Sheffield Sharks now await Leopards in the semi-final of the BBL Championships next Saturday after the Essex outfit overcame Birmingham 89-84 in their quarter-final tie in Coventry. 

But Bullets coach Lance Randall will rue the manner in which his side failed to take advantage of Leopards' short-handed squad, the eventual losers converting only 2 of their first 18 field goal attempts  in the final quarter as Bob Donewald's side ground out victory.

"About 15 games out, we talked about getting into the rhythm we were in when we came back from the States," said Donewald. "We weren't playing great today but we were playing smart." 

A tight opening quarter saw Donewald's men come out 25-23 ahead, thanks principally to the efforts of Mo Robinson at both ends of the floor, the American centre hitting 15 of his 22 points in the first 11 minutes of the contest.

Sterling defence ensured that his team nudged further in front in the second, twice taking an eight point cushion on scores by Michael Martin before Antonio Garcia inspired Birmingham to trim the lead to 46-44 at half-time. 

Rashod Johnson made a brief appearance before the break as Leopards foul count mounted but the American was clearly unready to return from his knee injury and was left to watch as Bullets started strongly after the interval.

Rob Paternostro fed Brant Bailey and Virgel Cobbin and then fired a trey himself in a 8-0 run for the Brummies to go 56-54 ahead, Leopards missing seven straight shots before Jason Kimbrough fired in from inside the arc, another contribution towards his game-best 23 points tally.

That seemed to steady the nerves of the Southern Conference team and it was the same player whose three pointer put Leopards 67-64 ahead late in the third period before Paternostro drove from the baseline to cut Birmingham's deficit to a single point entering the final ten minutes. 

However Leopards held on, Donewald astutely managing his foul-plagued roster to maintain a momentum which brought a nine point lead when the returning Johnson - forced back to replace the fouled-out Rod Brown - converted his fourth penalty shot to make it 85-76 with less than a minute left.

Birmingham did not give up - even after Bailey joined Rico Alderson on five fouls. Consecutive steals brought long range scores for Cobbin and Paternostro to slice the lead to three with six seconds left but as time ran down, Johnson hit another pair from the line to put Leopards through.

Antonio Garcia, in probably his last game for Birmingham, top scored with 20 points, Cobbin adding 17. Randall, however, will surely now look for improvements if he elects to come back for the second year of his three-year deal next term.