Riders launch bid to win the treble
THEY FACE PATRIOTS IN PLAY-OFF QUARTER-FINAL
LEICESTER Riders start their quarter-final BBL play-off series when they travel to Plymouth City Patriots tonight (7pm), looking to progress to the BBL Play-off Final at the O2 Arena in London on May 15.
The tie is over two legs and will be decided on aggregate scores, with the return leg at Morningside Arena on Sunday afternoon (4pm).
The winner progresses to the twoleg semi-final series next weekend.
Riders swept away the Patriots in BBL Cup qualifying and in the BBL Championship on their way to those two pieces of silverware, but the Patriots have been one of the form sides in the BBL in 2022.
Their 12 wins in the Championship include two over Newcastle Eagles, who they squeezed out of the play-offs for the first time in 22 years with an 80-72 win over the Eagles last Sunday.
In that match, former Riders forward Rashad Hassan was simply unstoppable, finishing up with 25 points on 85 per cent shooting and he pulled down 12 rebounds.
But British forward Rowell Graham-Bell was even more prominent, scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and he made some decisive plays down the stretch, in his best game of the season.
Other Patriot wins included two over fourth-placed Bristol Flyers, one over third-placed London Lions and a pair over fifth-placed Manchester Giants. So, this Patriots team will not lack confidence.
Not surprisingly, with Riders being the runaway winners of the BBL Championship, they lead the Patriots in most offensive categories.
Their shooting at 50.3 per cent is well above the Patriots at 45.4 per cent, and their three-point shooting at 39.5 per cent led the BBL, while Plymouth is at 32.5 per cent.
Riders also averaged 90 points per game while Plymouth managed 80.6. Leicester also lead in rebounds, steals, assists and blocks, but the margins are much smaller.
But it is Plymouth’s tough defence that caught the eye in the match last Friday at the Morningside Arena, and it resulted in three Patriots fouling themselves out of the game.
If they can stay on the court, they will fancy their chances of disrupting Riders and putting some doubt into the confidence of a Riders team that last lost nearly six weeks ago.
In fact, Riders are on a nine-game winning streak. But head coach Rob Paternostro will not be underestimating the Patriots.
“Plymouth has really turned around their season after a rocky start due to lack of imports,” he said.
“They have gotten better and better as the season has progressed and we saw that with the battle we had against them last week.
“They brought in some very good Americans and their Brits are very solid as well.
“We have played them twice in the last month, so there are no surprises for either team.
“We will make some adjustments, but so will they, because this is a huge game for them.
“We know they can be explosive, and their arena is a very tough place to play with a great atmosphere.
“They play with a lot of energy and their fans have really embraced that, as we saw in their crunch game with Newcastle last Sunday, which got them here in the play-offs.
“It is going to be a very hot environment and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Plymouth City Patriots: Rashad Hassan, Antonio Williams, Denzel Ubiaro, Joe Hart, Ayodeji Adekunle, Liam Langridge-Barker, Daniel FawellMolloy, Elvisi Dusha, Cameron King, Troy Simons, Rowell Graham-Bell.
Leicester Riders: Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Marc Loving, Mo Walker, Patrick Whelan, Conner Washington, Darien Nelson-Henry, Kimbal Mackenzie, Jubril Adekoya, Louie Jordan, Greg Wild, Evan Walshe.