1.   He reached the dizzy heights of the national finals.

2.   It was the first time college basketball had witnessed so stark a racial contrast in a national final.

3.   Winners of the regional competitions compete in the national finals.

4.   If Elaine wins the regional award next month, she will go through to the national final in May.

5.   The first weekend in September should be a closed date and I hope in future years the folly of playing games on national finals day will not be repeated.

6.   And last Saturday he finished runner-up in the national finals at Birmingham.

7.   Competitors who converged on the Southlands Centre from all over the North-East were playing for places in the national finals in Reading in August.

8.   Joining him in the national finals at Derby in a fortnight is clubmate Craig Wake, and Darlingtons Aaron Kelly, John Lee and Jim Smith.