Newcastle Eagles v Team Mohawk preview – BBL Play-Offs
BBL Championship Playoff Semi Finals – Friday 4 May and Sunday 6 May 2012
Newcastle Eagles v Cheshire Jets
The Cheshire Jets are no more. The team that stuttered their way through the BBL season disappeared quicker than the Plymouth Raiders at the end of the BBL Trophy final. A mean, lean, in your face phoenix has risen from their ashes. They call themselves Team Mohawk.
Now Team Mohawk didn’t lose twice to the Durham Wildcats on their way to a big 17 in the loss column. They didn’t crash out early in the BBL Cup or Trophy. Team Mohawk fought their way to 6th place in the BBL Championship when the Jets had left them in the lurch. They’ve gone on a six game unbeaten run to end the regular season on a high and beat up on the fancied Worcester Wolves in the playoff quarter finals.
This week their chief, John Lavery, was awarded the BBL coach of the month for April and his tribe comes to Sport Central on Friday night looking to take the biggest scalp of all, that of the all conquering Newcastle Eagles. Last season’s trophy drought has meant that Eagles, already perennial challengers, have a cold steely determination about them this campaign. Their veteran roster aren’t the sort of guys who can be intimidated and they are as driven to win this last piece of silverware as they were to win the first at BBL Cup final in Birmingham back in January.
Any thoughts (hopes from many quarters!) that the BBL Champions would live to regret resting several star names for the final games of the regular season were crushed as the Eagles demolished the Guildford Heat 167-125 in last weekends quarter final. Their lead was so comfortable in the second leg that Fab Flournoy found time to give valuable minutes to fringe player Joel Madourie and youngster Jack Wilson.
The Eagles players are strong advocates of Flournoy’s end of season strategy and are as natural a team as you’ll find in the BBL. Team with a capital T. No cliques, no excuses, no ifs, no buts, just tunnel vision with their final goal in sight. A clean sweep.
A fully fit and ready Eagles roster has been way too hot to handle for their BBL rivals throughout the campaign and over two legs, the upstart Team Mohawk will have to play to even higher levels than they reached in beating the Worcester Wolves to have any chance of pulling off the big upset. But they’re improving week by week and the wily addition of Kai Williams by coach Lavery means Team Mohawk now have a very strong starting five.
The feisty, snappy, underdog Team Mohawk from Cheshire and the tough, wily, king of the hill Eagles from Newcastle. Both teams brimming with confidence, both will have their champions but I’m fairly confident that this is the weekend we’ll see the last of the Mohicans as the Eagles march on to a third final this season.
They’ve come too far to see the dream end now.
Follow Darrin Smith on Twitter @OleDJ
