With the result as important as the performance following their recent skid, Glasgow Rocks returned to winning ways last night to thrash Manchester Giants 91-73 and move up to third place in the British Basketball League.
It was a victory that was all but inevitable from the early stages but Sterling Davis’ men badly needed the boost after five straight defeats. Kieron Achara, playing a captain’s role, had 24 points on 10-for-11 shooting and added eight rebounds as the BBL’s bottom side were easily despatched.
“Any time you win, it helps to build something and that’s what we needed right now, to get that winning feeling,” admitted Glasgow coach Sterling Davis. “We know we’ve got tougher challenges coming up. But this is going to help for morale.”
Cementing a clean sweep of their three-game league series, Glasgow bolted 39-23 clear of Manchester in the second quarter en route to a 56-41 half-time advantage. And although a 14-2 run gave the Giants – paced by 16 points from Sam Toluwase - a sliver of hope, a 17-2 response from the Rocks took them as much as 23 clear in the fourth with Davis able to throw his entire roster into the fray.
“We were hoping to have opportunities to give everyone a run out and see how they went in game-time situations,” he added. “But when they’re out there, we have to make sure we don’t lose anything and we show the same intensity.”
Leicester Riders moved top of the table, ahead of Newcastle, with a 95-69 win over Cheshire Phoenix in Robbie Peers first game in charge while London Lions slipped to fourth after a 100-71 humbling by Worcester Wolves. Elsewhere, Plymouth Raiders ended the BBL Trophy hopes of EBL minnows Essex Leopards in a 93-74 quarter-final rout.
Meanwhile Caledonia Pride opened up the group stages of the WBBL Trophy with a 59-50 defeat to Manchester Mystics. The Scots pulled out a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to threaten an upset of the Cup winners but, despite 16 points and 13 rebounds from Tricia Oakes, were undone by converting only 2 of their 23 three-point attempts as they continued their search for an elusive first win.
“It is just unfortunate the shots aren’t going for us,” said Pride coach Bart Sengers. “If they did we would win some games. Sometimes we need to be more confident in those shots but we are going to make them at some point.”
RESULTS
BBL. Glasgow Rocks 91 Manchester Giants 73, London Lions 71 Worcester Wolves 100, Surrey Scorchers 80 Leeds Force 77, Leicester Riders 95 Cheshire Phoenix 69
BBL Trophy, quarter-final. Essex Leopards 64 Plymouth Raiders 93
WBBL Trophy. Caledonia Pride 50 Manchester Mystics 59
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