Leicester Rider’s Head Coach has praised his teams talent and teamwork, following their convincing 104-78 win last night against Glasgow Rocks.
The Riders played at home last night (Monday, May 9) in the second leg of the BBL Playoff semi-final, beating their rivals by 26 points at the Morningside Arena.
The win means that Leicester Riders have now booked their spot in the BBL Playoff final, which is to be held on Sunday (May 13), at London’s O2 Arena.
They will face the London Lions on the day, tipping off at 4.15pm as they set out to secure the treble.
Speaking about his team’s win and their impressive season, head coach Rob Paternostro praised their talent and teamwork.
“We’ve played 44 games and won 39 of them. When you look at it that way, it’s been a heck of a ride”, he added.
“We have a great group of guys that are talented basketball players, but also work so well together. If there was ever a team that deserve to be in the final, it’s this one”.
When asked about last night’s score, he said he thought his team did a good job of taking care of the opportunities which were presented throughout the game.
“They gave us a lot of opportunities on offence, and we did a good job with it”, he told the Leicester Times.
“It’s a tricky game when you’re playing the aggregate game, with a big lead and stuff, but our guys were professional throughout the night”.
Speaking about the upcoming game in London he said that he was optimistic about his team’s chances.
However it’s all about “who shows up on the day”.
“It’s always a great atmosphere at the O2 arena – 16,000 people and two really good teams so, every British basketball fan should be excited for that one,” he added.
“It’s been a great season for us, obviously winning the league and the cup, and we’re hoping now we can add the playoffs to that as well”, said Managing Director Russell Levenston.
“We’re going to go down and enjoy it – and hopefully stick to the game plan and be focussed, and hopefully we’ll bring that silverware back to Leicester”.
The final will take place at the O2 Arena on Sunday, tipping off at 4:15 PM.
