# 2019–20 London Lions season

The 2019–20 BBL season was the 43rd season for the London Lions in the BBL, and the 8th under the banner of London Lions.
The club won its first regular season title with a 99–80 victory over the Newcastle Eagles at the Eagles Community Arena on April 26, 2019.
The London Lions played their home games at the 7,000 seat Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Following a strong 2018-19 season where the Lions finished 27-6, they had many players depart the club such as Kervin Bristol, Ladarius Tabb, Jordan Spencer and Dzaflo Larkai.
In the 2019-20 season the Lions quickly resigned two-time BBL MVP Justin Robinson, Andre Lockhart and Lions captain Joe Ikhinmwin with the return of American forward Brandon Peel.
The Lions made one of the biggest signings in the BBL history and signed Ovie Soko to start at the small-forward position, along with new signings of Spanish guard Jorge Romero, Jordan Whelan from Worcester Wolves, Americans Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan from Cheshire Phoenix and Jordan Jackson.
The Lions also, signed Jules Dang-Akodo and Samuel Toluwase from the inaugural London City Royals team from the 2018–19 BBL season. Lions later signed French big man Alioune Tew at the center position.
On December 13, 2019, the Lions announced that the Club and guard/forward Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan have “mutually” agreed to part ways. With the departure of Allen-Jordan the Lions signed promising Ethiopian/American forward Buay Tuach on January, 10th, 2020. On January 17, 2020, the Lions signed British point guard Ogo Adegboye to replace Spanish guard Jorge Romero.
With the withdrawal of the London City Royals, Edmir Lucas signed with the London Lions to replace Ogo Adegboye on February 12, 2020, for the remainder of the 2019–20 BBL season. On February 14, 2020, Lucas scored 8 points in 14 minutes of action in a 66-75 away win against the Bristol Flyers in only his second game with the team.
On 17 March 2020, the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. On 1 June 2020, the season was cancelled, with no League or Playoffs champions declared.

## Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Development |
| C | Ovie Soko | Alioune Tew | | Jordan Jackson |
| PF | Brandon Peel | Samuel Toluwase | | |
| SF | Buay Tuach | Joe Ikhinmwin | Jordan Whelan | |
| SG | Jules Dang-Akodo | Edmir Lucas | | |
| PG | Justin Robinson | Andre Lockhart | | |

## Cup

The newly-formatted BBL Cup will begin the 2019–20 season on Friday 20 September, with the group stages running until Sunday 24 November. The 12 teams have been split into 2 geographical groups, North and South. Each team will play each other twice (once home, once away) with the top 4 teams in each group progressing to the Quarter Finals. Single-legged quarter finals and two-legged semi finals matches will determine the two finalists who will contest the Cup Final on Sunday 26 January at the Arena Birmingham.

### South Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | London City Royals | 10 | 8 | 2 | 860 | 793 | +67 | Quarter Finals |
| 2 | Worcester Wolves | 10 | 6 | 4 | 798 | 798 | 0 | Quarter Finals |
| 3 | Bristol Flyers | 10 | 6 | 4 | 835 | 837 | −2 | Quarter Finals |
| 4 | London Lions | 10 | 5 | 5 | 892 | 872 | +20 | Quarter Finals |
| 5 | Surrey Scorchers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 829 | 862 | −33 | |
| 6 | Plymouth Raiders | 10 | 2 | 8 | 849 | 901 | −52 | |

### Game log

2019–20 game log :
BBL Cup Qualification Stage: 5–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
1
September 20
@ Worcester Wolves
L 92–67
Brandon Peel (30)
Brandon Peel (15)
Lockhart, Robinson (4)
Worcester Arena
0–1
2
October 5
@ London City Royals
L 92–77
Brandon Peel (19)
Brandon Peel (13)
Justin Robinson (7)
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
0–2
3
October 19
@ Bristol Flyers
L 97–94
Brandon Peel (35)
Brandon Peel (7)
Justin Robinson (7)
SGS College Arena
0–3
4
October 23
Plymouth Raiders
W 101–86
Dang-Akodo, Robinson (17)
Allen-Jordan, Peel (9)
Justin Robinson (7)
Copper Box Arena
1–3
5
October 26
@ Surrey Scorchers
L 80–77
Brandon Peel (25)
Brandon Peel (14)
Justin Robinson (6)
Surrey Sports Park
1–4
6
November 1
London City Royals
W 100–99
Justin Robinson (23)
Brandon Peel (11)
Justin Robinson (10)
Copper Box Arena
2–4
7
November 3
@ Plymouth Raiders
W 80–90
Brandon Peel (23)
Brandon Peel (11)
Jorge Romero (5)
Plymouth Pavilions
3–4
8
November 8
Worcester Wolves
L 85–90
Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan (31)
Jorge Romero (7)
Jorge Romero (4)
University of East London
3–5
9
November 20
Bristol Flyers
W 103–69
Brandon Peel (27)
Brandon Peel (12)
Jorge Romero (4)
Copper Box Arena
4–5
10
November 23
Surrey Scorchers
W 98–87
Brandon Peel (25)
Brandon Peel (11)
Justin Robinson (8)
Copper Box Arena
5–5 :
BBL Cup Quarter Finals: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
11
November 29
@ Leicester Riders
L 72–63
Brandon Peel (23)
Alioune Tew (9)
Justin Robinson (2)
Morningside Arena
5–6 :

## Trophy

The BBL Trophy retains the same format as introduced in 2018–19. The 12 BBL teams are joined in the first round draw by 4 invited teams; Solent Kestrels and Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League, Dunfermline Reign from the Scottish Basketball Championship and Basketball Wales. There is an open draw to form a bracket, mapping out each team's path to the final which will be held, for the 8th consecutive year, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

### Game log

2019–20 game log :
BBL Trophy 1st Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
1
January 4
Solent Kestrels
L 82-92
Justin Robinson (19)
Brandon Peel (8)
Dang Akodo, Robinson (4)
University of East London
0-1 :

## Championship
### Ladder

The BBL Championship will run from Friday 6 December – Sunday 19 April. All 12 teams will play each other twice, once home once away, for a 22-game regular season. The top 8 teams will qualify for the end of season Playoffs. London City Royals withdrew from the league, and their 1–3 record was expunged.
On 17 March 2020, the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. On 1 June 2020, the season was cancelled, with no League or Playoffs champions declared.

#### Regular-season standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Glasgow Rocks | 15 | 12 | 3 | 1275 | 1089 | +186 | 24 | |
| 2 | London Lions | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1280 | 1159 | +121 | 20 | Basketball Champions League qualifying rounds |
| 3 | Worcester Wolves | 14 | 9 | 5 | 1173 | 1106 | +67 | 18 | |
| 4 | Leicester Riders | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1048 | 975 | +73 | 16 | |
| 5 | Newcastle Eagles | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1147 | 1119 | +28 | 14 | |
| 6 | Cheshire Phoenix | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1079 | 1060 | +19 | 14 | |
| 7 | Sheffield Sharks | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1060 | 1060 | 0 | 14 | |
| 8 | Bristol Flyers | 12 | 5 | 7 | 937 | 992 | −55 | 10 | |
| 9 | Surrey Scorchers | 14 | 5 | 9 | 1243 | 1340 | −97 | 10 | |
| 10 | Plymouth Raiders | 13 | 3 | 10 | 1098 | 1185 | −87 | 6 | |
| 11 | Manchester Giants | 13 | 0 | 13 | 1003 | 1258 | −255 | 0 | |
| 12 | London City Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew from the league |

### Game log

2019–20 game log :
December: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
1
December 8
Glasgow Rocks
W 88-72
Brandon Peel (18)
Ovie Soko (13)
Jorge Romero (4)
Copper Box Arena
1-0
2
December 15
@ Manchester Giants
W 73-103
Justin Robinson (17)
Brandon Peel (8)
Dang-Akodo, Robinson (5)
George H. Carnall Sports Centre
2-0
3
December 18
Bristol Flyers
W 99-88
Ovie Soko (22)
Peel, Soko (7)
Lockhart, Robinson (4)
Copper Box Arena
3-0
4
December 22
Sheffield Sharks
W 87-79
Ovie Soko (17)
Alioune Tew (10)
Justin Robinson (6)
Copper Box Arena
4-0
5
December 27
@ Worcester Wolves
L 80-78
Peel, Robinson (18)
Brandon Peel (14)
Justin Robinson (5)
Worcester Arena
4-1 :
January: 3–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
6
January 10
@ Plymouth Raiders
W 82-91
Ovie Soko (21)
Brandon Peel (12)
Justin Robinson (7)
Plymouth Pavilions
5-1
7
January 17
Surrey Scorchers
W 107-98
Ovie Soko (27)
Buay Tuach (9)
Justin Robinson (6)
Copper Box Arena
6-1
8
January 19
@ Sheffield Sharks
W 86-91
Justin Robinson (27)
Ovie Soko (11)
Ikhinmwin, Robinson (3)
Ponds Forge
7-1
9
January 31
@ Leicester Riders
L 83-76
Ovie Soko (21)
Ovie Soko (9)
Dang-Akodo, Robinson, Soko, Whelan (3)
Morningside Arena
7-2 :
February: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
10
February 7
@ Newcastle Eagles
L 108-97
Ovie Soko (33)
Buay Tuach (10)
Lockhart, Robinson (6)
Eagles Community Arena
7-3
11
February 12
Cheshire Phoenix
W 94-78
Justin Robinson (19)
Joe Ikhinmwin (8)
Justin Robinson (6)
Copper Box Arena
8-3
12
February 14
@ Bristol Flyers
W 66-75
Peel, Robinson (14)
Alioune Tew (11)
Dang-Akodo, Robinson (5)
SGS College Arena
9-3 :
March: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
13
March 1
Leicester Riders
W 99-65
Brandon Peel (23)
Brandon Peel (13)
Justin Robinson (6)
Copper Box Arena
10-3
14
March 7
@ Surrey Scorchers
L 101-95
Ovie Soko (25)
Peel, Soko (12)
Peel, Soko, Tuach (3)
Surrey Sports Park
10-4 :
April: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocationRecord
15
April 1
Newcastle Eagles
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Copper Box Arena
N/A
16
April 4
Worcester Wolves
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Copper Box Arena
N/A
17
April 5
@ Cheshire Phoenix
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Cheshire Oaks Arena
N/A
18
April 8
Manchester Giants
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Copper Box Arena
N/A
19
April 12
@ Glasgow Rocks
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Emirates Arena
N/A
20
April 17
Plymouth Raiders
boxscore
N/A
N/A
N/A
Copper Box Arena
N/A :

## Player statistics
### BBL Championship statistics

| Category | Player | Pld | Totals | Average |
| Points per game | Ovie Soko | 12 | 242 | 20.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Brandon Peel | 14 | 125 | 8.9 |
| Assists per game | Justin Robinson | 13 | 64 | 4.9 |
| Steals per game | Justin Robinson | 13 | 19 | 1.5 |
| Blocks per game | Alioune Tew | 14 | 13 | 0.9 |
| FG% | Samuel Toluwase | 11 | 11-17 | 64.7% |
| 3FG% | Samuel Toluwase | 11 | 4-7 | 57.1% |
| FT% | Justin Robinson | 13 | 35-40 | 87.5% |

### BBL Cup statistics

| Category | Player | Pld | Totals | Average |
| Points per game | Brandon Peel | 11 | 252 | 22.9 |
| Rebounds per game | Brandon Peel | 11 | 117 | 10.6 |
| Assists per game | Justin Robinson | 11 | 58 | 5.3 |
| Steals per game | Dii’Jon Allen-Jordan | 11 | 20 | 1.8 |
| Steals per game | Justin Robinson | 11 | 20 | 1.8 |
| Blocks per game | Brandon Peel | 11 | 12 | 1.1 |
| FG% | Alioune Tew | 4 | 16-24 | 66.7% |
| 3FG% | Brandon Peel | 11 | 17-32 | 53.1% |
| FT% | Justin Robinson | 11 | 38-42 | 90.5% |