Coach so happy at comeback Cup win
RIDERS TO FACE LONDON LIONS IN TWO-LEGGED SEMI-FINAL
LEICESTER Riders head coach Rob Paternostro was full of praise for his team after they came back from a 12-point deficit to edge out Cheshire Phoenix by a single point in a thrilling BBL Cup quarter-final.
Riders, who are seeking their fourth BBL Cup title, will now play London Lions over two legs in the semi-final after London crushed Sheffield Sharks in their quarterfinal.
Paternostro, below, reflecting on Saturday’s dramatic victory over Phoenix, said: “What a great game. The fans will have enjoyed that one, with the brilliant comeback.
“It was that kind of match – with lots of twists and turns and the result coming down to the final plays of the game.
“And it was an amazing effort by Geno Crandall with seconds left to find Jubril Adekoya for the easy layup.
“But you have to give credit to Cheshire.
“They were coming off a really tough beating by Manchester the night before and came out to make amends.
“They were focused from the start and gave nothing away and Ben Mockford’s shooting, with 30 points, including eight three-pointers, was amazing.
“Cheshire were a wounded animal and played exceptionally hard.
“We did not have the right sense of urgency at the start, and it was important we recognised that and reacted.
“We made a lot of stops in the fourth quarter when it mattered, and the important thing was we reacted, and we got it done.”
London Lions made light work of the Sharks, winning 100-68 at the Copper Box.
Sheffield made a strong start as they powered to a 7-2 lead behind some aggressive play inside and perfect free-throw shooting from Bennett Koch.
But an 11-0 run helped put Lions in the driving seat behind virtuoso shooting performances from Dirk Williams and Lorenzo Cugini, who combined for 34 of the Lions’ 46 points at the interval, eventually notching 50 points in total between them. It was the Lions’ three-point shooting that really put the Sharks under pressure, with Sheffield scoring just one of 11 attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
There was another stellar performance from Jordan Williams with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
In the other side of the draw, Glasgow Rocks beat Bristol Flyers after overtime 95-90 and Manchester Giants held on at home to edge Surrey Scorchers 95-92.
Rocks found themselves four points down after the first quarter but battled back in a tight encounter to lead 43-42 at the half-time break.
Flyers looked to have won the game as they led by seven points with only seven seconds on the clock before a Jonny Bunyan three-pointer levelled the game up and sent the game into overtime.
Ali Fraser put in an MVP performance for the home side as he finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Mike Miller led the scoring charts for Flyers with 22 points.
Manchester also found themselves behind after the first quarter before recovering to lead Surrey Scorchers 52-47 at half-time.
Scorchers won the third quarter 18-16, narrowing the gap to just three points going into the last period.
The Giants, however, found their shooting form to wrap up the victory as Martaveous Mcknight contributed a team-high 18 points.
In the only BBL Championship match, Manchester put in a dominant performance in the North-West derby to comfortably beat Cheshire 109-81 in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
The sides couldn’t be separated after a cagey first quarter that saw both teams miss clear chances as they struggled to get into the game.
Giants, however, took it up a notch in the second quarter, scoring a massive 35 points and limited Phoenix to just 11 to take the game away, with Tyrick Armstrong leading the way with 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists as well as a Giants’ record of 10 steals.