Head Coach of the struggling Worcester Wolves, Chuck Evans, has issued a rallying cry to his squad after their BBL Cup Quarter Final Defeat at Leicester last weekend. As his side take on the Newcastle Eagles tomorrow night, he asked for them to stand up and be counted at critical moments in games, like Bradd Wierzbicki of the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders did last weekend, as he scored 38 points, most of them in the second half, to finish the Wolves off after being down to them by 14 points at half time.
Whilst he approved of his side's first half display, Evans was disappointed in the lack of composure his side showed in the second half, claiming that 'they completely fell apart.' He pointed to a lack off an on court leader, as a key factor in the loss against the Riders. He said: 'Last weekend, we performed well for twenty minutes, but totally fell apart in the second half. We must learn to play together for the full forty minutes, but the main reason for the loss is that we lack on court leadership. We also need some guys to step up at critical moments like Bradd (Wierzbicki) did for Leicester when Tack Minor went out of the game with an injury.'
The Riders are in action against the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders, and Head Coach Rob Paternostro says that it was his side's ability to 'climb out of a hole' that led to a vital victory. 'Last weekend's Cup game against Worcester was another game where we dug ourselves a big hole and were able to climb out of it' he said: 'I thought we were a little shell shocked when Tack (Minor) was taken to the hospital but at halftime we regrouped and came out of the locker room believing we were going to win the game. The atmosphere in that game was brilliant, and we are very pleased to be moving on in the Cup.'
The American-Italian identified Plymouth's big pair of Florentino Valencia and Matthew Hilleary as their principle threats, and he challenged his team improve their away form: 'Going to Plymouth is another challenge for us' he added: 'Travelling that distance and having to play in that building is a very difficult proposition. Their inside tandem of (Florentino) Valencia and (Matthew) Hilleary have been very consistent this season and they have been playing well as of late. I think we need to become a better road team, because the teams that are going to be successful this season will be the teams that play well on the road.'
Tomorrow evening is the busiest Friday evening in the BBL so far this season, and also sees the form team of the league, Marshall MK Lions, travel to Worthing Thunder. The Everton Tigers take on PAWS London Capital at the Capital City Academy after two long awaited wins last weekend, and the unstoppable Sheffield Sharks visit the Guildford Heat.
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
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