Worcester Wolves 101–80 Manchester Giants

Worcester Wolves have progressed to the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup after recording a solid 101-80 victory over Manchester Giants on Friday.

A tight opening saw the teams still tied approaching half-time. However, a decisive 17-3 burst to end the half established a cushion that Wolves would hold onto for the remainder of the match.

Giants’ French forward Harold Trobo served up a rapid-fire trio of three-pointers in just the first four minutes of the contest. Worcester’s Brandon Parrish replied with nine points of his own to edge his side 30-26 in front at the close of the initial quarter.

Former Wolves’ captain Callum Jones took the first basket of the second period, with his backcourt partner Jerelle Okoro’s three-point play then nudging Manchester ahead.

At four minutes before the interval the dangerous Trobo was substituted after committing a double of turnovers. After angrily hurling his water bottle to the floor he was promptly penalised with a technical foul and a seat on the bench for the rest of the evening.

Ashton Khan spied openings to drive to the hoop for a quartet of scores while Alex Navajas backed down his defenders for consecutive scores, aiding a 52-38 half-time advantage.

A series of turnovers allied with hurried shooting saw Giants’ last hopes of success extinguished. Elvisi Dusha took over from Khan in setting up opportunities for American forwards George Beamon and Trayvon Palmer to profit from.

Coach Paul James declared his delight with the win, saying:

“We haven’t done well in this competition over the years so I’m really pleased with today’s success. Manchester are a side that’s getting better every season. I’m glad we were able to get past them and into the next round.”

All five of Worcester’s starters achieved double-figure scoring. Parrish led the way with 27 points, followed by Beamon with 14. Navajas and Palmer tallied 13 and 11 points respectively. Dallin Bachynski grabbed 11 rebounds to go alongside his 13 points.

“Those numbers show that good things happen when we share the ball around,” explained James.

Wolves now return to British Basketball League action with successive away games, at Surrey this Sunday and at Newcastle next Friday, before coming back to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 27 October to greet Cheshire Phoenix.

Another capacity home crowd was on hand to see the win over the Giants, leaving James to express his gratitude to fans:

“In our last match, a fortnight ago, we had tremendous support. Tonight extra seating had to be pulled out to cope with the terrific number of people getting behind us. The coaches and players recognise that we have to give our all in order to keep that momentum of fans supporting us.”

James added: “Surrey will be a tough opponent. Alex Owumi is just one of their players who, on his day, can be a game-winner. We’ll be looking to get our first win in the Championship this Sunday.”