Raiders @ Riders: BBL Championship preview – Presidential Edition
With this BBL weekend bringing together two of the favourites for silverware this season, as well as the recent Presidential re-election, UKASF.com has gone topical on you with it’s game preview.
UKASF.com presents: Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders vs UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders – The Campaign.
(All quotes in the post are real….except for the closing statements which are entirely from my brain.)
*Both candidates enter the stage at the front of the hall. Mr Paternostro confidently walks over to his stand on the left hand side, while Mr Love takes up residency on the right, their respective party flags hanging above them. The moderator brings the microphone up to his mouth and a hush falls over the audience as they await the debates opening words…
“Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for joining us here today and for supporting your respective parties representatives: The Plymouth Raiders – Mr Love *the crowd cheers loudly* and the Leicester Riders – Mr Paternostro *the crowd, again, share their vocal support*
“The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders will face the UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders at the John Sandford Sports Centre in Leicester on Saturday 10th November with tip-off at 7:30pm.
“The Leicester Riders are currently the only unbeaten side in the league at 7-0 while the Plymouth Raiders have a 5-1 record. The past 14 meetings between the two clubs have seen each team win seven games.
Moderator: “Mr Love *cheers fill the room as the Raiders representative’s name is mentioned* – the two parties have enjoyed a decade together in the BBL with recent history showing that the home side always comes out on top.
“Does this affect your chances of winning in Leicester on Saturday?”
Mr Love: “They’re the clear favourite. We’re playing them at their gym and that’s the way results have gone in the last two seasons. The home team has always had the advantage so there’s no pressure on us. We have to go in there and play well. It’s a very hard place to play and they’ve clearly got a great team. They’ve got the deepest roster in the BBL and they’re using it well.”
*Mr Love’s generous remarks receive applause from both sets of supporters*
Moderator: “Mr Paternostro, is there anything you would like to say in response to the opening comments made by Mr Love?”
*Paternostro clears his throat, taking a single step toward the microphone as he begins to talk*
Mr Paternostro: “They have guys who have proven themselves as good players in this league before. They’ve done a good job in what they’ve got out of those guys and they’ve played well so far.
“Bell is a very dangerous player and whenever you play against him, he’s a guy who can really hurt you. It looks to me like the other guys are playing really well and adjusting to the new team.
“I think everyone understands that Plymouth is going to be a tough team and in order to do well against them, you need to bring your best.”
*Applause from the audience comes on hearing Mr Paternostro’s honest assessment of his opponent*
Moderator: “This is a game that will be impacted by injuries: For the Riders, centre John Fraley was recently diagnosed with a torn ACL and has returned to America for surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. The Raiders’ Anthony Rowe suffered an injury last Friday against the Manchester Giants. Mr Love, how much of an affect do you think the injuries will have on Saturdays game?”
Mr Love: “Anthony Rowe injured his ankle on Friday. He came on in the first quarter and literally five minutes in, he stepped on one of our guys, rolled it, sprained it.
“It’s just an unlucky setback. I feel for Anthony who’s been working really hard to get back to full health and just keeps hitting roadblocks. I’m hoping he’ll make an appearance this weekend.”
Moderator: “And what are your thoughts on the Fraley injury?”
Mr Love: “I looked at the game tape and they *eyes fixed on his supporters while pointing with an outstretched arm at Mr Paternostro* didn’t really miss a beat. They’ve still got a great deal of size with Barry Lamble, Andrew Sullivan, Pavol Losonsky.
“Although Fraley is clearly a dominant force, they’ve got enough guys to cover up inside and they beat Newcastle without him so other guys are stepping up. Some would say it’s an advantage but we’re a guy down so it evens out….”
*Mr Paternostro cuts in on Mr Love’s sentence as he seeks to clarify his own teams injury situation*
Mr Paternostro: “We’re still trying to figure out the best way to play. Fraley hasn’t been here for three games, so right now, our guys have had three games to play without him.
“What I’ve liked about the group is that we’ve been able to adapt.”
Moderator: “Mr Love, a 95-78 home defeat to the Surrey Heat two weeks ago came as a surprise to a great number of people.
“Have things on the court improved since that date?”
Mr Love: “Surrey are a good team. You’re going to lose games and that was the first time we were really challenged and Surrey clearly played a lot better than we did.
“We’ve definitely worked hard since then to put things right, as we showed with two tough fixtures on the road.”
Moderator: “Mr Paternostro, you are the last remaining team in the league to be unbeaten this term. Does this increase the pressure on you?”
Mr Paternostro: “We know what the score is in every single game, we know what our record is but we never really talk about it. We don’t get involved in that. We try to play hard every game.”
Moderator: “Finally, with a closing statement, would you like to address your respective parties..”
Mr Love: “It’s been said that we, at the Plymouth Raiders, are out of people’s conscious both geographically and in the league standings. But what ‘they’ say, is of no concern to us. For while the detractors may believe we are on the outside looking in, we – the Raiders population, know that we are exactly where we want to be.
“We aren’t leading the pack and being chased by the rest of the league. We haven’t fixed a target to our back. We are instead winning games and keeping close to the leaders.
“We won’t fight in the sunlight of first or second place, instead choosing to attack from the shade of fifth position. In order to do that we need your support. We need YOU to believe in us when nobody else does.
“We CAN achieve incredible things this season and it starts on Saturday against the Leicester Riders.
“Raider Nation, be proud of who you are because YOU are our strength.
“Thank you. God bless you.”
Mr Paternostro: “Last year was a big year for us at the Leicester Riders. We all felt the wear and tear of the league season and the heartbreak in the final game. They were tough times.
“But when we look back at what we achieved together, we can hold our heads high. As a franchise we won more games in the league than in any other season, we reached the play-off final and we had a team to be proud of.
“As exceptional as the 2011 campaign was though, our work here is not done. We have returned this season with a new team, new faces and new challenges. There will be testing times along the way, Riders family, but we have a team that I believe in and that is the physical embodiment of the Leicester community’s strong character.
“And it will be that strong character that we will carry with us all season long because for as long as we have the support of our community and the strength of character that we have shown in recent weeks, we will never lose our hunger or our determination.
“With your support, we will be strong. With your support, we can achieve our dreams.
“Let’s make 2012 a year to remember. Let’s make 2012 the year of the Riders.”
