Lightning are champs; Majors sweep weekend; FC London grabs win
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (May 23-29) — for London’s teams and athletes.
FC London’s men’s team won its first game of the year Saturday, 3-1 over Unionville Milliken S.C. They’ve now earned points in three straight matches. (Photo: Martin Bazyl / League1 Ontario).
* * *
The London Lightning are back-to-back NBLC champions. In a wild Game 5 Friday night, they beat the Windsor Express, 126-88, in dominant fashion to win the Finals series three games to two and claim their second straight title and sixth in franchise history.
The Lightning began the week by taking a 2-1 series lead Tuesday in Windsor, winning 112-107 at the WFCU Centre. After a solid start by the Express, the Lightning trailed 56-52 at halftime. London took the lead with a big third quarter, outscoring Windsor 35-18. But the Express marched back, even making it a one-point game in the final minute. The Lightning held on to win, though, and take a series lead. Jeremiah Mordi finished with 26 points, while Jermaine Haley Jr. scored 23 and Mike Nuga tallied 15.
With a chance to close out the series Thursday, the Lightning came up short, losing 110-102. An awful start had London trailing 18-2 midway through the first quarter. They managed to fight back, though, and eventually led 52-50 at halftime. After a back-and-forth third quarter left the teams tied, Windsor pulled ahead early in the fourth and held on to win the game, sending the series to a deciding Game 5. In a losing effort, Haley Jr. had an impressive 41 points.
In that do-or-die game the following night, back at Budweiser Gardens, the Lightning erupted for a record-setting third quarter Friday to stun the Express and claim the 2023 league title. London started well, particularly defensively, and held a 48-37 lead at halftime. But it was the third quarter that decided the championship, as the Lightning scored an eye-popping 49 points in the frame to put the game away.
Jeremiah Mordi recorded a triple-double, scoring 37 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Mike Nuga scored 23 points and added 6 rebounds (both players had five 3-pointers in the contest and tallied 16 points each in the third quarter alone). Terry Thomas scored 17 points with 8 rebounds, while Jermaine Haley Jr., who was named Finals MVP, scored 17 with 6 rebounds. Kur Jongkuch had 13 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
NBLC Playoffs (Finals) - London Lightning (1) vs. Windsor Express (3) (London wins series 3-2)
Game 1: London 104 vs. Windsor 105
Game 2: London 124 vs. Windsor 107
Game 3: London 112 @ Windsor 107
Game 4: London 102 @ Windsor 110
Game 5: London 126 vs. Windsor 88
After starting the season 0-3, the Majors bounced back this past weekend, winning all three of their games to get them back to .500 record.
The bounceback began Friday against the Brantford Red Sox, where they won 13-5 on the road. Abdiel Velasquez had a better second start in a Majors uniform, and he worked seven innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He walked four while also striking out four. The Majors trailed early, but down 3-1 to start the sixth inning, the London offense came to life. The team scored seven times in the inning, which included home runs from Eduardo de Oleo (3-for-5 on the night) and Byron Reichstein (5-RBI game). The Majors then scored another five times in the seventh to put the game away.
On Saturday, the Majors traveled to Barrie and won their second straight, this time a 7-3 contest over the Baycats. Down 1-0 to start the sixth, Starling Joseph put the Majors ahead with a 2-run homer. Daniel Battel doubled the lead with an RBI double that scored two. London added three insurance runs in the ninth, as both Keith Kandel and Eduardo de Oleo hit home runs. Edisson Gonzalez, in his first start of the season, allowed three runs (two earned) over seven innings of work to earn the win. Braeden Ferrington tossed a pair of scoreless innings to close out the game.
On Sunday, back at home, the Majors jumped out to an early lead — in their second meeting of the weekend with the Brantford Red Sox — thanks to a 3-run homer off the bat of Eduardo de Oleo. That sparked the beginning of a lopsided 11-0 win at Labatt Park, which improved London’s record to 3-3 in the early going. Making his second appearance of the season, but first start, Jaryd Lund impressed with six shutout innings and six strikeouts. He scattered five hits and a walk in the contest. Skylar Janisse then tossed three scoreless innings in relief, facing the minimum and striking out a pair. Dan Battel, Starling Joseph, Byron Reichstein, Cleveland Brownlee and Brad Verhoeven all picked up RBIs in the win.
Up next:
The Majors will play a pair of games this weekend, including a third matchup against the Brantford Red Sox (and their first look at the Welland Jackfish).
Fri. June 2 (7:35pm vs. Brantford Red Sox)
Sat. June 3 (6:05pm @ Welland Jackfish)
The Men’s team earned its first win of the season Saturday in a doubleheader at Tricar Field, beating Unionville Milliken S.C. 3-1. With a 2-0 lead at the half, London extended the lead to 3-0 before Unionville managed to get one back. Nick Ferreira, Gianmaria Fiore, and Kuhle Bekwayo were the goal scorers for London, who have now claimed points in three straight games (two draws and a win) after dropping their first three matches of the season.
The Women’s team, meanwhile, split their two games last week, giving them a 2-2-1 record on the season. They opened the week with a 1-0 loss to Darby FC on Wednesday night. Darby scored its lone goal in the first half but London wasn’t able to respond. The team bounced back on Saturday with a 2-0 win over St. Catharines Roma at Tricar Field. With the teams tied 0-0 to start the second half, London broke through with Olivia Brown scoring the game-winner. Ally Hicks added to the lead in the 76th minute to help secure the win.
Up next:
It’ll be another home doubleheader for FC London’s squads this weekend on Saturday at Tricar Field. The women (2-2-1) will host Guelph, while the men (1-3-2) will do battle with Blue Devils FC.
Women:
Sat. June 3 (5:00pm vs. Guelph Union)
Men:
Sat. June 3 (8:30pm vs. Blue Devils FC)
There are some familiar faces, but there’s a sense of renewal in London as the Lightning embark on a new season. With a new coach and several new players, is a new era upon us? What to expect in 2024-25 …