Massive Weekend for Wolves

This weekend will see a massive double of games for Worcester Wolves in their quest to win the club’s first major silverware. First up will be the visit of Sheffield Sharks to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday (tip off 7.30pm). After that the excitement will ramp up even higher with the BBL Trophy Final on Sunday afternoon (tip off 3.15pm) against the hosting Glasgow Rocks.

Wolves are right in the thick of the battle for the British Basketball League, sitting four points behind Newcastle Eagles, but with three games in hand on the leaders. Sharks lie in third place in the table, just two points behind Wolves, having played the same number of matches.

Despite Worcester having beaten Sheffield in both legs of their Trophy semi-final, their visitors on Friday can take heart from having triumphed in their only league encounter to date. Teams play each other three times in the league, with whoever fares best in the series having the edge if those teams finish with level records by the season’s end. Wolves know that they cannot afford to lose this week if they are to retain a chance to secure the head-to-head advantage.

Once Friday has passed there will be little time for the players to relax before making the long journey up to Glasgow for an overnight stay, before taking their place in the club’s biggest game since joining the BBL in 2006. However, head coach Paul James has no fears about the quick turnaround, saying: “We were actually offered the opportunity to cancel the game against Sheffield, but I feel we’re better when we’re playing. It’s nice to have a game where there’s going to be a lot riding on the result, which will focus our minds ready for Sunday.”

Wolves’ president Mick Donovan is also acutely aware of the importance of this weekend’s double of matches, commenting: “We’ve got to concentrate on Sheffield first – we can’t afford to trip up with playing them again after that, and then still having to play Leicester and a few other good teams. We have to win on Friday to keep up our assault on the league.”

The club has already reported that there will be at least a couple of coachloads of fans travelling up to Scotland and both James and Donovan are appreciative of the support. “I’m really excited about so many Wolves fans making the trip, and we definitely want to make that journey worthwhile for them,” said James.

“Sunday is huge. We’ve worked towards this for so many years. As well as lots of people going up on coaches, there are also people taking the train, driving up, or even flying there. I understand Glasgow’s arena holds about 7000. There will be at least a couple of hundred from Worcester there, leaving around 6800 Scottish people, so I think we are obviously going to have to make a bit of noise,” joked Donovan.