half-time leading 43–39. With 11 minutes 20 seconds to go Portsmouth led 65–59, but they were held scoreless for more than two minutes as Kingston levelled at 65. Marc Glass and Steve Bontrager traded long two-pointers, then a Mike Spaid dunk and a Colin Irish basket gave Portsmouth daylight at 71–67 before a Bontrager three pulled Kingston back to within a single point. Spaid made it 73–70 but Irish's fourth foul could not stop Kenny Scott, whose free-throw drew Kingston level with 4 minutes 20 seconds left. Paul Stimpson then gave Kingston a 73–75 lead before Alan Cunningham took over, sinking four consecutive free-throws then stealing the ball and racing away for a lay-up to put Portsmouth 79–75 clear with 2 minutes 39 seconds remaining. Colin McNish made one from the line and Dan Davis laid up to bring Kingston back to 79–78, then Rich Strong sank a pair of free-throws to edge Portsmouth clear again at 81–78. With a minute remaining former Portsmouth star Joel Moore, who had received a frosty reception from the home fans on his return, tied the scores at 81 with a three-pointer from the top of the key. But with just 48 seconds left McNish fouled out and Strong made both free-throws to put Portsmouth up 83–81. A desperate shot from Moore was blocked and Portsmouth broke clear, drew another foul and sank one final free-throw to win 84–81 and prompt joyous scenes among the home support. There was still a little work to do, but victory at Livingston meant a 94–80 win at Bolton & Bury Giants on 27 February retained the crown. The trophy was presented after a 109–57 last league game win over Crystal Palace at the Mountbatten Centre on 4 March. In Europe, Portsmouth went to Czechoslovakia, where Zbrojovka Brno took a decisive 94–76 lead after the first leg of their European Cup tie. Portsmouth gained some consolation with a 97–95 win in the return, but lost by 16 points on aggregate. Portsmouth reached the National Cup final again with home wins over Bracknell Tigers (85–82), Sunderland 76ers (98–88) and, in a non-neutral semi-final, Manchester United (107–90), with Colin Irish scoring 27 points. But a chipped bone in his right hand threatened Irish's participation in the final for the second year running, and reliable bench man Mike Spaid had only returned to training after an ankle injury just five days