NBLC finals schedule set; London, KW ready to do battle

The Lightning will shoot for a fifth league title in franchise history — and first since 2017-18 — beginning Friday at Budweiser Gardens.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

The London Lightning’s quest for a fifth NBL Canada championship tips off against the KW Titans in the Forest City on Friday night. The winner will be the league’s first new champion in nearly three years.

In head-to-head regular season matchups, the Lightning (20-4) went 5-1 against the Titans (12-12), with KW’s lone topper coming on a narrow 103-102 victory at home on April 2. London boasts a perfect home record (12-0, 2-0) in both the regular and postseason.

“Just look at the talent on display. You couldn’t ask for a better way to cap off our 10th anniversary season,” said Audley Stephenson, NBLC VP of Basketball Operations. “This matchup is incredible: An unquestioned juggernaut stacked with talent, including the league’s top sixth man (Terry Thomas), that has dominated from day one taking on a surging squad that laces up both the league MVP (Joel Kindred) and rookie of the year (Shakwon Barrett). It is going to be an amazing series.”

The Lighting entered the playoffs with the league’s best regular season record and continued to steamroll through the first round by concluding a 3-0 sweep of the Windsor Express with a 110-108 victory on Friday.

The Titans fell short of securing home court advantage in its series, but that didn’t stop them from closing out the second-seeded Sudbury Five with a 111-98 victory in KW on Saturday. The win ended the best-of-five series 3-1, with KW splitting on the road in the Nickel City and taking the final two at home.

The schedule for the London Lightning (1) vs. KW Titans (3):

Game 1 | KW Titans at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Friday, May 27
Game 2 | KW Titans at London Lightning | 2 p.m., Sunday, May 29
Game 3 | London Lightning at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 1
Game 4 | London Lightning at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Friday, June 3 *
Game 5 | KW Titans at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Monday, June 6 *

* If necessary

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league has not crowned a champion since the Moncton Magic swept the St. John’s Edge in the 2019 NBL Canada Finals in May 2019. This year will mark the ninth champion in league history.

NBL Canada Champions:

2011-12 London Lightning
2012-13 London Lightning
2013-14 Windsor Express
2014-15 Windsor Express
2015-16 Halifax Hurricanes
2016-17 London Lightning
2017-18 London Lightning
2018-19 Moncton Magic
2019-20 Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020-21 Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic