QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In my opinion, game one went really well for us. We proved we can really take it to them and if it wasn’t for some breakdowns in the fourth quarter guarding Coleman, we would have had a nice lead going in to the second-leg. I think Friday is going to be a great game. It’s difficult to evaluate as we don’t know whether or not Reggie Middleton will be playing and he is a difference maker for them. But, we don’t have EJ Harrison at 100 percent either, so how those two guys are feeling on the day will have an impact. We need to really stop Coleman and limit their offensive rebounds. If we can do that, we have a great chance to make the final.”

JOHNNY BUNYAN

ROCKS’ GUARD

There was a party atmosphere at the University of Worcester Arena on a historic night for the hometown Wolves, as they booked their first ever place in a showpiece final.

They clinched the first available spot for the 2014 BBL Trophy Final in Glasgow and there will also definitely be a new name on the prestigious silverware, after Wolves eliminated current holders One Health Sharks Sheffield with a memorable, but nail-biting success.

Wolves desperately needed a game-winner and Zaire Taylor stepped up to the plate to inspire a simply stunning 18-4 finish to the contest and wrap up a famous victory.

He made some clutch shots en-route to a scintillating 30 points and drained the dagger three-pointer which killed-off Sharks with a minute left on the clock.

Worcester will now face either Glasgow Rocks or Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday 30 March at the Emirates Arena.

Daniel Northern put on a show at the Emirates Arena with 29 points and 21 rebounds, as Glasgow Rocks overcame the six-point first-leg deficit against the Cheshire Phoenix, taking a 98-77 victory in the second game of the BBL Trophy semi-final, for a chance to face Worcester Wolves in the final on March 30th.

Rocks broke away to a 72-52 lead in the third quarter after a 20-5 run and held on in the final frame, despite starting to wobble and allowing Phoenix to get within nine points at one stage.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of drama in the BBL Championship, as Esh Group Eagles Newcastle edged the defending champions Leicester Riders 97-96 after overtime, handing the visitors from Leicester their second loss in a row.

Elsewhere, One Health Sharks Sheffield registered an easy 93-63 victory against the winless Birmingham Knights, with Patrick Horstmann and Zach Gachette scoring 20 and 19 points respectively.

A superb 50 point and 20 board night for Cheshire Phoenix star Victor Moses led his team to a 94-82 win over Plymouth University Raiders in the north-west.

The victory keeps Cheshire’s outside hopes of a top four finish alive and left the Raiders on the same number of defeats as three other clubs who are all fighting for the final play-off berths.

Moses was almost unstoppable as he connected on 20 of his 30 shots, made both three-point efforts and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds in his 20 overall. Nick George led the Plymouth offence with 25 points.

A 6-2 lead for Cheshire on a basket by Michael Creppy was the largest lead for either side in the first quarter. Raiders responded by going on a 7-0 to move 9-6 in front and for the rest of the period the margin was just one score as Phoenix finished the opening ten minutes with a 24-23 advantage.

The hosts stretched away in the second quarter with a Moses three starting a 15-0 burst to take the score from 34-34 to 49-34. George had the final word of the first half but his team still trailed 49-36 at the interval.

Phoenix moved further away in the third quarter. Raiders had trimmed the gap back to single-digits (53-44) before a decisive 17-6 burst by Cheshire made it 70-50 to set them on course for victory.

Heading into the final period with a 73-54 lead Phoenix kept Plymouth at bay as Moses continued to put points on the board. An 8-0 Plymouth run brought the visitors back to 92-82 before Moses made two from the line for his 49th and 50th points of the evening.