12th January 2015 James Hails ‘Unbelievable’ Win

Worcester Wolves head coach, Paul James, has hailed his side’s “unbelievable” 99-91 win against the Newcastle Eagles, ending their incredible 19 games unbeaten run in all competitions in the process.

The result keeps Wolves in the title race, two points behind Newcastle in the league standings, although The Eagles still have a game in hand to play.

Wolves’ second victory over the Tyne-siders means that they claim the head-to-head that would see them claim the title ahead of Newcastle should the two sides finish level in the table at the end of the season.

“It’s Unbelievable”, said James. “I think we had a great game against a team who have been playing fantastically well all season long. I don’t think anybody can for a minute say that they had one eye on the BBL Cup final because that wasn’t a team out there that wasn’t trying; that was two very good teams out there playing their hearts out with players squaring up to each other because they didn’t want to lose a game of basketball. I thought it was a great spectacle for the British game.”

The result saves Wolves from getting cut adrift from their fellow title contenders, but James knows that the Eagles, who won the BBL Cup final against the Glasgow Rocks on Sunday, are still favourites for the title despite Friday’s defeat.

“We have title ambitions but we can only help ourselves. Newcastle are still in the box seat and if they go another 17 wins in a row then they’ve won the league. We’ve got to rely on other people and we’ve got to win our games so it’s still a long shot but we can only beat whoever’s in front of us.”

James also praised new-signing Paul Guede, who played a key role in Friday’s win bagging 18 points that included some crucial three-pointers in the third quarter to maintain Wolves’ lead at a crucial period in the victory.
“He’s just got better with every game. The more he’s settled in and got used to what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively, our sets, he made some really tough threes tonight and some great defensive play so he’s taken us to another level. It’s great to have him on board”, James said.

After inflicting Newcastle’s second defeat in 20 games, Wolves next travel to Bristol on Friday hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five games.