Tigers Ready To Roar In BBL Cup Quarter-Finals

Mersey Tigers coach Tony Garbelotto is cautiously optimistic more silverware could soon be within touching distance.

Having led the club to a stunning treble last season, it’s been something of a turbulent summer. However, despite both this and an inconsistent start to the new campaign, winning trophies is back at the top of the agenda as the prepare for a BBL Cup quarter-final against Worcester Wolves tonight.

“Cup runs are always important but we will be taking one game at a time” explained the play-caller.

“Obviously the winners of this game will play in the semi-finals which means you are only a couple of games away from a Final.

“This alone is incentive enough.”

Certainly Garbelotto will be keen to ensure his team emerges victorious since they have already blown their chances of successfully defending their BBL Trophy after sliding out of the competition.

Meanwhile the wounds of last season’s disappointing performance in the BBL Cup Final have not fully healed and consequently Garbelotto would just love to be given the opportunity to lay that particular ghost to rest.

Whoever comes out on top in this one will face UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders in the semi-finals after booking their spot in the last four of the competition last weekend.

In the other half of the draw, Newcastle Eagles match up with old foes Glasgow Rocks at Sport Central this evening with both teams carrying some injury concerns over respective guards Paul Gause and EJ Harrison. The winners of this tie will face either Cheshire Jets or Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

The in-form Riders travel to Northgate looking to draw inspiration from their first trip earlier in the season when they left with a convincing 80-59 BBL Championship victory and Jets have a major task on their hands preventing a repeat.

For Riders have Drew Sullivan, Cameron Rundles and Ayron Hardy all with the hot-hand right now and it promises to be a great contest with Jets having gained confidence from last week’s excellent league success over Glasgow Rocks.

Before Riders make the trip to the north-west, they must firstly complete their BBL Trophy campaign at BA London Leopards tonight. With neither team able to qualify, the focus will be on the hosts and how competitive they can be as they bow out of the competition .

Head coach Dejan Mihevc is acutely aware of the task ahead and the calibre of player Riders have on their roster.

“Their quality is in their team. They have some exceptional individuals in Sullivan, Rundles and Hardy who will each add something special to the team.

“They also have great support in Royster, Wierzbicki and other players in the rotation who will always step in and do their jobs.”

There are also two games in the BBL Championship to savour with Durham Wildcats heading to Worcester Wolves on a real high after their historic first win in the top flight last Saturday. They will try to follow this up with a first road win but it could be difficult against the Wolves who are beginning to build some momentum themselves.

Finally, there is a huge game at Kelvin Hall in terms of the race for the title. Even at such an early stage, the pressure is on both teams with the losers of this guaranteed to move to three losses.

One Health Sharks Sheffield has already lost back to back games in the league against Newcastle Eagles and considering they have also been dumped out of the BBL Cup by Raiders (a competition they won last season) they will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

Sterling Davis and his Rocks team will have already played 48 hours earlier against Eagles in the Cup and so are likely to head into the game either full of confidence or looking to avoid a third straight defeat after crashing last weekend at Cheshire Jets.