Wolves Relishing Trip to Wembley

The University of Worcester Arena played host to euphoric celebrations last week when Worcester Wolves overcame Sheffield Sharks to move into the BBL Playoff Final, to be held at Wembley this Sunday, versus the table-topping Newcastle Eagles.

It took seven years of playing in the top flight of British basketball before Wolves secured their first honour, the BBL Trophy triumph up in Glasgow a couple of months ago, and the club is now just forty minutes away from a second competition success.

Wolves’ coach Paul James and his assistant Alex Radu, while relishing the prospect of another major final in such a short space of time, are both respectful of their latest opponents.

“It’s going to be one hell of a game. You will now be seeing arguably the two best teams in the league going against each other, and that’s how it should be,” remarked James.

“The experience of our game in Glasgow will certainly help, and we’ll probably prepare for Wembley in a similar way. But if we’re talking about experience then you only need to look at just how many finals Newcastle have been to over the years,” added Radu.

While the Newcastle organisation indeed boasts the most well-stacked trophy cabinet in the BBL, having secured no fewer than eleven competition wins since 2005, last season was a rare barren year for the club. Instead, three of the four trophies on offer were snatched by Leicester Riders. One of the men who stood firmly in the Eagles’ way was Zaire Taylor, now directing the plays for Worcester.

Taylor is confident about Sunday’s contest, saying: “It will be intense, playing against the team that won the league. They’ve beaten us twice this season, we’ve beaten them twice. Step one was getting to the final, step two will be taking care of business in the final.”

The Wolves’ point guard garnered the outstanding honour of being named the Molten BBL Player of the Year for 2013-14, the first time someone from the club has taken such a high level of individual award, but still preferred to deflect praise away from himself, commenting: “Winning the MVP award is a blessing, but basketball is about a team of players. The award won’t mean that much to me if we don’t win on Sunday.”

Taylor also commended the support that he and his team-mates have received from fans, adding: “They’ve been superb all year. We want busloads of fans down at Wembley. I want it to feel like we’re playing at Worcester Arena!”

Sunday’s final tips off at 3pm, with doors opening at 1.30pm. Information about tickets and coach travel can be found at the Wolves’ website: www.worcesterwolves.org