London blaze into the Semi Finals

Justin Pierce catches fire in historic victory over Chongming as London reach new heights with a statement run.

The stage was set - a win here would send London to their first ever World Tour Semi Finals and guarantee a top-four finish. After a disappointing end to their last outing in Mataró two weeks ago, the team looked rejuvenated in the Deqing Pool stage, playing with renewed confidence.

The belief in this London side was clear from the opening possession. Jerome Desrosiers, who had been the catalyst for London all tournament, got his team on the board with slick footwork and a strong finish inside. Evan Walshe followed with a trademark drive, reading the help defence perfectly before dishing to Justin Pierce for an easy layup.

Chongming responded with a series of well-executed layups to take control early and Nauris Miezis stretched their lead to 5-2 after knocking down a smooth two-pointer from the wing.

London broke their short scoreless spell in emphatic fashion when Justin Pierce drained his first of five two-pointers in a shooting barrage that left Chongming stunned. He quickly followed up with a body fake in the paint which left his defender in the dust and drew contact as he got the layup to drop.

From this point on it was clear that there was no stopping him. Pierce continued to torch the opposition from deep, going on a solo scoring run that pushed London ahead 14-9, forcing Chongming to call a timeout in an attempt to disrupt his flow state.

DianLiang Zhang eventually made his presence felt in the paint and answered with some buckets of his own, finishing with 8 points, second only to Justin Pierce.

However, London's momentum was unstoppable as Ryan Langborg forced a turnover and Justin Pierce connected with Jerome Desrosiers to protect their well-earned lead. Desrosiers drilled a two-pointer and Evan Walshe kept his cool to slot home two free throws.

Ryan Langborg delivered the knockout blow from beyond the arc, sending London to their first ever World Tour Semifinals where they face top ranked Ub. London's self-belief looked boundless and they will certainly fancy their chances in what promises to be an enthralling battle.