Riders’ Paternostro thinks offense, not defence, is the key in Cup Final

When the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders take on the Newcastle Eagles at the NIA in Birmingham today, there’s going to be no room for error.

The two sides are closely matched and currently sit in first and second in the league this season, the same positions they finished last year. The Riders and Eagles even competed in last season’s BBL Play-off final, a hard fought game that ended with the Eagles winning the trophy and raising their fourth piece of silverware for the season.

While Fab Flournoy’s Eagles have retained a number of key players from past squads, creating a continuity and chemistry among the current Cup holders, the Riders have an entirely different look to last seasons second place side.

Gone are former point guard, Cameron Rundles, who is testing the waters as an Assistant coach at Wofford College, and former team-mate and room-mate, Bradd Wierzbicki, who is also starting a new life, not as a coach but as a father as he awaits the birth of his new baby. American duo, Brett Royster and Ayron Hardy, have also moved on, signing contracts in Germany with Ehingen and Heidelberg respectively.

Replacing the core pieces from 2011/12 are a band of new BBL players, who between them hadn’t registered a single minute in the British top flight before this season, a point that Riders Coach Rob Paternostro addresses when comparing the experience in the Eagles locker room to that of his own.

“Our five or six top guys in minutes have never played in this league before,” admitted Paternostro before talking about whether he feels that inexperience could affect his team’s chances today. “We have played 20 games with this group and we have lost two. As a group, we feel comfortable with each other and feel like wherever we play, we’re going to do everything we can to get the W.”

“It’s important to see who gets more easy baskets,’ continued the Riders coach. ‘Both teams have been good defensively this year. So whichever team makes plays offensively, you would think puts themselves in a position to win the game.”

‘Putting the ball in the basket’ as Paternostro describes it, requires the Riders to shoot well from all areas including the free throw line where the team is currently below the league average as they shoot 66.6% this season, with only four players shooting more than 70% for the year.

With the Riders recent struggles from the line, it could be an area of the game that decides the outcome of today’s contest.

Paternostro was unwilling to be drawn on the subject of free throws and whether any additional preparation had been undertaken in the lead up to today’s fixture, saying “We’ve been working on all types of shooting, all week and all year and we continue to do it.”

Maybe more revealing was Coach Paternostro’s comments shortly after about whether he, as a coach, had learned anything from last season’s Play-off final, the first in Paternostro’s coaching career.

“I wouldn’t just want to put it down to growing from the Final but coaching over the last four and a half seasons. You can grow just about every week. Part of being a coach is to learn from whatever game you’ve played, whether you win or lose.”

Offense is only one side of the ball though and the other, defence, is something the Riders have once again excelled at this season, leading the league in the fewest points conceded per game at 70.9oppg, 4.3 points less per contest than the Eagles give up on a nightly basis.

This afternoon is less about the finer points of the game, although they do help to make or break a game, and more the final score. As long as the Riders see their name on the Trophy at the final buzzer, however it is achieved, it will be welcomed. It’s something Paternostro wants not just for his team, but for the travelling Leicester fans:

“Since last May, the interest in the club continues to increase. The attendance has been fantastic and right now, around Leicestershire, there’s a lot of Riders talk. It’s been great to see because our supporters who have been around for a long time, as well as our new supporters, are really doing everything they can to support our team.’

Tip-off at the NIA in Birmingham is at 3:45pm and can be watched live on Sky Sports 4. Alternatively, the game can be listened to on BBC 5Live Sports Xtra.