BBL Players of the Week – Week 9
In a BBL stylee we publish our players of the week from our writers who got to live games over the last seven days.
Keith Firmin – Leicester Riders v Newcastle Eagles
Brad Wierzbicki – 32 points on 4/6 from three point range helped lead his team to gain the most improbable of draws against the Newcastle Eagles in the BBL cup semi-final.
His outside shooting, aggression at the rim and refusal to believe that the tie was over helped inspire a comeback from 21 points down in the first half.
Brett Royster – When the Riders needed him most, Royster stepped up to the plate scoring a season high 19 points as well as snagging 9 rebounds and blocking 4 shots.
He was the anchor of the home sides defence and a consistently strong offensive threat that helped the Riders end the game on level pegging heading into the second leg on 2nd December.
OleDJ – Newcastle Eagles v Plymouth Raiders and Leicester Riders v Newcastle Eagles
Paul Gause – In the absence of Paul Gause these last few weeks, Newcastle Eagles have won ugly, doing what they needed to do to keep their winning streak going. A cameo role in Chester last week marked the playmaker’s return, easing him back into the side in preparation for this weekend’s potentially season defining double header.
The ex-Seton Hall man put up some solid numbers in the blow-out win against Plymouth on Friday and the mere presence of the livewire point guard transforms the Eagles on court persona. Top that with a 22-point performance that was instrumental in helping his team to a 90-90 tie in Leicester on Saturday and you had nothing short of a stellar weekend for Gause.
Lehmon Colbert – On a really bad night for Plymouth, the ever-reliable Colbert was the sole shining light for the Raiders. Lehmon played the full 40 minutes, posting 19 points and collecting 7 rebounds. The forward was the only figure of resistance in the wake of the Eagles assault, as regular contributors Bell, Martin, Jones, Williams et al were non-factors in the game.
I was pleased to see him shine. He’s in my fantasy BBL team after all!
– A mention for Sheffield’s Nate Reinking to make up a five. The Ohio born GB star pulled the Sharks back in to the contest against Worcester late on and then finished things with the game winning basket. Reinking led all scorers on 25 points at the final buzzer.
