Big Gun has vital win over Riders in his sights

ROOKIE ACE WANTS LESS LATE EAGLES DRAMA WHEN TOP TWO SQUARE OFF

JURE Gunjina insists Newcastle Eagles can repel reigning champions Leicester Riders after revealing the BBL leaders have found strength in adversity.

The classy Croat remains an enigma following his close-season switch to Sport Central as he struggles to convert raw talent into key stats on a consistent basis.

Gunjina showed flashes of his undoubted quality during last Friday’s come-from-behind win against Surrey Scorchers.

Ahead of Friday’s crunch clash against Leicester, the 25-year-old promised the Newcastle faithful: “We are working harder than ever this week.

“We cannot play like we have done in the last three games against the champions. We know that and we are knuckling down.

“We have to be game ready for the Riders because they will be coming here to win.

“They are a team with experience and quality and we respect that.

“If both teams are at their best it will be a great match-up.”

A determined Gunjina has come through a series of on-court dressings-down by player-coach Fab Flournoy as he strives to become an impact player off the bench.

However, the forward is not alone in incurring his coach’s wrath with a number of rookies exposed to the New Yorker’s unrelenting pursuit of perfection.

Flournoy’s unforgiving approach to attaining BBL success, coupled with a pair of character-building away losses, has served to focus the Eagles’ minds heading into the biggest match of the season so far.

Gunjina added: “The back-toback defeats on the road were a tough lesson to learn but in the long term they will help us.

“It did not feel like it at the time but we need to use those experiences to our advantage.

“Fortunately it is still early in the season and we have time to put things right.

“The fact is there are a few other good teams in this league and we have to accept that. The BBL is not an easy place to play.”

Surrey proved that as they almost dumped Newcastle out of the BBL Trophy.

A remarkable final-quarter capitulation by the visitors saved the Eagles from an embarrassing exit and Gunjina admitted: “We were lucky against Surrey but we cannot rely on that luck every week.

“We need to work out how we can avoid those pressure situations down the stretch. It is happening too often.

“It is nerve-wracking for everyone when you are heading into the final quarter at home and you are down by a few points. “The fact it was a knockout game made it even more tense. “We had already gone out of one cup competition at home this season – losing by a point on the final shot of the game – and that was in the back of our minds.” Newcastle have made a habit of overhauling late deficits but Gunjina would prefer to swap the dramatic for the pragmatic. He added: “I guess we just look to keep it interesting for the crowd but, seriously, it is not something we are proud of. “We had played Surrey at Sport Central a few weeks earlier and beaten them quite comfortably. It was pretty clear they were out for some kind of revenge. “Maybe that is why they had such a strong start and we were too slow to react. We were also trying to bounce back from two tough away defeats – maybe we needed a bit more time to shake off those losses.” “Leicester will not give us that time. We need to start well.” Tickets for Newcastle’s Sport Central clash with Leicester on Friday (7.30 tip) are on sale now. Fans arriving early can catch Team Northumbria taking on Caledonia Pride in the WBBL from 5.00. Both games will be streamed live by the BBC.

We can’t play like we have done in the last three games against the champions. We know that and we’re knuckling down. Jure Gunjina