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Post by Solly on Oct 23, 2020 13:14:39 GMT
And here are my programme reflections on those road losses at Surrey & Newcastle, ahead of a home encounter with Chester.
I tell you what that apple crumble doughnut I had yesterday was so scrumptious I was moved to instruct Mrs S. to visit another branch of Tesco to pick up another bakery item.
She has now returned, (a tad sodden from the current awful weather), with a rather fetching "Finest" salted caramel cake.
Our regular Friday meal is chilli with golden vegetable rice, followed by a dessert of yoghurt (either rhubarb or seedless raspberry for me, with Mrs S allowed to select cherry).
Because I'm old-school I never feel like I've properly had my pudding unless it is slathered in Birds custard. Therefore today's addition of a slice of the salted caramel bake will lessen my feelings of deprivation.
I will give you the scores on the doors in my next posting.
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After the excitement of beating Manchester a fortnight ago, it’s a shame that we have suffered a couple of tough losses on the road since then.
We trekked down to Surrey Scorchers and then up to Newcastle Eagles.
While not being overly optimistic about what we might achieve at the (always) high-flying Eagles, I really thought we could well grab a W from the (often) middling Scorchers.
A poor start did us in at Surrey. 33-48 down at the half. Numerous wayward shots, including a substantial 10 of 27 misses at the free-throw line, meant we were always behind the eight ball.
Remarkably we dragged matters back to 77-77 with two minutes to play, but former favourite Alex Owumi sank a three to sink us, 80-84.
Newcastle was also a game of contrasts.
By HT we were in front at 51-42 and I have to admit that I was just waiting for our bubble to burst.
A minute left in Q3 and we had even managed to stretch out to a huge 78-59 advantage.
But then the wheels fell off. Triples rained in from the Eagles, and our own offense stagnated as we collapsed to a demoralising 96-101 reversal.
The two-game breakdown –
Brandon Parrish – 33pts, 6 x 3ptrs. Always lively.
George Beamon – 25pts, 11 rebounds. Unwell in Newcastle.
Trayvon Palmer – 41pts, 14 rebounds. Kept at it.
Alex Navajas – 23pts, 11 rebounds. Sizzled in Game 2.
Jermel Kennedy – 18pts, 12 rebounds. Ditto.
Ashton Khan – 19pts, 10 assists. A match to forget in Surrey.
Dallin Bachynski – 23pts, 10 rebounds. Ditto.
Elvisi Dusha – 4pts. Quiet.
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Post by Solly on Oct 24, 2020 8:52:17 GMT
And Chester's visit finally allowed Worcester to get off the mark in 2017.
And the salted caramel cake garnered 8/10 from me, 7/10 from her. Adequate, but hardly the "Finest"  . A tad bland...
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Friday 27 October 2017
Worcester Wolves 91-78 Cheshire Phoenix
Worcester Wolves logged their first win of this year’s British Basketball League after overcoming Cheshire Phoenix 91-78 at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
Wolves maintained a near double-figure lead for most of the evening but had to stay focused in order to quell a feisty opponent buoyed by success in three of their four outings so far this season.
Worcester held a 14-11 edge going into the last minute of the opening quarter, but closed out the period with a flourish. Dallin Bachynski supplied a clever pass for fellow big man Alex Navajas to convert. George Beamon sank a couple of free throws and Jermel Kennedy stole Cheshire’s next possession for an easy lay-up.
Phoenix replied with a 6-0 run of their own as the second period began, with ex- Worcester forward Orlan Jackman debuting on the scoresheet.
Ashton Khan twice sped to the basket before another former home favourite, Andrew Bachman, took the spotlight. After losing the ball when hustled out of bounds, Bachman was then pressured into a clumsy travel. Two more dashes to the hoop from Khan finalised a 42-33 half-time lead for the hosts.
Wolves’ growing confidence carried over into the third quarter. When Bachynski swung on the rim there was time for shoulder bumps with his team mates once he returned to the ground. Continuing razzle-dazzle from Khan maximised the gap between the sides at 67-50 with a couple of minutes remaining in the period.
A burst of Cheshire scoring pulled the teams closer together at 69-61 entering the final quarter, but Wolves had enough in the tank to keep their visitors at bay.
Coach Paul James expressed his relief at getting the win, saying:
“It’s great to get our first success in the league. We’ve only really played well in parts of matches before tonight.
“This was a more consistent display from us in a game that we had to win by hook or by crook.”
Khan top-scored with 17 points, closely followed by Bachynski on 16 points, who also pulled down 11 rebounds. American duo Brandon Parrish and Trayvon Palmer tallied 14 and 13 points respectively. Kennedy rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points
“We had a nice spread of guys who got open looks and made their shots,” added James.
Wolves will next take on Glasgow Rocks in consecutive matches. Sunday 5 November sees the sides face off in Scotland in the BBL Cup Quarter-Finals. On Friday 10 November Rocks will make the trip south to the University of Worcester Arena for a league encounter.
James is anticipating a challenging doubleheader, saying:
“Glasgow are a team on a roll at the moment. We will need to do our homework and prepare well.
“We got off the mark today and we obviously want to start climbing up the table so the match in a fortnight will be very important.
“Ahead of that we of course meet them in the Cup. That’s a one-off game so we will be going up to Scotland ready to leave it all on the floor.”
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Post by Solly on Oct 25, 2020 13:07:06 GMT
And there were fireworks on Bonfire Night up in Glasgow 
Oh yes and, back in the present day, yesterday evening was a Saturday night treat  (and all achieved sans Americans). And as a bonus it meant I didn't have to endure the drivel that is Come Dancing.
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Sunday 05 November 2017
Glasgow Rocks 85-97 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves chose Bonfire Night to produce a dynamite performance and blast into the semi-finals of the BBL Cup after upsetting Glasgow Rocks 97-85 on their own court.
With Jermel Kennedy having departed the club in the run-up to Sunday’s tie, Paul James’ squad was further depleted by the withdrawal of point-guard Elvisi Dusha due to a hand injury.
Just six established players suited up for the long trip to Scotland, with James’ juggling of court-time proving crucial to the win. Composed displays from all participants meant a near double-figure lead was maintained for much of the afternoon.
Brandon Parrish led the scoring with 22 points, closely followed by George Beamon on 21. Alex Navajas tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, with Dallin Bachynski hitting 15 points as well as grabbing 14 boards.
Trayvon Palmer made it a trio of double-digit performers by notching 12 points alongside his 10 rebounds. Ashton Khan chipped in nine points to round out the statistics of Worcester’s super-six.
“What a magnificent all-round team display,” beamed James.
“Yes we were short-handed in our numbers, but not in our spirit. We travelled up on Saturday which gave us time to focus on what we needed to do. We planned what we would do and we executed it.
“Everyone knew we could not afford any cheap fouls but at the same time that we still had to play with intensity. The whole team played with a ‘they shall not get past us’ mentality in defence, while we carried on taking our chances at the other end.”
Khan pushed Wolves into an 11-10 lead with a couple of minutes remaining in the first quarter. By the close of the period the gap had widened to 20-12.
Half a dozen points from Rocks’ Great Britain stalwart Kieron Achara helped his side drag matters back to a 25-25 tie, prompting a James time out.
Navajas coolly stepped back to sink an imperious three-pointer as the game restarted. Duplicating the feat just before half-time moved the visitors’ advantage to 43-36.
Worcester’s control carried over into the third quarter. Numerous Glasgow attacks were repelled by a wall of defenders.
In the meantime Palmer set his personal scoreboard ticking with a coast-to-coast dribble while Parrish, Beamon and Khan all converted from distance.
Beamon pointed to his biceps as he again floated home a triple, embodying a confidence surging throughout the whole team.
A minute into the final quarter Rocks called for a break as they looked up at Wolves’ 72-57 advantage. But there was to be no recovery for the hosts.
Bachynski muscled his way to a double of offensive rebounds and subsequent put- backs, setting the seal on Worcester’s dominance.
The draw for the BBL Cup two-legged semi-finals takes place this week. London Lions, Sheffield Sharks and Cheshire Phoenix are the other three sides eying a place in January’s Cup Final at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena.
Wolves will meet Glasgow again, this time in league action, this Friday 10 November at the University of Worcester Arena.
James added: “We put in a fabulous shift today and need to carry that over to Friday.
“Glasgow now have to come to our court. We’ve had terrific crowds behind us at every game this year and want to put on another great show for everyone.”
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Post by Solly on Oct 27, 2020 10:41:13 GMT
And, ahead of a quick re-match with Glasgow, I celebrated the Cup QF W in Glasgow.
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While I’m trying not to get ahead of myself – Sunday 28 January at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena is setting up as a significant date for my new 2018 diary.
That’s the date and venue of this season’s BBL Cup Final. For eons now I have been whinging on about how poor it is that the Cup Final takes place (relatively) up the road from us, but we have yet to send the Worcester hordes up the M5.
Last Sunday saw us up in Scotland facing the in-form Glasgow Rocks in the quarter –finals. I admit I was trepidatious about our chances, especially after learning that just six of our established players would be suited up.
I needn’t have stressed. By the end of Q1 we had eased 20-12 ahead on the back of intense defence and efficient offense.
By half-time we had held steady at 43-36 and I was beginning to believe. Nearly every Rocks attacker was being sent back potless while we carried on with sharpshooting and swag.
It just got better and better, with minutes being cleverly distributed and the foul count minimised. We accelerated to a twenty-point lead and it was all over rover for a 97-85 outcome.
So now we will take on Sheffield over two legs, with Brum the prize…
The individual rundown –
Brandon Parrish – 22pts, 3 x 3ptrs. Master.
George Beamon – 21pts, 3 x 3ptrs. Muscles.
Alex Navajas – 18pts, 3 x 3ptrs, 10 rebounds. Majestic.
Trayvon Palmer – 12pts, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks. All-rounder.
Ashton Khan – 9pts. Careful.
Dallin Bachynski – 15pts, 14 rebounds. Thou shall not pass.
Zach Noble – Limited minutes.
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Post by Solly on Oct 29, 2020 11:23:54 GMT
But the same players were unable to repeat the feat over Glasgow next time out.
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Friday 10 November 2017
Worcester Wolves 76-82 Glasgow Rocks
Worcester Wolves were unable to follow up last Sunday’s thrilling BBL Cup victory over Glasgow Rocks when facing the same opponent, this time in league action, on Friday.
A large crowd at the University of Worcester Arena were left disappointed to see Wolves slip to a 76-82 reversal.
Once more Worcester were hampered by a rotation of just six senior players, but had still managed to build a 45-36 Wolves lead by just after half-time. However the greater depth of Glasgow’s squad eventually whittled away and then overturned their host’s advantage.
Coach Paul James confirmed that the current shortness of his side’s roster was a prime factor in the loss, saying:
“We did well to get a reasonable lead, but unfortunately couldn’t sustain it.
“One of the key things today was that we ran into foul trouble which had the effect of disrupting the line-ups that we could then put on court, and eventually led to the loss.”
A pedestrian opening quarter saw just two home players, Dallin Bachynski and Alex Navajas, ink the scoresheet as Wolves fell 8-16 behind.
A double of three-pointers from Brandon Parrish and consecutive dances to the basket by Ashton Khan switched the momentum. Two more Parrish scores put Worcester 35-30 ahead at the interval.
While five points from George Beamon pleasingly extended the lead, the same player less happily picked up a rapid-fire trio of fouls. By the close of the third quarter his fellow American Trayvon Palmer stood on the brink of dismissal on four fouls.
A manageable 55-59 deficit entering the final period became out of reach once Navajas’ evening terminated with his fifth infraction at six minutes still to go. Late triples for Parrish and Khan were not enough to keep Wolves in touch.
Parrish led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Khan and Beamon with 16 and 15 points respectively.
Wolves’ next challenge will be the visit of Leicester Riders to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 17 November (tip off 7.30).
James acknowledged that any addition to his squad would be welcome, saying:
“If we can find a player who can help us we’ll bring them in, but it will need to be someone with a British passport. In the meantime we’ve got players here who will continue to battle.”
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Post by Solly on Oct 31, 2020 11:09:36 GMT
And ahead of facing Leicester at home, here were my early thoughts on the upcoming 2017-18 season.
Funny how a lot of this still applies today.
Mrs S. is just rustling me up a fully-loaded omelette (with instructions to singe it slightly to add flavour) - includes ham, cheese, tomatoes, onions (red), mushrooms (of the chestnut variety), and spice sprinkles and will be accompanied by thickly-buttered sesame-seeded toast n lashings of Daddies sauce.
Food for Fat Lads!
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The BBL Cup aside, it’s been a tough opening to our season…
A month or two into things, here’s my take on how our adversaries are shaping up –
Bristol Flyers – four wins vs just defeats to Sheffield and Leicester puts them in a better place than usual for this time of year.
Cheshire Phoenix – decidedly hot and cold, none more so than their surprising upset of high-flying Newcastle up in the north-east, followed two days later by an equally surprising home reversal vs lowly Manchester.
Glasgow Rocks – apart from their success last week against our short-handed roster, are on a slide at the moment.
Leeds Force – recently got off the mark against Manchester, but have otherwise suffered quite a few pastings.
Leicester Riders – as usual are at the right end of the table and will likely stay up there till April. Having said that, are not yet as convincing as we have come to expect.
London Lions – appear to be more team-orientated than in previous years, but Lions just always seem to blow up at some point.
Manchester Giants – aside from stunning Cheshire, have struggled. We meet them on Sunday so surely that’s our opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Newcastle Eagles – the standard to aspire to.
Plymouth Raiders – now re-building after some hideous recent years.
Sheffield Sharks – our upcoming Cup opponents are undoubtedly doughty but definitely defeatable.
Surrey Scorchers – once more in a pattern of win a few, lose a few more.
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Post by Solly on Nov 2, 2020 14:27:57 GMT
And, despite a bright beginning, Worcester duly got pasted by evergreen Leicester Riders 
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Friday 17 November 2017
Worcester Wolves 71–94 Leicester Riders
Worcester Wolves came up against one of the British Basketball League’s perennial contenders, the Leicester Riders, on Friday at the University of Worcester Arena.
Despite an initially-hopeful performance, Wolves were eventually overwhelmed by the superior depth of Riders’ squad, succumbing to a 71-94 defeat.
Worcester surprised their visitors by blitzing to a 28-15 first quarter lead. But by half-time Leicester had already overturned the advantage, going on to thoroughly sweep aside their hosts by the close of play.
Coach Paul James confirmed what had taken place, saying:
“We had the better of matters early on but once Leicester turned up their defence we got away from what had got us our lead. We took a lot of bad shots and paid the price.”
It was an all-action start for Worcester. Ashton Khan stole the ball and slotted home the opening score. Trayvon Palmer did likewise, Brandon Parrish floated home from outside and Khan produced a circus spin to round off a stunning 28-12 advantage.
It was 35-21 after a double of baskets from George Beamon six minutes before half-time. However, a rapid-fire trio of Leicester three-pointers in less than a minute suddenly switched the momentum.
A time out was called but Riders’ captain Tyler Bernadini sank his second triple and once JR Holder did the same it was all-square at 44-44.
Leicester’s Pierre Hampton notched the first seven points of the second half, taking his side into a 55-46 lead. It took nearly four minutes for Worcester to reply.
A combination of wayward shooting and brittleness in defence now meant there was no way back for Wolves. Leicester’s recent re-signing Trayvonn Wright found successive open paths to the hoop for easy dunks to set the seal on the defeat.
Palmer and Beamon led the home scorers with 17 and 14 points respectively.
Worcester travel to lowly Manchester Giants this Sunday, (tip off 5pm), hoping to get back to winning ways.
“Sunday is pretty much a must-win match for us. We need to put today to one side and make sure we perform for the full forty minutes in Manchester,” added James.
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Post by Solly on Nov 4, 2020 14:27:08 GMT
And of course when you really need a W its good to play the likes of Manchester (or Surrey  ).
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Sunday 19 November 2017
Manchester Giants 86–97 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves notched their second win in this season’s British Basketball League after a confident 97-86 success at Manchester Giants on Sunday.
Wolves nudged ahead of their hosts towards the close of the first quarter, built a double-digit lead by half-time and surged away after the break.
Giants forward David Kadiri grabbed eight points as his side led 14-10 in the early going.
Wolves’ George Beamon drew gasps from the crowd with a shake-and-bake dribble that caused his mesmerised defender to drop to the floor, before kicking the ball out for the returning Elvisi Dusha to sink a three-pointer.
Another clever Beamon assist, this time to Alex Navajas, and a couple of points of his own, put Wolves 23-16 to the good going into the second period.
The all-action Beamon supplied a trio of gifts for Dallin Bachynski to convert before Dusha joined him in the assists tally. Dusha drew opponents towards him but passed out to an open Dominic Ives who coolly accepted the present.
A 46-35 interval advantage was more than doubled over the next three minutes. Triples from Brandon Parrish and Navajas sat either side of an impressive coast-to-coast basket from Trayvon Palmer.
Entering the final quarter already comfortably ahead 71-52, Worcester’s control continued with sturdy defence and metronomic scoring for Bachynski on the inside accompanied by numerous dashes to the hoop from Ashton Khan.
Coach Paul James expressed his pleasure at the victory, saying:
“This was a must-win game for us. We did a good job of conbasketball kiting the tempo, playing with discipline on both offense and defence.”
Bachynski totalled a season-high 22 points, as well as grabbing 13 rebounds, leaving James to praise his seven-foot centre’s performance, saying:
“That was great from Dallin. There’s not too many bigs in this league with his size and strength so it was great that he made it count today. He can do that every game.”
Palmer and Beamon logged 18 and 16 points respectively, followed by Khan with 14.
Wolves are on the road again next Sunday, 26 November, at Surrey Scorchers.
“Surrey will be tough, but we’ve had a confidence-booster today and need to carry this form over to next weekend,” added James.
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Post by Solly on Nov 6, 2020 10:42:47 GMT
And, as expected, a trip to Surrey duly delivered another W for Worcester 
Dusha had a good game.
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Sunday 26 November 2017
Surrey Scorchers 61-76 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves rattled to their second road win in a row after a 76-61 victory at Surrey Scorchers on Sunday with a performance hailed as outstanding by their coach Paul James.
Wolves blasted out to a fifteen-point first quarter lead, maintained the advantage until half-time, before putting their foot on the gas again to surge out to an overwhelming 59-33 by the end of the third period.
“We executed our game plan superbly,” said James. “We planned to control the tempo of the game and conserve our energy, and that’s just what we did.
“To hold Surrey to only eleven points in the first quarter and nine in the third was an outstanding display of composure.
“We focussed on limiting them to single shots in their attacks and, aside from easing off in the last quarter, our defence was spot on.”
It was 6-6 at midway through the opening period before Wolves exploded into action. Alex Navajas sank a three-pointer to break the tie and Elvisi Dusha impacted immediately from the bench with a steal and a subsequent score.
Dusha’s next involvement was to lay on a triple for George Beamon, before attempting his own shot from afar. Even when Dusha’s attempt went astray, Dallin Bachynski was first to the rebound and put-back for a 16-7 lead.
Beamon, Dusha and Navajas all further increased their points tallies to finalise a dominant 26-11 first quarter.
It would take nearly six minutes for Scorchers to progress their side of the scoreboard, by which time their visitors had accelerated into a 33-13 advantage.
By five minutes into the second-half Wolves still held control at 51-26. Repeated Surrey attacks were nullified by intensity on defence. As their inability to penetrate grew, so their frustration translated into poor passes and shot-clock violations.
Former Worcester guard Caylin Raftopoulas shone briefly for his team with a trio of three-pointers but could not prevent Wolves’ cruise to overall victory.
Beamon, Dusha and Navajas led the scoring with 14 points apiece, supported by 11 points for Bachynski and 10 for Brandon Parrish.
Dusha’s display also included three steals and half-a-dozen assists, drawing praise from James, saying:
“That was Elvisi’s best game in a Wolves vest. He was disciplined and got the right passes to the right places.”
Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday 01 December (tip off 7.30) to greet Plymouth Raiders.
“We’re going to prepare well again for our next match. We worked very hard last week in our preparations and it paid off.
“We’re now coming back to Worcester with two wins in the bag and want to give our home fans another performance to cheer about on Friday,” added James
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Post by Solly on Nov 8, 2020 12:03:07 GMT
And I was getting all Kelley & Sheets in describing Wolves' win at Manchester in my next programme article.
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Several layers and a ridiculous two coats were needed for me to keep warm at a ludicrously chilly Manchester Giants a couple of weeks ago…
Fortunately our players had no need for similar wrapping in order to be hot enough to secure just our second league win of the season.
Following on from our (short-handed) reversal against Leicester a couple of days earlier, we again trailed. But at a few minutes left in the opening quarter George Beamon and the back-from-injury Elvisi Dusha joined the action.
George then presented a move that I hope he can at some point reproduce for all of our home fans to also witness. A hypnotic swish of the ball from side-to-side had his sorry Manchester defender’s legs in tangles and doing a dying fly. Out goes a bullet pass for Elvisi to sink a three and we were off and running.
By HT we were up 46-35 and surging. Trayvon and Ashton are dancing, Dallin and Alex are prancing and Brandon Parrish could, if he wished, even spend his time romancing, such was our control.
71-52 at Q3 made it easy enough for us to saunter to the final 97-86 scoreline. I’m so pleased that I made the decision to suffer the chill in order to view the brill.
The individual rundown –
Brandon Parrish – 9pts, 3 x 3ptrs. Conbasketball kited.
George Beamon – 16pts, 9 assists. Dazzling.
Alex Navajas – 11pts, 5 rebounds. Solid.
Trayvon Palmer – 18pts, 7 rebounds. Tireless.
Ashton Khan – 14pts, 6 assists. Effervescent.
Dallin Bachynski – 22pts, 13 rebounds. The big man filled his boots.
Elvisi Dusha – 5pts, 7 assists. Welcome return.
Dominic Ives – 2pts. Contributed.
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Post by Solly on Nov 10, 2020 10:29:52 GMT
And Wolves repelled Raiders, as excitement built about a possible trip to the Cup Final.
Robert Gilchrist had an impactful debut.
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Friday 01 December 2017
Worcester Wolves 97–90 Plymouth Raiders
Worcester Wolves secured a hat-trick of consecutive victories after surviving a rollercoaster encounter against Plymouth Raiders at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
Wolves roared back from a double-figure first quarter deficit to lead by half-time. An indifferent third period saw them again fall behind before recovering to eventually emerge as 97-90 victors.
It took more than two minutes for Worcester to get on the scoreboard. By midway through the opening quarter they were already looking up at an 18-6 Plymouth lead.
New signing Robert Gilchrist was introduced to home fans with several trips to the foul line as Wolves toiled to keep in touch, trailing 17-28 by the end of the period.
Dallin Bachynski sank a rare three-pointer to spark a revival. Six points apiece for Trayvon Palmer and George Beamon, coupled with swarming defence, dragged matters back to 35-35 four minutes before the interval.
Bachynski rejected an attack from his fellow seven-footer Zak Wells, setting up a move-ahead triple from Alex Navajas.
The sides were once more tied at 44-44 in the first minute of the second half. The big man excitement continued when Bachynski thundered past defenders for a powerful one-handed dunk.
As the third quarter wound down Raiders were again in front at 66-58, before a Gilchrist basket and a skilful Palmer three as he fell backwards closed the scores.
Elvisi Dusha was also on target from distance as the final quarter began with a 66-66 tie. The back-and-forth continued with another Wells drive edging Plymouth 82-81 ahead with four minutes to go.
Ashton Khan danced to the hoop to regain Worcester’s advantage. Unable to curtail Khan’s speed, Raiders were forced to repeatedly foul Wolves’ captain, allowing him to seal the win from the free-throw line.
Coach Paul James declared his relief at securing the victory, saying:
“Plymouth like to run. We had a plan to slow them down and that’s something we clearly didn’t do in the first quarter.
“But we got better as the game went on. Plymouth just wouldn’t go away. I’m thankful that we got the win.”
In a night of balanced scoring Palmer led the way with 19 points, followed by Bachynski with 15 points and Gilchrist on 14.
Khan, Beamon and Navajas counted down with 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.
Gilchrist also tallied eight rebounds and four blocked shots, drawing praise from James for an imposing debut, saying:
“Robert only arrived today but was able to make an immediate impact. He did great things for the team, especially defensively.”
Wolves will be back at the University of Worcester Arena next Friday 08 December (tip off 7.30) for the first leg of their BBL Cup semi-final against Sheffield Sharks.
James added: “Everyone is really excited about the chance to make a final just up the road in Birmingham. We’ll prepare well and get Robert more into the mix.
“The crowd today were great in keeping the faith and giving us the energy we needed to get over the line.
“We’ll obviously be looking to get a decent lead to take up to Sheffield for the second leg.”
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Post by Solly on Nov 13, 2020 11:08:01 GMT
And here was my programme article ahead of the Sheffield Cup semi first leg.
I was (almost) as excited at the prospect of a trip to the NIA as I am today at the Sky announcement.
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Three wins in a row, let’s make it four on the door with tonight’s big game…
After our (almost-traditional) disappointing start to a season I was thinking we would miss out yet again on an opportunity to visit Birmingham for the Cup Final – I’ve visited the National Indoor Arena so many times for finals, but unfortunately only ever as a neutral.
Now is the chance though, especially as we are on a winning streak, topped off by last Friday’s thriller against Plymouth.
The week before Raiders subjected Newcastle to their first league defeat of the season so I was already cautious about our chances. When they carried on their momentum by hammering a 27-8 lead onto us within the first few minutes, a W looked increasingly unlikely.
We might have bended, but we didn’t fold. Dallin floats in a three, rejects his fellow seven-footer Zak Wells, and then powers in a one-handed dunk. Game faces on. Triples raining in from all over the show and we’ve reversed matters for 44-39 by HT.
A bit of a wobble in Q3, but new man Robert is joining in with Dallin and Alex in the big man moves. Our smaller guys are also pulsing, such that we manage an exciting 97-90 victory by the end of a right up-and-downer.
The individual breakdown –
Brandon Parrish – 9pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists. All-rounder.
George Beamon – 11pts. Exciter.
Alex Navajas – 10pts, 7 rebounds. Dependable.
Trayvon Palmer – 19pts, 7 rebounds, 4 x 3ptrs. Valuable.
Robert Gilchrist – 14pts, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks. Impressive debut.
Ashton Khan – 12pts, 8-8 FT. Calm.
Dallin Bachynski – 15pts, 8 rebounds. Inspiring.
Elvisi Dusha – 7pts, 10 assists. Trustworthy.
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Post by Solly on Nov 15, 2020 12:50:44 GMT
And here's my report of that Cup semi first-leg vs Sharks.
Exciting days...
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Friday 08 December 2017
Worcester Wolves 102–92 Sheffield Sharks
Worcester Wolves have given themselves a great chance of a trip to Arena Birmingham for January’s BBL Cup Final after posting a gutsy 102-92 win over Sheffield Sharks on Friday.
After stumbling in the early going to fall behind by as many as eleven points, Wolves responded to the urgings of a big University of Worcester Arena crowd to drag themselves back into their semi-final first leg encounter.
By the match’s final minute Wolves had nudged 93-90 ahead before an exciting late burst of scoring achieved a much more comfortable double-digit advantage to take to Sheffield for the return meeting on 20 December.
Ashton Khan drove confidently to the hoop to open the evening. Dallin Bachynski showed similar spirit when leaving his defender sprawled on the floor following a ferocious dunk.
A pair of three-pointers apiece for Khan and for Trayvon Palmer aided a 23-20 first quarter edge.
Similar long-distance accuracy from Sharks forward Dirk Williams reversed the lead. By midway through the second period Worcester trailed 30-41.
A quick seven points for George Beamon narrowed the deficit to 47-50 but veteran forward Mike Tuck was then allowed to rise highest from a thong of players to dull the revival as the first half closed.
Inside success for Bachynski and recent signing Robert Gilchrist chipped away at Sheffield’s lead. Entering the final quarter the sides were tied at 75-75.
It was now Wolves’ turn to take charge. A double of Beamon scores sat either side of more baskets for Gilchrist and Bachynski, while Sharks were held scoreless for over three minutes.
After Williams’ impressive seventh triple of the evening the tie was once more in the balance as the game clock wound down. Palmer was on the mark and also profited from a Beamon steal for a 98-92 lead with 30 seconds left.
Sheffield called a time out to set up a final possession and limit the bleeding. However, a double of turnovers instead widened the wound.
Khan gleefully took a lay-up with 21 seconds to go and was the man with his hand in the right place moments later. A final Palmer shot went astray but Beamon pogoed upwards to tip it back in at the hooter.
Coach Paul James praised the determination of his team, saying:
“We had an indifferent first half but got going after the break. We stressed all week that we wanted to build a decent lead but didn’t want to lose it by forcing plays.
“I’m really pleased with our efforts at the end to get those extra baskets and give us a good lead to take back to Sheffield. The guys just wanted it so bad today.”
In another night of balanced Wolves scoring, Palmer and Beamon led the way with 24 and 20 points respectively. Brandon Parrish tallied 16 points, closely followed by Khan on 15. Bachynski notched 13 points.
Wolves will be back at the University of Worcester Arena next Friday 15 December (tip off 7.30) to greet Leeds Force.
Before that Wolves travel to Team Northumbria this Sunday (6.30) in the first round of the BBL Trophy.
Asked if he will now need to calm down his team for a match against a side playing in a lower division, James responded:
“No. I want my players to be hungry, I want them to be feisty and I want them to fight like dogs. We want to go up to Northumbria on Sunday and complete a perfect weekend.”
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Post by Solly on Nov 17, 2020 10:46:53 GMT
And it was a straightforward Trophy win in Northumbria.
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Sunday 10 December 2017
Team Northumbria 63-93 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves overcame the potential banana-skin of a visit to last season’s Division One winners, Team Northumbria, to move into the last eight of the BBL Trophy on Sunday.
After allowing their hosts to reduce a fifteen-point half-time lead to just 51-44 as the second half began, Wolves produced a stunning 13-0 run to re-assert their authority on the way to a comfortable 93-63 final outcome.
University of Worcester graduate Siman Stewart opened Northumbria’s scoring. Wolves took aim from the outside to float in five three-pointers in a 26-22 first quarter lead.
Robert Gilchrist notched three baskets in a row, Ashton Khan spun around beneath the hoop and Dallin Bachynski slammed home a dunk as the advantage widened to 49-34 by the interval.
Eight unanswered points from Northumbria guard Blayne Freckleton briefly appeared to threaten Worcester’s control. But the visitors responded by turning up their defensive intensity to contain Northumbria to just four further points in the last seven minutes of the third quarter.
Already dominating at 71-48 as the final period began, Wolves once more placed a lid over their basket, while dancing to multiple successes at the other end of the court. Two George Beamon triples rounded out a decisive 88-50 scoreboard with six minutes left in the evening.
Gilchrist and Bachynski had their way on the inside, the former posting 18 points and 12 rebounds and the latter 14 and 11. Beamon sunk 15 points, with Khan and Brandon Parrish both tallying 13 points.
Coach Paul James declared his satisfaction with the win, saying:
“We gave Northumbria the respect they deserve for what they have achieved in their league. They came back at us once or twice but I always felt we could move up a gear whenever we had to.
“We had a chance to try out some different schemes and new plays, so I’m really pleased that we could do that and still come away with a good win.”
Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday 15 December (tip off 7.30) to greet Leeds Force.
“The players will get some rest after a long trip and we’ll then make sure we do our homework ready for Leeds,” added James.
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Post by Solly on Nov 18, 2020 16:30:58 GMT
And here was my programme article reflection on the Cup semi first-leg vs Sheffield, ahead of what I expected to be a routine night vs Leeds.
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Ten points in the bag for next Wednesday’s second leg semi in Sheffield – will it be enough to push us over the line for a January trip to Birmingham…
Sheffield came to our house last Friday having only lost to perennial contenders Newcastle and Leicester since the first day of the season. But we have also been on song lately.
Some nice moves early doors. Ashton and Trayvon sinking threes and Dallin trampling on Mike Tuck for a powerful dunk. However our fluency was off, resulting in a 37-48 deficit pre-HT.
Post-break we got our rhythm. Brandon hitting from outside and Dallin and Robert pounding away inside to tie things up at 75-75 entering Q4.
A 9-0 surge to begin the period had us on our feet. Sharks returned the punches to limit us to a mere 95-92 edge at a minute and change left.
Not a great lead I thought, but certainly better than what we have often experienced in first legs of the past.
But then we go off on one.
A triple for Trayvon and Sheffield fumble what might have been the last possession. Two more points for Ashton and incredibly Sheffield give the ball up again. Trayvon’s shot misses but George is the man of the moment to tip it back in at the hooter. 102-92. Smashing.
The breakdown –
Brandon Parrish – 16pts, 4 x 3ptrs. Threatening.
George Beamon – 20pts, 7 rebounds. Buzz-saw.
Alex Navajas – 5pts. Contributed.
Robert Gilchrist – 9pts, 7 rebounds. Ditto.
Trayvon Palmer – 24pts, 6 rebounds, 5 x 3ptrs. Unstoppable.
Ashton Khan – 15pts, 6 assists. Feisty.
Dallin Bachynski – 13pts, 7 rebounds. Doing work.
Elvisi Dusha – Nil pts, 8 assists. Valuable.
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Post by Solly on Nov 20, 2020 11:56:47 GMT
And, of course, it was a routine dismissal of a severely-overmatched Leeds Force.
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Friday 15 December 2017
Worcester Wolves 122–66 Leeds Force
Worcester Wolves prepared for next Wednesday’s BBL Cup semi-final at Sheffield Sharks by walloping basement club Leeds Force at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
Wolves raced into a double figure lead within the opening minutes of the match, thumped in an overwhelming 47-16 second quarter and had already hit a century of points by the third quarter, before easing to their final 122-66 victory.
Trayvon Palmer was the feature of a lively start to the night, taking a behind-the-back assist from Brandon Parrish for the first of an exciting half-dozen early baskets.
Parrish’s confidence continued when he was able to beat everyone to the rebound of his own missed long-range shot and finalise a 36-20 initial quarter advantage.
Not to be outdone by his fellow Americans, George Beamon then held the spotlight to rattle in six second period scores.
Guards Ashton Khan and Elvisi Dusha took turns to sink three-pointers while Dallin Bachynski and Robert Gilchrist had their way close to the hoop.
A commanding 73-36 interval lead was not enough for a Worcester side overflowing with belief. Multiple Leeds turnovers were converted into easy breakaway dunks.
A turnaround jumper from Gilchrist brought up a 100-50 score-line before the third period had expired. Bench players Dominic Ives, Zach Noble and Demi Ogunbona were given useful court time as Wolves sauntered through the final quarter.
Beamon led Wolves scoring with 25 points, followed by 18 points apiece for Palmer and Dusha. Bachynski posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Khan also shone statistically with 13 points and 12 assists.
Coach Paul James was content with his team’s fifth successive win, saying:
“We carried on the style of basketball that has been working for us. Leeds are not the force they were, but it was important that we did not play down to their level.”
Worcester’s focus is now switching to next week’s vital trip to Sheffield as they carry forward a 102-92 first-leg edge, hoping to progress to meet Cheshire Phoenix at Arena Birmingham in January.
James added: “We’re going up there to win. If we start thinking about hanging on to a lead we could lose the tie altogether. London gave up a 13-point first-leg lead in their semi against Cheshire so there is no way we want to fall into the same position.”
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Post by Solly on Nov 23, 2020 14:26:55 GMT
And Wolves not only held onto the Cup first-leg lead, but extended it.
I was so so thrilled that day.
And, in basketball terms, the travelling support was huge, almost filling the far side of the EIS. And on a school night as well.
Shame there don't seem to be any Sheffield fans on WhatBev to supply their POV on what occurred.
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Wednesday 20 December 2017
Sheffield Sharks 65–71 Worcester Wolves
A large band of travelling Worcester Wolves fans were sent into raptures of delight after witnessing their team storm through to January’s BBL Cup Final in Birmingham.
Wolves took a 102-92 first leg advantage into their deciding second leg semi-final at Sheffield Sharks on Wednesday and duly increased their aggregate score to 173-157, following a thrilling 71-65 victory.
Coach Paul James emerged from the post-match celebrations to describe his delight at seeing his side give themselves a chance of their first silverware since Playoff Final success at Wembley Arena in 2014, saying:
“Everyone so wanted this, we’re ecstatic. Our mind-set was always to come here for the win and not just rely on our first-leg lead.
“We’ve put a really good team together this year and I’m just so pleased to see some reward for everyone who has contributed to the club.
“I especially can’t thank the people enough who travelled up to Sheffield. They made it almost like a home game for us. They silenced the Sheffield supporters and gave us a big lift.
“When we came out on court and saw how many people were behind us it made us even more determined to win.
“Hopefully when we go to Birmingham next month it’s going to be a massive Worcester contingent there to see us get the job done.”
Wolves opened the evening in blistering fashion. Dallin Bachynski swatted away Sheffield’s first shot attempt before slamming the ball home at the other end. Two more baskets for the Worcester centre prompted a Sharks timeout after barely a couple of minutes had elapsed.
It would take five minutes before the hosts could score from the field, by which time Wolves led 14-4 to double their aggregate advantage.
Sharks put forward their own scoring burst to edge 17-16 ahead at the close of the first quarter and a more even contest now ensued.
Five points from Trayvon Palmer moved Wolves back in front, before Sheffield veteran Mike Tuck levelled matters at 21-21.
The teams were still tied together at 31-31 before Wolves’ Captain Ashton Khan nudged his side ahead at the half-time break.
The visitors threatened to break away at 37-31 after another Khan basket, but consecutive Sharks three-pointers once more closed the gap.
Worcester fans were brought to their feet as the last quarter opened when Robert Gilchrist threw down a ferocious alley-oop after an across-the-court lob by Elvisi Dusha.
Teamwork again came to the fore midway through the period. A mesmerising assist from Bachynski froze Sheffield defenders and allowed a wide-open dunk for Palmer, pushing Wolves 61-56 ahead.
Alex Navajas chose to introduce himself to the scoreboard with just three minutes to go and his side now bouncing to an almost-decisive 66-58 advantage.
Any lingering doubts about victory were dispelled when repeated optimistic long-range Sheffield attempts went awry and submission was finally accepted.
Palmer led the scoring with 18 points, followed by Bachynski with 14. Khan and George Beamon tallied ten points apiece.
Wolves will face a quick double of post-Xmas matches next week. On Thursday 28 December they travel to Plymouth Raiders before returning to the University of Worcester Arena the next day, Friday 29 December, (tip off 7.30), to greet Surrey Scorchers.
“The players will now have a few days off but will then get ready for two important games. We want to finish this month off in the right way," added James.
“We’re not satisfied yet with what we’ve done so far. We want to round out 2017 with two really good wins.”
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Post by Solly on Nov 25, 2020 10:54:12 GMT
And a late comeback saw off Plymouth.
Mrs S is already chuntering about putting up this years Xmas tree - I'd prefer none at all.
Last year we went abroad on a ( turkey and tinsel  ) pre-Xmas break. Only got back on about the 22/23 Dec, meaning I only had to agree to a stumpy plug-in one 
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Thursday 28 December 2017
Plymouth Raiders 83–86 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves continued their fine run of form by rolling to their seventh consecutive win when visiting Plymouth Raiders in the British Basketball League on Thursday.
There was little between the teams for most of the contest. With six minutes to play an Alex Navajas three-pointer looked to have established some daylight for Wolves at 72-65.
But Plymouth would not be cowed, overturning their visitors lead to push 80-75 ahead with a couple of minutes remaining.
Five quick points for Brandon Parrish levelled matters and, on a night when Worcester managed to miss a disappointing ten free throws, Navajas held his nerve on four trips to the foul line to give his side the final edge at 86-83.
Coach Paul James declared his satisfaction with the victory, saying: “It was certainly a match that ebbed and flowed, but I’m delighted that we came out on top in the end.
“We conbasketball kited large parts of the game, had a couple of spells of sloppiness, but got hold of things again and saw out a tense finish.”
Wolves had fallen 18-23 behind by the close of the first quarter as Plymouth guard Neil Watson sank a trio of three-pointers.
An unanswered double of scores for George Beamon and a Robert Gilchrist slam-dunk reversed the lead and had Raiders calling a time-out.
Daliin Bachynski palled up with Gilchrist to command the space close to both baskets. The former tipped home successive offensive rebounds while the latter revelled in rejecting the attacks of Plymouth’s seven-foot Zak Wells.
By just a couple of minutes into the second half, Worcester floor-general Elvisi Dusha had already accumulated his tenth assist when presenting a gift for Bachynski to jam home for a 50-43 advantage.
By the end of the third period the combatants had once more closed together with Wolves holding a mere 61-60 edge, setting the scene for the evening’s nervous finale.
Seven Wolves players tallied double-figure statistics. Beamon led the way with 24 points, followed by Gilchrist on 16 and Brandon Parrish on 12. Bachynski and Navajas grabbed 11 points apiece while Trayvon Palmer notched 10.
The spread of scoring, coupled with Dusha’s final count of 14 assists, had James praising his side’s team-ethic, saying: “Everyone played their part, everyone contributed and everyone got their reward.”
Wolves face their second match in as many days when welcoming Surrey Scorchers to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday (tip off 7.30).
James added: “Plymouth had a full house today. We’re looking for a big crowd of our own back in Worcester. Surrey can be dangerous, but we just need to keep playing like we have been in our winning run.
“We want to round out 2017 the right way with another win.”
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Post by Solly on Nov 27, 2020 11:58:31 GMT
And the Christmas-time reminiscences continue with my article for the Surrey programme.
Cracker jokes - the one in my article has made me laugh heartily again just now 
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Why do basketball players make a mess of eating their Christmas dinner – because they’re always dribbling…
That’s the cracker joke out of the way, so I can now reflect on the belter of a beating we put on Leeds Force a couple of Friday’s back.
122-66. Just a whisker outside our highest-ever winning margin of 57 points against a previous incarnation of today’s visitors, Surrey United, back in 2013.
Given that we came into the match on a four-game winning run, and that Leeds were bottom of the league with an unfortunate 1-11 record, I felt confident of the W. But perhaps only by a dozen or so points.
The tone was set early as Ashton took advantage of a Leeds fumble and Brandon had enough comfort for a behind-the-back assist for Trayvon.
Threes raining in from all over the shop and dunks-a-plenty had the match already decided by half-time at a whopping 73-36 smackdown.
The century came up before the end of the third quarter, allowing us to sbasketball kit to the final hooter.
Returning to cracker jokes, PJ remarked after the game that Leeds are not the ‘force’ they once were…ho, ho, ho.
The breakdown –
Brandon Parrish – 14pts. Tidy.
George Beamon – 25pts, 8 assists. Smash n grab.
Robert Gilchrist – 15pts, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks. Solid.
Trayvon Palmer – 18pts, 4 x 3ptrs. Dangerous.
Ashton Khan – 13pts, 12 assists. Everywhere.
Dallin Bachynski – 14pts, 10 rebounds. Get out of his way.
Elvisi Dusha – 18pts, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 x 3ptrs. Up for it.
Dominic Ives – 5pts, 4 rebounds. Contributed.
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Post by Solly on Nov 29, 2020 12:39:27 GMT
And, as expected, the visit of Surrey brought another W, albeit that it was a close call or even, some might say, a "Christmas cracker" of a game
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Friday 29 December 2017
Worcester Wolves 81-79 Surrey Scorchers
Worcester Wolves followed up Thursday’s success at Plymouth Raiders with a thrilling 81-79 victory over Surrey Scorchers on Friday that was labelled by their coach Paul James as ‘ugly’.
A big festive crowd at the University of Worcester Arena were forced to bite their nails watching Surrey have a chance to take the win in the dying seconds before they fumbled possession, allowing Wolves to rise to fifth place in the British Basketball League with a 7-5 win-loss record.
“It wasn’t pleasant at the end,” admitted James. “We never really got out of first gear but we still managed to grind out an ugly win.”
“We put in a good show last night at Plymouth but, just like today, we were up against a tough physical opponent. We didn’t get back to Worcester until the early hours and we were tired.
“It wasn’t our best performance today but the players stuck at it and found a way to get the win. That shows the mettle of our team and our mental toughness.”
Wolves centre Dallin Bachynski stood out in the early going. After opening his account with a three-pointer he converted a series of assists from Elvisi Dusha.
Trayvon Palmer spun around like a spiralizer taking care of the Christmas carrots for a circus basket. When his bonus free throw went awry it was Bachynski who thrust everyone aside to grab the put-back rebound and put Worcester 16-8 to the good.
At the close of the first quarter the hosts led 29-18, but Surrey reduced the arrears with a triple from former Wolves guard Caylin Raftopoulos. By half-time the advantage had been slashed to 39-37.
With Surrey turning up their defensive intensity, Wolves’ offenses stuttered. By the close of the third period the hosts trailed 57-60.
Two more Raftopoulos triples helped push Scorchers out to a 73-67 lead by midway through the final quarter.
A double of scores from Brandon Parrish kept Wolves in touch but a long-ranger from one-time Worcester favourite Alex Owumi maintained a 78-75 edge for Surrey with two minutes remaining.
Robert Gilchrist powered forward to level the contest and George Beamon took advantage of a Tony Hicks turnover to put Wolves 80-78 in front.
Hicks had the chance to once more tie things up but missed one of two free throws and was the man lying on the floor at the end as he stumbled into defenders to gift Wolves the win.
Bachynski delighted in a 23 point and 15 rebound double-double display. Parrish put forward 16 points, followed by 14 points apiece for Palmer and Beamon and 11 for Gilchrist.
Wolves are next in action at top-of-the-table Leicester Riders on Saturday 6 January, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 12 December (tip off 7.30) to greet Bristol Flyers.
“We’re going to enjoy how we’ve ended this year but then get back to work to ensure we give a good account of ourselves in Leicester,” added James.
“We’ve had a fantastic run of wins to end 2017 and we’re going to keep the hard work going in 2018.”
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Post by Solly on Dec 1, 2020 15:17:46 GMT
And a short-roster finally ended Wolves' long unbeaten run early in 2018, at Riders.
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Saturday 06 January 2018
Leicester Riders 91–82 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves’ nine-match winning streak finally ended on Saturday at the home of the Leicester Riders, the last team to beat them, back in November.
In their previous encounter with Riders the Wolves succumbed to a heavy 71-94 reversal. This meeting was a much more even affair, with the leaders of the British Basketball League grateful to escape with a 91-82 victory.
Worcester were unable to get in front of their hosts until the close of the third quarter after nine unanswered points had boosted them into a dizzy 75-66 lead.
However, a dearth of scoring from the visitors over the last eight minutes of the match saw Leicester take the spoils.
Coach Paul James was disappointed about the defeat, saying:
“I thought we’d prepared well for the game, but then we didn’t carry out what we had worked on and dug ourselves a hole. We came back really well in the third quarter but then dipped again.
“Brandon (Parrish) picked up an ankle injury which put us down to a six-man rotation. Some fatigue set in towards the end and Leicester took advantage.
“Additionally, I’m really disappointed with some of the calls we didn’t get down the stretch. We fought to the end but it’s a tough loss.”
Dallin Bachynski was the sole Wolves scorer for the opening seven minutes, slotting in an impressive ten points but seeing his side struggle to a 20-31 deficit entering the second quarter.
Leicester’s JR Holder sank his fourth three-pointer of the evening and saw his fellow forward Shane Walker also on target from distance to maximise the host’s advantage at 49-35 with three minutes to go until half-time.
Bachynski floated in a triple as the first half ended, inspiring a stunning switch in momentum after the interval. Trayvon Palmer and George Beamon both connected and the former provided a clever assist for Bachynski to flush through the hoop.
Robert Gilchrist rejected a Leicester shot attempt before converting a crowd-pleasing alley-oop from an Elvisi Dusha lob, tying the sides at 54-54.
Dusha gave Worcester their first lead at 69-66.
With four minutes of the evening remaining the scoreboard was again level at 79-79, but with a closely-officiated Wolves now being disadvantaged by carrying a team-foul penalty which would gift their opponent two free throws for every further infraction.
Worcester now faltered on offense and Leicester indeed converted a series of free throws to seal their thirteen win of the season versus just a single defeat.
Bachynski dominated Wolves’ scoring with 31 points, followed by Beamon and Palmer on 19 and 17 points respectively.
Worcester return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday 12 January (tip off 7.30) to greet Bristol Flyers.
James added: “We’ll need to take our game up a level. We’ll prepare for what will hopefully be the start of another winning run.”
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Post by Solly on Dec 3, 2020 11:27:39 GMT
And, ahead of the Jan 18 hosting of Bristol, here were my programme reflection on the wonderful Christmas wonderland tip to Sharks.
Who can forget James Life?
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How many of you were at Sheffield a few weeks back?
If you were unable to make the trip, you missed out on one helluva I-was-there experience.
But never mind, you can instead soon make the much-shorter journey up to Birmingham for what is hopefully another fabulous event.
On all my previous trips to Sheffield there has rarely been more than one or two travelling fans. For those of you that can remember (King) James Life, I can recollect one match at Sharks when he jumped into the visiting fans section for celebratory high- fives. He wasn’t in there for long, even if everyone presented both hands to him 
What a contrast our latest visit was. Apart from our relatively-local matches at Leicester and Bristol (and our 2014 Trophy/Playoff successes), this was easily the largest travelling Worcester support I have seen.
Already carrying a handy ten-point lead, our aggregate advantage was doubled within the first five minutes. We had Sharks rattled.
Although our hosts pulled us back to a mere 33-31 HT edge, they never recovered from our initial shock tactics, relying overly on three-pointers when their inside attacks were repulsed.
The match stayed tight until the closing minutes. But we showed no weakness, disregarding that we had the overall score in the bag, we kept pushing for another W. 71-65 and the Worcester massive were up and dancing.
The breakdown –
George Beamon – 10pts. Dangerous.
Alex Navajas – 4pts, 6 rebounds, 6 assists. Reliable.
Robert Gilchrist – 8pts. Played a part.
Brandon Parrish – Nil pts. Ditto.
Trayvon Palmer – 18pts, 3 x 3ptrs. Wonderful.
Ashton Khan – 10pts. Contributed.
Dallin Bachynski – 14pts, 7 rebounds. Determined.
Elvisi Dusha – 7pts, 4 assists. Worker.
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Post by Solly on Dec 6, 2020 11:08:20 GMT
And a comfortable win was achieved against Bristol.
Mike Ojo had a tidy time - funny how players often sparkle on their (mid-season) debuts but often dim soon afterwards...
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Friday 12 January 2018
Worcester Wolves 91–76 Bristol Flyers
Worcester Wolves secured their tenth win from their last eleven outings as they sbasketball kited to a comfortable 91-76 win over Bristol Flyers at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
Boosted by a sparkling 19-point debut from new-signing Michael Ojo, Wolves led from start to finish, always having enough in the tank to keep their visitors at bay.
Elvisi Dusha was another player making a sizeable impact on the stat-sheet, totalling a career-high 17 assists. By six minutes into the match he had already laid on a quartet of passes for his team mates to convert, before stepping aside for Ojo to take to the court.
Ojo’s first action was to set up a three-pointer for Dallin Bachynski. A 15-11 lead widened out to 27-19 by the close of the opening quarter.
Robert Gilchrist set out his stall on defence by swatting away former Worcester guard Roy Owen’s first shot attempt. Forming a circus-strongman tandem with Bachynski, the Wolves big men muscled to repeated close-to-the-basket scores.
At three minutes remaining in the half Ojo sank a tidy jumper from the left-corner for his first points in a Wolves vest. By the interval he had quickly slotted in seven further points to aid a healthy 53-44 advantage.
It would take nearly four minutes after the break for Bristol to progress their side of the scoreboard. In the meantime Bachynski kept rolling offensively, taking an alley-oop pass from Dusha and spotting an unguarded Alex Navajas when Flyers flapped to vainly double-team him.
The third period ended with Worcester firmly in control at 74-61, allowing Coach Paul James to rotate his troops over the final quarter and coast to the victory.
By the final hooter Bachynski had posted another of his by-now-traditional double-doubles, with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Ojo’s 19 points were matched by Gilchrist, who also put forward an intimidating five blocked shots.
James declared his satisfaction, saying: “That was a fine team display. We stayed in control and I never doubted that we would get the win.”
Pressed about individual performances, James replied: “Even though Michael was still getting his legs back after flying in from California he still had a great game. He only showed us a glimpse of what he can do.
“Dallin and Robert dominated inside. Dallin has really improved as the season has gone on and he’s become more aggressive.
“Dusha is doing what I brought him here to do. He’s running the team and being a facilitator.”
Wolves travel to Cheshire Phoenix this Sunday (tip off 5.30) for a BBL Trophy quarter-final encounter against the same side they will face in the Cup Final at Arena Birmingham on 28 January.
“We want to win every game in every competition. We’ll keep playing hard, keep playing the way we have been, and the performances will follow,” added James.
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Post by Solly on Dec 8, 2020 11:39:48 GMT
And at this point of January 2018, Wolves had Chester's number - but would it really matter a couple of weeks later in the Cup Final...
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Sunday 14 January 2018
Cheshire Phoenix 90-97 Worcester Wolves
Worcester Wolves laid down a marker ahead of their BBL Cup Final against Cheshire Phoenix, at Arena Birmingham in a fortnight’s time, by overturning them 97-90 at their own court on Sunday.
Wolves travelled to Cheshire in buoyant mood, having lost only once in their last eleven outings. Their latest success propels them into the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy and leaves them as the sole team in the British Basketball League still in contention for all of the season’s four competitions.
Neither side was able to pull decisively clear of the other until the final moments. With less than a minute to play Wolves held a slender 87-83 lead.
Phoenix fouled repeatedly in order to regain possession, but Worcester’s leading scorers Alex Navajas and Michael Ojo maintained their perfect records from the free-throw line to seal the win.
Coach Paul James was pleased to get one over his team’s Cup Final foes, saying:
“I don’t think this has a direct bearing for Birmingham. But it does say that we know we can beat Cheshire because we’ve now played them twice and we’ve beaten them twice.
“However, they don’t know if they can beat us – they’ve played us in two different ways and lost both times. Today was a physical ugly game and we weren’t at our best, yet we still pulled out the win.”
The physical nature of the contest was set early. Dallin Bachynski rejected his fellow seven-footer CJ Getty’s first attempt. Getty bustled in his next shot but was then unable to prevent Bachynski floating in a triple over his outstretched hand.
Wolves’ initial game plan was disrupted when Elvisi Dusha was forced to the bench after being whistled for two quick fouls. The visitors trailed 22-24 by the close of the opening quarter.
Robert Gilchrist settled into a pattern of metronomic scoring to slot in a quartet of second-quarter baskets, while Ojo got off the mark with a double of three-pointers.
Phoenix held a slight 41-40 edge entering the second half. In the first half they had enjoyed a significant rebounding advantage, allowing them to capitalise on a series of second-chance shots.
After the break, a re-energised Navajas and Bachynski held sway to swing the lead 67-63 in Wolves favour at the end of the third period.
Worcester stayed in front for the remainder of the evening, though having to continue to battle hard before being finally able to see off their belligerent hosts.
Navajas top-scored for Worcester with 20 points, as well as pulling down an impressive ten rebounds. Ojo followed closely behind with 19 points while Bachynski and Gilchrist tallied 16 and 15 points respectively.
Gettys justified his BBL Player-of-the-Month award for December by dominating the Phoenix statistics with 31 points and 15 rebounds.
James gave more detail about what had taken place, saying:
“Cheshire killed us in the first half with thirteen offensive boards. I was mad about that. We spoke at half-time about what we needed to change.
“We did a better job of allowing only one shot per possession and got crucial stops when we needed to for a good performance in an ugly game.
When reminded about Wolves now being the last team standing in all of this year’s competitions, James replied:
“Leicester and Newcastle would need to have a collapse in form for us to go top-of-the-table, but we are certainly contending everywhere else.
“I’m really pleased that at the moment we are delivering what we set out to do at the start of the season, to be contenders in all competitions.”
Wolves’ last match before their big day out in Birmingham will take place at the University of Worcester Arena next Friday 19 January (7.30) when they host Manchester Giants.
“Brandon (Parrish) and George (Beamon) are both playing with ankle injuries and Michael dislocated his finger today. But they’re all tough.
“We’ll now take a couple of days off, prepare for Manchester as we would for any opponent and after that we’ll put our focus on the Cup Final,” added James.
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Post by Solly on Dec 10, 2020 11:53:11 GMT
And, after perhaps some early complacency, Worcester put Giants to bed and could then turn their full attention to the upcoming Cup Final.
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Friday 19 January 2018
Worcester Wolves 109–75 Manchester Giants
Worcester Wolves warmed up for next weekend’s British Basketball League Cup Final with an eventually comfortable 109-75 triumph over Manchester Giants at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.
However, the final margin of the victory does not tell the full story. Wolves initially had difficulty subduing a Manchester side with just two wins to their name this season against 12 defeats.
It took a storming third quarter where the hosts poured in double the points of their visitors to transform a slender 42-39 half-time advantage into a healthy final score-line.
Coach Paul James admitted that strong words were needed during the interval to prompt his team into action, saying:
“I spoke to the players for less than a minute at half-time - that’s all it took – we came back out and did what we should have been doing from the start of the match.
“I was pretty disappointed with our lack of respect for Manchester. Before the game we had talked about them being a team that will hang around if we didn’t approach the game in the correct way.
“The first half was a non-event, but in the second half we showed what we can do, sharing the ball around and playing proper defence. In the end the final result was what it should have been.”
Giants’ lanky forward David Kadiri was allowed open paths to the basket for several easy lay ups. George Beamon, returning from his recent ankle injury, was Wolves’ only consistent response in the early going.
Fellow American Trayvon Palmer showed similar liveliness to steal the ball at the halfway-line and race down court for a 29-20 lead by a couple of minutes into the second quarter.
But Manchester would not stay down. Kadiri continued to connect and dangerous guard Ingus Bankevics sank his fourth three-pointer to keep them in contention.
Worcester seven-footer Dallin Bachynski inked the scoresheet for the first time as the second half opened.
Michael Ojo rattled in a double of outside scores in under a minute. At six minutes into the half Ojo floated home his third triple and Worcester began to pull clear at 65-52.
Captain Alex Navajas fired a bullet assist to Elvisi Dusha, Beamon pointed to his muscles after another score and Wolves rolled into a decisive 78-57 third quarter advantage.
The final period saw more of the same. Big men Robert Gilchrist and Bachynski took command close to the hoop while their teammates pabasketball kited the perimeter for a series of steals.
Gilchrist excited a big crowd with a reverse dunk and then brought spectators to their feet with an even-more thrilling slam preceded by a dazzling spin around dance.
All seven of Worcester’s main players achieved double-figure scoring. Ojo and Beamon led the way with 21 points apiece, followed by Palmer on 18.
Gilchrist tallied 16 points, Bachynski notched 11 while Dusha and Navajas each totalled 10 points.
Wolves can now turn their attention to their BBL Cup Final appearance at Arena Birmingham on Sunday 28 January (tip off 3.30), against Cheshire Phoenix.
James added: “We’ll now put all our focus on Cheshire. Some people may have been looking past today’s game, but we eventually got things right. If anything, it’s reminded us that we have to play for a full forty minutes in every match.
“There’s going to be a massive 10,000 crowd in Birmingham and I’m expecting a huge number of those people to be supporting Worcester.
“We need to prepare as well as we possibly can this week and hopefully everyone will bring their A-game and we can bring the cup home.”
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. A tad bland...
).
