London Lions became the first UK team since 2004 to win in one of the highest tiers of world basketball - the EuroCup - when beating Aquila Basket Trento 80-75 at the Copper Box Arena.

They came from behind, scoring 20 points in 10 minutes in a thrilling clash in front of a deafening home crowd as star player and captain Ovie Soko netted 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead his side to victory.

Ryan Schmidt's side also managed the landmark win whilst missing two of their key players in Sam Dekker and Kosta Koufos.

It marks an historic moment not just for the London-based side, but also a potential turning point for the growth of British basketball as a whole.

Prior to the Lions' involvement in the EuroCup this season, no other British team had taken part since 2007. Now, Schmidt's side will look to build on this momentum having come back from a EuroCup opening game loss against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel last week. 

With 20 teams taking part in the competition in two groups, Lions will play in 16 more group-stage games to decide their fate. If they manage to make the final of the EuroCup, they will secure promotion to the prestigious EuroLeague.

They have also been building momentum domestically too, having won their first five games in the British Basketball League and top the table after narrowly missing out in the play-off final against Leicester Riders last season.

Serving as testament to the increasing popularity of the sport in the UK, in the Lions' next home game they will transition from hosting at the Copper Box to the OVO Arena Wembley with a capacity of 12,500 people. 

"Any time you make history and do something for the first time in 18 years, it's something to be proud of and these guys deserve it," said Schmidt.

"They fought hard and have done a really good job of coming together, especially with two guys down who are key factors for our team.

"It's a big win for us, our organisation, and it's a huge win for the BBL and UK basketball as a whole, and I'm proud of our guys.

"We appreciate the support we got from the fans, I've been saying this for a while now that if we can get a good crowd in this arena it could make for one of the better atmospheres in Europe and you saw a glimpse of that. We don't win that game without the fans getting behind us down the stretch. 

"Having the opportunity to compete in the EuroCup is an honour and huge step for our organisation as well as British basketball. Being able to represent the BBL and the UK on such a big international stage is something we take a lot of pride in.

"This is an exciting time for basketball in this country and now to be able to bring high level teams to London from all over Europe for this competition is something we hope people will get behind and support. We want to go out and play a brand of basketball that our supporters enjoy watching and represent the city of London in the best way." 

Soko added: "It was really good to get the win, especially being someone who's from London, it means a lot. The whole team came out and fought - I feel like we're taking baby steps in the right direction and as long as we keep going in that direction we will be where we want to be in a couple months."