Saturday 10 October 2009 (7.30pm) @ John Sandford Centre. The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders go into their Saturday night home fixture against BBL rookies, the Essex Pirates, tied in third place with three other teams in the BBL Championship table. A valiant effort which led to defeat by Newcastle last weekend was followed the next evening by a come-from-behind victory over the Everton Tigers, as point guard Tack Minor lead the way with a double-double of 32 points and 14 assists. The Pirates come into the game having lost by thirteen to an explosive Guildford Heat side, after a sensational 61-60 win in their first ever BBL game last Saturday.
Pirates coach Tim Lewis, points to a lack of BBL experience, and the key 19-2 run made by the Heat in the third quarter, as reasons why his side lost the game. He explained: 'I think we played quite well in the first half, but we are still getting used to things offensively. We came out really flat in the second half and Guildford made some big shots early and we never really recovered. The first experience of a back to back game, I am sure took its toll on some of the newer members of the team.'
Lewis identified transition attack and perimeter shooting as the Riders' strong points. He added: '(Saturday) will be a great game. Leicester have a wealth of experience and in (Tack) Minor and (Bradd) Wierzbicki, they have two guys that can really stretch the defence. They are always going to be well prepared with Rob (Paternostro) at the helm, and they have experience in Tony Windless. Minor will look to push the ball for them in transition, whilst Wierzbicki can really shoot the ball from the outside.'
Riders coach Rob Paternostro commented on the game: 'They (Essex) have shown already that they will compete and play hard. We have to be able to match their intensity from the opening tip and continue to defend our home court. We are looking to improve in many areas on Saturday night.'
Whilst he praised Newcastle's ability to come up with crucial baskets towards the end last Friday, Paternostro was impressed with his side's fighting spirit in the Everton game. He added: 'I was impressed by our ability to keep fighting against Everton. We started out a little sluggish but as the game progressed, we were able to make big play after big play. I thought the atmosphere was fantastic and it was another exciting night at the John Sandford Sports Centre.'
Saturday 10 October 2009 (7.30pm) @ Capital City Academy. Both sides will come into this clash on Saturday evening with completely different results behind them, as Sheffield's two game winning streak means they are tied in third place, along with three other teams. Capitals, on the other hand, experienced a thirty point loss to the Guildford Heat in their first game of the season, and an agonising 61-60 loss to Essex Pirates last Saturday.
Two of the upsets that Capital caused in their inaugural BBL season (2007/08) were wins against the Sharks, as Wes Miller's 49 points helped Capital to an 85-84 overtime victory at the EIS in Sheffield, and they also managed a 96-78 win on their home court just over a month later. Since then, then head coach Steve Bucknall has been replaced by player coach Milek Jivens, who has recruited some new faces to the Capital this season. After last week's close encounter, Jivens wants to move forward. He commented: 'I feel that after a tough loss at the weekend, we will be eager to put things right. We will be working on the mental aspect of the game and working hard at the things we do best and try to disrupt the flow of the game for our opposition. We also will play close attention to taking care of the ball, as we have had far too many turnovers so far this year'.
Player coach of the Sharks, Atiba Lyons, has pushed his team hard defensively in practice, since their 113- 93 opening night loss to the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, and is pleased with how is team is coming together: 'I have put a lot of emphasis on defence this week and last week and I felt like it showed in our performances last weekend' he said 'We held both teams under 80 points and limited easy baskets. This was very pleasing, as both Worthing and Worcester are strong offensively and capable of huge scoring nights. I am pleased with the entire team at the moment, especially Ashley Chandley who has filled in off the bench, after not expecting minutes going into the season.'
Lyons clearly rates the opposition his side will match up against at the Capital City Academy this Saturday. He added: 'I haven't heard much about the Capitals, but I do know from the players they retained from last season they will play hard and be extremely competitive.'
Saturday 10 October 2009 (7.00pm) @ Worcester University. The Worcester Wolves had the last word in matches between these two teams, beating Glasgow Rocks by seven points in March 2009 at Kelvin Hall. However, the Rocks hold the all time head-to-head record 9-2, and are already off the mark, with a 96-78 win over the Marshall MK Lions last Friday evening. Although the Wolves have yet to get their first mark in the Wins column under new head coach Chuck Evans, the Rocks have experienced two narrow losses, going down 86-90 against the Newcastle Eagles, and 93-91 against Worthing Thunder. The fixture is spiced up by the fact that Forward Randy George, who top scored with 18 points against the Lions last week, moved in the summer from the Rocks, to slide into a starting role at the Wolves.
Speaking about his side's start to the 2009/10 campaign, Evans emphasised the extent to which losing Randy George to sickness hurt his team. He said: 'We missed Randy George last weekend in a big way last weekend. He was in bed with a fever and he was playing a high level before getting sick. We hope to have him at full strength for Saturday.'
Back to game against the Rocks, and Evans sees their point guard Rob Yanders as the man to watch. He added: 'We have a tough game this weekend against Glasgow. Rob Yanders is their catalyst and does a great job in his role. Sterling (Davis, Head Coach of the Rocks) has one of the best point guards in the BBL. They are playing well right now and we have not found our stride yet. We played better in Cheshire on Sunday after an awful home debut on Saturday against Sheffield.'
Sterling Davis said the 93-91 loss against Worthing Thunder was a 'wake up call' for his side, and feels that is at the defensive end that his side need the most work. He explained: 'I think it (the Worthing Thunder defeat) is a wakeup call for us all. We know if we want to be competing in the end we have to stay consistent from the beginning. We know how to play defence but at times I think we become complacent. We have to believe in it and look forward to playing it on every possession.'
Looking forward to Sunday, Davis sees the Wolves inside trio of Skouson Harker, Randy George, who played under Davis last year, and Frenchman Harry Disy, as the dangerous players for the Wolves: 'I think it will be interesting to see how this game turns out. We are both trying to get on a consistent winning track so it will be a challenge for both teams. Their inside play is their main threat at the minute. They have guys like Harker, George, and Disy who can put up good numbers.'
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
