London, Thursday 15 October 2026 – London Lions fell 81-76 to Skyliners Frankfurt at Copper Box Arena on Thursday night, moving to 1-2 in EuroCup play after a hard-fought contest that saw the hosts twice battle back into contention.
London cut a nine-point half-time deficit to take the lead in the third quarter before Frankfurt’s late three-point shooting proved decisive.
Joel Scott led the Lions with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Tarik Phillip added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Devante Jones contributed 13 points as London continued to fight throughout the contest.
The Lions kept pace with Frankfurt early, but the visitors began to find their rhythm in the second quarter, building a double-digit advantage through perimeter shooting and inside scoring.
Scott helped keep London within reach, scoring on an offensive rebound at the half-time buzzer to make it 36-45.
London emerged from the break with renewed energy. Scott opened the second half with a three-pointer before Phillip and Kennedy helped bring the deficit down.
As the Lions tightened their defence and found better opportunities in transition, they continued to chip away at Frankfurt’s lead.
Ethan Price’s three-pointer late in the third quarter put London in front for the first time, but the visitors responded to regain control heading into the final period.
The Lions continued to push in the fourth, refusing to let Frankfurt pull away. Jones and Keenan Evans helped keep London within reach before Zae Horton’s three-pointer cut the visitors’ lead to three.
Phillip then converted at the free-throw line, and Scott tied the game at 70-70 with just over three minutes remaining.
With the game finely balanced, Frankfurt found its answer from beyond the arc.
Mintz and Nahiem Alleyne connected on consecutive three-pointers to give the visitors breathing room, and although Horton responded with a long-range effort of his own, Frankfurt continued to punish London’s missed opportunities.
Mintz added another three-pointer late in the contest, leaving the Lions with too much to do in the closing seconds.
After the game, Lions head coach Tautvydas Sabonis reflected on his team's performance.
“We weren’t ready to play this game today, for whatever reasons, and we were lacking energy.”
Scott highlighted the importance of execution in a closely contested EuroCup matchup.
“EuroCup is high-level basketball, so you make one mistake, teams will take advantage of that. Coach says it all the time: it may not be the first mistake that they take advantage of, but it’s the second one, and they compound on each other. So we need to be able to minimize those and keep doing our thing by following the game plan.”
Despite a strong effort on the boards, with London collecting 16 offensive rebounds, the Lions could not convert enough opportunities to complete the comeback.
Frankfurt’s perimeter shooting proved the difference in a game that remained within reach until the final minutes.
London now turns its attention to Sunday’s SLB road fixture against Cheshire Phoenix, looking to close out a demanding week that included Monday’s historic matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers and Thursday’s EuroCup contest at home.
