Eagles deserve a lot of respect
PLAY-OFF WINNERS’ HEAD COACH PAYS TRIBUTE TO SQUAD
LEICESTER Riders head coach Rob Paternostro was delighted after his team won the BBL Play-Off final at the weekend, but spoke of the respect that he has for the Newcastle Eagles.
Paternostro’s side completed the treble at the weekend – adding the Play-Off trophy to the Championship and BBL Trophy – after winning in emphatic fashion in front of a packed crowd at the O2.
“They finished second and won a trophy, the Cup, early in the season and they went on a stretch where they lost some games,” he said.
“When you look at the league, a lot of teams did that this year and the league was a little more balanced from top to bottom. They’ve got a lot of great players on that team and for us, we were able to beat them in the Trophy, that was a big game and we knocked them out.
“On Sunday we were able to get on top of them, but what I told the guys all week was you respect this team so much because we know how hard they play and we know they have a lot of winners. “On Sunday, and this season, the Riders were definitely the best team in the league.” The Riders came racing out of the blocks and were up by 18 points after the first quarter, and the BBL Coach of the Year thinks they approached the game in the right manner. Paternostro said: “I thought we were pretty consistent all the way, but I thought the way we jumped on top of them in the first quarter really set the tone. “We came out so aggressive on both sides of the floor, we were on the backboards, and I think that, with Newcastle, we were very concerned about them getting off to a quick start. “We talked about that and we’ve seen that in the past when they get on of you top early. Credit to our guys, we were the ones who got off to a fast start and from there, we were able to build on that.”
The Riders head coach, who has been in charge since 2008, believes the Riders weren’t able to “go at it” in the final weeks of the season because they clinched the Championship early.
He said: “This week, we went at it and there were a couple of days where nobody was friends, and that made me feel good because I knew we were ready.
“I told the guys a couple of things before the game, I said usually it’s rough to sleep the night before the game, but I slept very well. The last thing was, when I brought them in a huddle before the game, the last thing I said was, ‘I love this team.’ I love being around them every day.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can get a lot of shots off, that can be selfish if they wanted to, but it’s the most unselfish group that I’ve ever been around and not only were we a good team, but we had a good time together as well.”
You respect this team so much because we know how hard they play and we know they have a lot of winners