the first quarter with a 14-9 lead.
The second quarter opened in similar vein with the Knights uncharacteristically poor in their handling of the ball.
The defending champions would find their footing throughout the second quarter soon after, enjoying an eight-point run to close the gap.
Swinging the momentum in their favour, the Knights would close out the first half with the advantage, leading the Eagles 29-36.
Coming off the half time break, the defending champions put the Eagles to the sword as they went on the offensive.
Their efforts would pay off as they sped to a 12-point lead, closing out the third quarter 41-53.
Despite a valiant effort, it was too large a gap for the Eagles to close in the final quarter as the game ended with the Knights defending their national crown.
Simon Brown, head coach for the Eagles, was a disappointed figure after the final whistle.
"It was a poor shooting performance but nothing that I'm blaming the team for. Sometimes that's just the way it is," he said.
