As his side prepare to face Bristol Flyers in Wednesday’s BBL Trophy semi-final second leg, Lions’ captain Justin Robinson is looking for a good all-round performance.
Lions hold a 20-pont advantage from the first leg, but Robinson won’t be taking the Flyers lightly:
“We need to win the game regardless of the first leg score” he said. “We have to be solid learn from our mistakes against Sheffield, and get a victory on the night. Like Sheffield, they’re a physical side. So we need to be solid and consistent for 40 minutes.”
Tickets are available here for the second leg of the tie and Lions are in the driving seat following their 81-61 victory at SGS College Arena, with the winner travelling to Emirates Arena for the final on Sunday March 20. Lions’ women have already booked their place In the WBBL Trophy on the same day, and the club will looking to repeat last season’s double success in the competitions.
Dirk Williams again led London in the semi-final first leg with 19 points and eight rebounds while Lorenzo Cugini came off the bench to drain five three pointers, finishing with 17 points in just 21 minutes of action. Isaiah Reese finished with a massive 13-point, 14 assists double-double,
Although the teams have yet to play each other in the league this season, Lions also recorded a pair of victories against the West Country team in the BBL Cup group stage. Williams poured in 21 points as a dominant first half paved the way for a 90-80 Lions’ win at SGS College Arena in early October while Williams was in fine form again a week later as he scored 28 points as Lions came from behind to win 94-85 at the Copper Box.
Having split their eight BBL Cup games, Flyers have made a similar start to the BBL Championship season and sit eighth in the table with a 7-7 record. Point guard Marcus Evans leads the Flyers with 17 points per game, adding a team-high 6.6 assists per game, adding 3.9 boards. Malcolm Delpeche is also key for Andre Kapoulas’ team with 15,5ppg, adding 7.2 rebounds and two assists per game. Trejon Jacob pulls down a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game, adding 15.5 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals.
Coach James Vear knows what to expect from the Flyers:
“They are really well coached and Andreas is someone I respect as a coach. We spent four years together with the national teams, and I was his assistant for two years, I know how hard his teams play and prepare, it will be a real challenge. The one thing they are is probably the most physical team in the league, they play really, really hard and they’ll beat you if you don’t match that. They’ve had some very good results this season, with two wins against Leicester, so we’re expecting a tough game.”
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