BBL Playoff Quarter-Final

First Leg – Saturday 13 April 2013 – Worcester Wolves vs. Surrey Heat

Second leg – Sunday 14 April 2013 – Surrey Heat vs. Worcester Wolves

Surrey Heat and Worcester Wolves will both be looking to put one foot in the BBL Championship play-off semi-finals when they meet at the University of Worcester on Saturday evening (tip off 7pm).

The two sides will then meet in the second leg at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford on Sunday afternoon (tip off 3pm), with the aggregate winner over the two legs progressing to the last four, with the final scheduled for Sunday April 28 at Wembley Arena.

There was little to choose between the teams in the regular season, with Heat finishing fourth in the final BBL Championship table with a 21-12 record, one win and one place ahead of the Wolves.

Two of the three games between the teams were also close, with Heat winning 71-69 at home in October and then edging an overtime thriller 97-91 on the road in January. In contrast, when Wolves hosted the Heat in February, they gained revenge with a 99-81 victory.

The game will see Wolves’ coach Paul James facing his former club, and the 48-year-old Leicester-born play-caller is looking forward to facing his old team: “It adds a little more spice and interest as I have many friends who are still involved with the Heat. However the Worcester Wolves have never made the end of season play-off semi-finals, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to try and lead the team there.”

James rates the Surrey side highly: “The Heat have a very solid group of players and Creon Raftopoulos has done a good job in getting them to play together and what they do they do very well. Clearly the Holmes brothers have a very big influence on the team, but they have talent in every position.”

James is looking for a repeat of the performance from when his side last played the Heat: “We shot the ball well against them which is something we had not done in our previous two meetings, resulting in two close losses. We need to keep creating good scoring opportunities and shoot the ball with confidence.”

Wolves come into the game on the back of a weekend which saw them beat champions Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Marjon Plymouth Raiders. James was clearly delighted with the victories: “We did what we had to do against the Riders. I wanted us to go out and get back to playing the way we were three or four weeks ago. We did some things really well in the game and made a few more shots from three than we have been doing of late.

“The win in Plymouth was the best we have played in a while. Defensively we were much more together, but offensively the whole team were outstanding. We shot the three-ball exceptionally well and went inside with more conviction too. This was truly a team performance, six players in double figures. I can’t ask for any more than that.

“I’m absolutely satisfied with fifth place, especially after the problems we had at the start of the season and injuries to deal with since. We have had some great performances this season and some that we would rather forget about, but when we have been on our game we have been a match for any team in the league.

“We are as fit as we are going to be. The key thing is that we are going into these play-off games on the back of two very good wins and with a lot of confidence.”

Wolves’ guard Carlos Fernandez knows what to expect from the Heat: “The Holmes brothers are important to them, and we have to stop them going to the basket. The point guard Chavis Holmes runs the show for them and gives the ball up at the right time – we have to stop him. Julius Joseph is dangerous with the three and has been in the league for a long time.”

The Barcelona-born guard is pleased with how the Wolves finished the season: “With all the problems we had with Prezzie-Blue missing the start of the season, and then missing some games with his knee injury, it’s great to finish fifth and have some momentum coming into the play-offs. We’re healthy and ready to play, so it’s time to forget about the regular season and concentrate on the play-offs. We need to focus on the next two games, and hopefully the next five.

“We’re looking forward to the play-offs; it’s what every player wants to do – be involved in the post-season. We started work on Tuesday looking at tape and learning how they play. We’ll be ready for Saturday because it’s two big games for us. While it’s important to learn what they do, we have to focus on ourselves.”

Heat coach Creon Raftopoulos was pleased with his team’s fourth place finish: “We went into the season wanting to challenge in every competition and I’m real proud of what my guys have achieved with all the injuries and changes we have had to deal with. I don’t think many people gave us a chance at a top four finish so I’m happy the team has achieved fourth place.”

The Heat play-caller is impressed with the programme that Wolves are putting together: “I know Paul James is building a franchise that will soon be competing with Eagles and Riders. Their partnership with the University for player scholarships and the development of a new arena makes them the envy of many BBL clubs. They have attracted some experienced top-level professionals in Arnas Kazlauskas, Arturas Masiulis and Stanley Ocitti who make them one of the deepest teams in our league. We won the head-to-head battle in the league but I think that will count for nothing in the play-offs.

“Wolves have multiple weapons capable of hurting you especially from three point range so they are a tough team to play. I think Alex Owumi has proved himself as a good scorer in our league and Kai Williams has also had some big games. Sherrad Prezzie-Blue has had a tough season plagued with injury but he seems to be finding form at the right time of the year. Masiulis is the only true centre in the BBL and Kazlauskas and Ocitti bring size that can also shoot from outside.

“We know from all the games we have played them that they like to establish Masiulis early in the game as he attracts double-teams that open up the floor for their shooters. When they get hot from downtown they are near impossible to beat so we will concentrate on defending the three point line.

Heat warmed up for the play-offs with a win against Marjon Plymouth Raiders, but Raftopoulos wasn’t particularly pleased with the victory: “I wasn’t happy with our concentration levels, something we have a week to get right for the play-offs.”
Raftopoulos is hoping that his team’s injury problems are behind them: “Some good news for us is Sam Cricelli has missed our last couple of games, but will be ready for the play-offs. Chavis Holmes continues to soldier on an ankle that’s not 100 percent and Travis Holmes picked up a knock on Sunday that we will deal with this week. We understand its play-off time and every team has its share of injuries to deal with so we will dig deep and give our all for a good run in the play-offs.”

Chavis Holmes knows what to expect from the Worcester side: “The Wolves are a very good team, they have good shooters from point guard to power forward, and they have size in every position. Last game they beat us from the three-point line, we did a lot of scrambling because of bad defensive positioning and we didn’t close out to their shooters.”