Saturday 06 April 2013 – Plymouth Raiders vs Worcester Wolves

Marjon Plymouth Raiders will be aiming to move towards a top four finish in the BBL Championship when they face Worcester Wolves for the second successive week on Saturday evening (tip off 7.30pm).

Wolves head into Friday’s home game against champions Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders in sixth place with an 18-13 record. The Raiders occupy fifth spot with 19 wins from their 31 games, and can still get a top four finish in a weekend that also sees them visit old rivals Surrey Heat on Sunday.

The Wolves won 89-69 against an injury-hit Raiders’ team last weekend to level the season series between the sides. Raiders had won 87-65 when the teams met at Plymouth Pavilions in December, while the BBL Trophy first round match-up between the teams saw home court advantage again proven key in a 90-77 victory for the Wolves.

Raiders’ coach Gavin Love was clearly disappointed with last Friday’s loss against the Wolves: “We had far too many turnovers and simply had a poor start. We will certainly have to improve if we are to reverse the result of our last meeting. Alex Owumi was excellent and shot the ball very well.”

Wolves’ coach Paul James was pleased with that win against Raiders but knows it won’t be easy to repeat it in the West Country on Saturday: “We moved and shot the ball well and managed to limit Plymouth to one shot per possession for long periods of the game.

“They have had some injury problems this season like most teams, but the fit players they have are quality players and play hard. I don’t think you can key on any one player as they can be very effective when all the players are on the same page.”

Worcester lost their other two games last week, going down at home against Newcastle Eagles and then losing at Glasgow Rocks, and James clearly wasn’t happy with his team’s displays: “We showed our inconsistency of form over the past few games against the Eagles. We allowed them to dominate us from start to finish and our overall team effort was lacking.

“It was a disappointing display collectively at Rocks. We looked out of sorts and only showed glimpses of what we are capable of for short periods of time. We need to come together quickly and in time for the first round of the play-offs.”