The Tigers' side started the game fired up by press criticisms of their coach Paul James, and immediately embarked on a 10-2 run. The comments attributed to opposing playcaller Bob Donewald, suggesting that James had gone behind the back of his predecessor Mike Bett in order to secure the position on a full time basis at the end of the last season, added extra spice to the contest. James refused to shake the American's hand prior to tip off and early signs were that his team were prepared to send the desired response to the team where James once played, and Tigers ran the floor to suggest that their favourites tag was justified. Veteran guard Gene Waldron pulled Riders back, first with a three pointer, them with a breakaway drive to level at 15 apiece. A 9-1 run soon extended Tigers lead to 11 points, their largest of the game but again Waldron belied his 36 years to find spaces on offense, feeding Billy Singleton for a rare trey to square the game with 2:05 left in the half. Tigers' American John McCord was beginning to find his range inside the paint, and a beautiful spin move put the Bracknell side back in front, before Casey Arena's buzzer beating jump shot left them in a 39-37 lead at half time.

Early in the second half Leicester took the lead at 45-46 but with 14:20 left on the clock, Gene Waldron and Dameon Page collided shins and an audible crack was heard as Waldron collapsed on the parquet, to be stretchered off some moments later having scored 21 points. Although shaken, Riders keep pressing and a James Havrilla hook shot over Siemon tied the match at 53-53. Suddenly Tigers' running game found its rhythm as Arena and McCord shared passes and points to produce 11 unanswered points for Thames Valley. Diminutive guard Geno Ford was joined in the Leicester backcourt by Garnett Gayle but despite two successive threes with 2 minutes left by Ford, Riders could close to no more than three points. The large support erupted as Jason Siemon sank a late free throw to secure the Tigers first Cup in nine seasons with John McCord's 27 point haul earning him the MVP Award.

After the game Donewald could offer no excuses and was quick to dismiss the loss of Waldron as a factor. "We're just going to have to forget about it and try and get back into it in the League. I had a lot of fun here today and I would like to get back to one of these and land the damned thing. I think the whole thing boiled down to Thames Valley's players. They kicked our butt." A clearly agitated James was reluctant to comment further on Donewald's comments earlier but admitted that they had inspired his team, and he singled out game MVP John McCord for particular praise. "He was originally supposed to be going to Manchester, but they were impatient because he couldn't commit right away, so they decided to go in a different direction, " said James. "He has just been a perfect fit for our team." McCord returned the compliment. "He allows us to play our game. He utilises our talent. You have some coaches in this League who try to designate roles, but we don't have any roles in this team."

As for the future, James was confident that this would not be his only success. "We're as good as we want to be. We can go on to bigger and better things. We’ve got all the tools to succeed. Tony (Holley) has worked so hard for this team. People are looking to John McCord and to Tony Holley as a leader. Whatever we're doing, he's busting his gut out there."

SAINSBURY'S CLASSIC COLA CUP FINALS (Sheffield Arena)

Leicester Riders 78-82 Thames Valley Tigers

Billy Singleton (Lei) had 24 points and 11 rebounds

Gene Waldron (Lei) had 21 points and 4 steals

John McCord (TVT) had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals (and was MVP)

Dameon Page (TVT) had 18 points and 3 steals

Casey Arena (TVT) had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists