BBL Trophy Final Sunday 30th March Worcester Wolves 83-76 Glasgow Rocks

It was an historic afternoon on Sunday as Worcester Wolves overcame Glasgow Rocks to pick up the club’s first major silverware since their formation thirteen years ago.

The magnificent 83-76 victory, in front of over 6000 spectators at Glasgow’s prestigious Emirates Arena, puts Worcester’s name on the BBL Trophy and is the first tangible reward for a team that has flown high throughout this year.

Despite the raucous backing of a huge swathe of fans making the long trip up to Scotland, the Wolves players came out cold, trailing for most of the opening three-quarters of the match. Jamal Williams emerged as the star of the show, hitting 10 of his game-high 26 points in the last ten minutes, to inspire his team’s resurgence and ignite wild celebrations amongst players, coaches and supporters.

Club captain Alex Owumi and dependable centre Will Creekmore combined for eleven of Wolves’ first period points, while Chris Johnson and Gareth Murray were the hot hands for the hosts.

It was Scottish-born Murray who ended the opening period with a triple to put his side in front at 25-15, and his fellow-Scot Jonny Bunyan who repeated the feat to keep the advantage steady at 30-20 as the second quarter progressed.

Jamal Williams entered the fray to rack up a quartet of first-half baskets, but every player was initially outshone by Murray who sank a further deuce of three-pointers and a demoralising floater from the corner as the hooter sounded for Rocks to end the half 44-38 ahead.

The third period was a positive one for Worcester. Williams was able to double his personal points total, with the team as a whole benefitting from free throws awarded for a profusion of Rocks’ infractions.

By the close of the quarter Glasgow’s influential forward Fran Urli teetered on the edge of expulsion on four fouls, with three of his colleagues already just one tick behind him on the penalty-count.

That man Murray was yet again unstoppable from distance as he dropped consecutive buckets to keep his team in front at 65-64 with six minutes of the match remaining

A Worcester time out preceded a tidy close-range score for Creekmore, before point guard Zaire Taylor and the trusty Williams finally gave the upper hand to the visitors at 70-65

By two minutes to go the win had effectively been sealed at 75-70. Each time the Rocks succeeded in moving the scoreboard, Wolves did likewise, bringing the inevitable post-game festivities ever closer.

Wolves’ President Mick Donovan summed up the thoughts of many of those celebrating, saying: “It’s win or nothing once you get to a final. As Bill Shankly once said, ‘first is first and second is nowhere’. We were not going to finish second. It’s not unfair to say that we made up the numbers when we first joined the BBL, but since then we’ve grown steadily as an organisation to where we are now as a definite contender, and we’re still in the frame for more trophies before this season ends.”

Alongside the Most Valuable Player display of Williams, Creekmore was another impressive performer, tallying 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Owumi and Taylor tabbed 11 points apiece. Murray led the way for Glasgow with 21 points.