- By Chris Peddy and Chris Slegg
- BBC Sport London
London Lions’ history-making EuroCup winners are “likely to leave the club because of funding cuts” to the team.
The Lions beat Besiktas 149-145 on aggregate to become the first ever British winners of a European trophy.
But the Lions women’s team is due to be pulled out of European competition next season, because of funding shortages from owners 777.
Speaking to BBC Sport London, forward Savannah Wilkinson said the players had already decided to leave the club unless that situation changed.
“We’re all the best players in Europe and British basketball, and in order to continue our careers we’re going to have to leave and go and play for clubs that are playing in Europe and at the highest level,” she said.
“It’s a decision that we’ve all pretty much made and we’ve all spoken about, it is upsetting but we’ve got this memory now, we’ve got this connection, and nobody can take that away from us.”
Wilkinson added that she is “amongst the group” who will leave to play at “the highest level”, but says she does not know where her future lies as she had been fully focused on success with the Lions.
‘We wanted to do it for each other and other British teams’
The EuroCup is European basketball’s second-tier competition, behind the EuroLeague.
Besiktas took a 75-68 lead to the Copper Box after the first leg in Istanbul, meaning the Lions needed a victory margin of at least eight points to overturn the deficit.
The Lions led by 10 at half-time but Besiktas pulled that back to five points at the end of the third quarter, before Winterburn and Gustafson’s late heroics sent the home fans into bedlam.
And when the home side drew a foul with just three seconds remaining on the clock, Gustafson was cool enough to tuck away the two extra points to secure an 81-70 win on the night.
“It was incredible, we wanted to do it for each other. We’ve worked so incredibly hard this season, through the ups and downs with the investors and fighting for what we deserve, it’s been so special to come to this point and to celebrate with the team,” Gustafson said.
“We also wanted to do it for the other British teams – a lot of them were there watching us, so to be able to make history with them was very special.”
No British side had previously reached a European final and Wednesday’s EuroCup victory was the Lions’ 12th trophy since 777 took over the club in 2020.
In an era of almost total dominance, the club have won two Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) Cups, four WBBL Trophies and three WBBL post-season play-off tournaments, and are on the hunt for a third WBBL Championship in a row.
‘ A potential tipping point’
Gustafson said she had left the door open to stay at the Lions if funding could be raised for the team next season.
General manager Vanja Cernivec was hopeful the spectacle of the final in London could convince the owners to change their minds, but said “time is ticking” to keep their star players.
“I hope whoever was watching realised we are a special team with a special bond, and women’s basketball has a bright future in the UK and is worth investing in – so I’m staying hopeful for now,” Cernivec, the NBA’s first female scout when she worked at Chicago Bulls, said.
“100% [it would be a missed opportunity], what happened yesterday has the potential to be the tipping point – if it stays in a vacuum and the media is not there to share the stories, and if the stakeholders don’t continue to invest in the sport, we haven’t achieved anything.”
Winterburn and Great Britain captain Temi Fagbenle have already confirmed they will leave the club.