Worcester Wolves 88-92 Bristol Flyers

Friday 19 April 2019

Worcester Wolves fell just short of victory against Bristol Flyers at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday in a match that closed on controversy.

Wolves fought back from a ten-point half-time deficit to tie the contest at 87-87 with just a minute remaining before Bristol’s Mike Vigor drained a three-pointer taken after the shot-clock buzzer had sounded. After lengthy discussions between referees and table officials, debating if the clock had sounded incorrectly, the basket was confirmed.

Deflated by the decision Worcester stuttered on their final possessions, allowing Flyers to snatch a 92-88 win.

Coach Tony Garbelotto praised his players, despite the defeat, saying: “Yes there were mistakes made at the end and we let the win get away but I’m actually really happy.

“We took control in the second half. There’s no way Bristol deserved to win. Every 50/50 call went their way. It should have been us winning and they know that.

“We played great in the third and fourth quarters but unfortunately we’re a team that can shoot ourselves in the foot with silly mistakes.”

The opening quarter contained a marked contrast in shooting accuracy. Four long-range successes in as many minutes helped Bristol establish a 20-12 lead. In the meantime, Wolves would misfire on a half-dozen three-pointers before Alex Navajas finally got one to fall.

Another Flyers’ three propelled their lead to 28-15 as the second period began.

Miki Servera hit his stride with a quick ten points and Deshawn Freeman battled hard to restrict Bristol’s half-time advantage to 49-39.

The Worcester duo worked together to turn the tide after the interval. Freeman twice converted Servera passes into baskets. A double of scores for Darell Combs levelled the evening at 51-51 three minutes into the second half.

A dazzling spin and shoot triple from Jordan Whelan moved Wolves 62-56 ahead.

With four minutes to go in the match the hosts still held sway at 82-77. But Bristol’s accuracy from distance returned to reverse the lead in their favour at 85-82. Hurried length-of-the-court passes from Navajas were intercepted as the visitors showed greater stability to close out their win.

Freeman and Servera supplied the bulk of Worcester’s scoring with 22 and 18 points respectively. Lester Prosper fought to a 10 point/12 rebound double-double output.

Wolves are straight back into action on Saturday with a trip to title-challenging Leicester Riders (7.30).

“Our confidence for Leicester will be slightly lower after the kind of loss we’ve suffered today,” admitted Garbelotto. “But we’ll go there and fight and hopefully come up with a good performance.”

Next Friday (7.30) will see Wolves’ last appearance of the season at the University of Worcester Arena when Glasgow Rocks visit the city.

“Ever since I’ve been here we’ve played well at this arena, being right there in games in the final minutes,” added Garbelotto. “We’re the second or third best-supported club in the country despite our position in the league. Our fans deserve more than we’ve given them. I’m hopeful that next week we can finish the season in style.”