Coach delighted to see his players gain their revenge
RIDERS STILL UNDEFEATED AT TOP OF THE BBL CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER BOUNCING BACK FROM TROPHY LOSS
LEICESTER Riders head coach Rob Paternostro was pleased with his players’ reaction as they got revenge for their BBL Trophy defeat at Bristol Flyers.
After being knocked out of the competition the week before, Riders returned to the SGS Arena and came away with a convincing win over the Flyers in the BBL Championship.
Riders took control midway through the first quarter and stayed in front, withstanding a charge by the Flyers in the third quarter, for a 92-64 victory that leaves them undefeated and top of the BBL Championship.
Paternostro said: “It was a muchimproved display by us and a very good result.
“Our defence in particular stepped up and took advantage of their loss of guard Marcus Evans to put them under pressure in the back court.
“We really limited their chances and took advantage of ours at the offensive end.
“We also created a lot more good looks and our shooting was back closer to where it has been.
“Patrick Whelan, in particular, was tremendous, and he is really in a nice rhythm at the moment.
“The overall ball movement was excellent as well, and we got a nice lift when Kimbal Mackenzie came on.
“You can see how we got contributions from all over with our significant differential in bench scoring.”
Elsewhere, Plymouth City Patriots won their first match in the BBL Championship with a solid 82-73 victory over Surrey Scorchers.
Patriots went into the half-time break 43-32 up, and it would be a lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game.
Antonio Williams was the star man as he finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists.
On Sunday, Patriots completed a winning double with a stunning 84-77 upset over Manchester Giants.
Patriots effectively won the game in the second period when they added a massive 30 points and limited Giants to just 14 to lead 54-37 at half-time.
Two late three-pointers from Manchester’s Dan Clark reduced the deficit in the fourth quarter but Patriots hung on to win.
Ex-Riders star Rashad Hassan led the scoring with a superb doubledouble of 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Cheshire Phoenix surprisingly hammered Glasgow Rocks at home 107-87. Phoenix added 27 points and limited Rocks to 15 in the third period to put the game out of reach.
Another ex-Riders player Namon Wright starred for the home side with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Cheshire made it a double by winning every quarter in an impressive 77-56 victory over the Sheffield Sharks. Phoenix led 20-15 after the first, extended their lead to 33-26 at halftime, and then dominated the final quarter.
Cheshire’s Levi Bradley narrowly missed out on a double-double performance with 19 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix while Rodney Glasgow Jr scored a team-high 17 points for Sharks.
In the BBL Trophy, London Lions got off to an electric start in their first round match against Newcastle
Eagles, winning 84-70.
Lions scored 36 in the opening quarter and limited Eagles to just 11, although Newcastle hit back to narrow the gap to 15 points at half-time.
Eagles again reduced the deficit in the fourth quarter, but never got within single figures, as Lions’ Dirk Williams top scored with 18 points.
Riders are next in action on Sunday at Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Championship.