RIDING THE WAVE
Storm looking to carry momentum from Game 2 into tonight’s pivotal game
Storm looking to carry momentum into tonight’s pivotal home game
The Island Storm has the momentum and doesn’t plan on giving it away tonight when it hosts the Saint John Riptide in Game 3 of the National Basketball League of Canada quarterfinal.
The Storm won Thursday’s Game 2 to tie the best-of-five series 1-1.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position, where we now have home-court (advantage), and it’s a best-of-three series with two of those games at home,” Storm head coach Joe Salerno said Friday. “We’re going to ride this momentum until someone tells us otherwise.”
The Storm won Game 2 103-79 and held Anthony Anderson and Gabe Freeman to nine and 17 points, respectively. Doing that again won’t be easy.
“I think Anthony Anderson and Gabe Freeman are going to try to put their team on their backs,” Salerno said. “They’re going to come out on fire.”
The Storm received some good news on Friday when it learned the X-ray on Terry Thomas’ shooting hand came back negative, meaning there was no fracture. He was injured in Game 1 when a Riptide player swatted for the ball and hit the guard’s hand. No foul was called on the play.
Thomas missed Game 2 and is questionable for tonight’s contest with Salerno estimating the chances of the starting guard playing at 50-50.
“We’re going to see how he feels tomorrow night,” the head coach said. “With it being a hand injury, it’s tough to catch the ball and dribble the basketball.”
Thomas was second on the team in scoring during the regular season, averaging 19 points per game to go with seven rebounds and three assists, while also being a key defender.
“Al Richter and Rashad Whack stepped up huge in his absence, and I think Al Stewart stepped up defensively,” Salerno said.
The team got back from the Port City around 2:15 a.m. Friday. They had a film session Friday night and will have another today.
Salerno said he has been pleased with the team’s preparation during practices, film sessions and walkthroughs.
“The guys have really, really been focused in on game plans and what we need to do to try and win this series,” he said. “We’re on the same page. We know how we want to defend this team.”
Game 4 is Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Eastlink Centre. Game 5, if necessary, is slated for 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Saint John, N.B.