Season finale as Eagles take on the Sharks
FAB FORM TO RIDE OUT LAST GAMES
FAB FLOURNOY ON THE VICTORY OVER LEICESTER NEWCASTLE Eagles close off their regular BBL Championship season fixtures with a trip to take on Sheffield Sharks this afternoon.
The Eagles are still waiting to find out who will they face in their twolegged play-off quarter-final, with Plymouth, Surrey and Bristol all vying to fill the last two places.
The Eagles have confirmed their place as second seeds after taking a tremendous 83-76 victory over champions Leicester Riders on Friday night, the win coming less than 48 hours after they lost 88-81 to the same opponents.
Once again the victory was inspired by mercurial point guard Rahmon Fletcher with 24 points backed up by hugely consistent forward Scott Martin’s 18. There was even a double-figure contribution from the player-coach Fab Flournoy, who was delighted with the win.
“It’s a win that I felt was coming and we are pleased to get it and deserved to,” he said.
“It was also a great performance much more in-keeping with the way we need to play going in to the playoffs. There’s been a lot said about us and our recent results but we’ve been improving all the time and got it right tonight.
“Our defence was the key. It’s what we have to do to move forward. If we get our defence right then we can look after the other aspects of our game much better and that’s where we’ve made the improvements.
“Strangely enough despite conceding 112 against Surrey last week and then 88 against Leicester on Wednesday we still played good defence in both games. What cost us those games was a bad quarter here and there and one or two crucial mistakes at the wrong time.
“Tonight that didn’t happen and apart from one period in the second quarter, I thought we were pretty controlled tonight and very focused, especially defensively, and that’s what got us the win.”
Flournoy paid tribute to Leicester for their efforts in making it one of the best games at Sport Central this season in front of a packed and jubilant home crowd that thoroughly enjoyed getting one over the league champions.
“They could have come here with a weakened team and take it easy as they really had nothing to play for but they didn’t,” he added. “You could see it in their eyes and their attitude that they wanted to win and they gave us a really good game.
“They’re a heck of a team and very well-coached and deserve their success.
“But that’s what makes the win sweeter, especially being able to do it in front of our own fans who made lots of noise and helped us all night. You could tell by the reaction how much they enjoyed it.”
Sheffield will prove a tough final test of the regular season for Newcastle, but Flournoy will use the game to have another good look at the Sharks’ key threats.
“The pressure is off somewhat because of our win over Leicester,” he said.
“That said, we want to go down to Sheffield play well and compete. If things work out in the play-offs we could face them in the semi-finals so it’s a chance to get a good look at them.
“We won’t take any unnecessary chances and we’ll be mindful that we have to be right for next weekend, but after beating Leicester it would be nice to keep our momentum and focus going forward on Sunday and continue the improvement we’ve shown.”