Head coach James Vear was very pleased with his London Lions side’s defensive display as they recorded an 81-61 victory at Bristol Flyers in the BBL Trophy semi-final first leg.
Lions will now host the West Country side in the second leg on Wednesday March 9th where they will look to seal a place in the final at Emirates Arena, Glasgow on March 20.
“The most pleasing thing for me was that defensively we were really good” said Vear. “We limited their best players and I thought we prepared really well. The guys knew what the game-plan was and stuck to it.
“Offensively we weren’t great, we missed some chances that we’d make on another night but it’s pleasing that we could rely on our defence and that allowed us to get a 20-point win.”
Vear had praise for point guard Isaiah Reese who finished with a massive 13-point, 14 assist double-double:
“Isaiah was incredible” said the London coach. “He picked up Marcus Evans from 94 feet and made his life really hard. That set the tone for us defensively. He ran the team well with 14 assists, and could have got 20 on a night where our shot dropped.
“Julian Washburn struggled offensively but pulled down 15 rebounds which is great for our three-man [small forward], while Lorenzo Cugini had a good night with five threes. But over all it was a great team effort, which is pleasing, everyone is starting to play well and if three or four of guys get going, we’re hard to stop.”
Vear isn’t taking the second leg lightly despite his side taking a 20 point lead into the game:
“We won’t be complacent, if they get off to a good start they’ll make it tough for us” he said.
Lions returns to the Copper Box on Friday evening as they face Plymouth City Patriots, tip-off 7.30pm, Tickets are on sale here Tickets: BBL Championship: London Lions V Plymouth City Patriots, London | Fri 25 Feb 22 19:30 | Ticketmaster UK for what promises to be another exciting night of action at the Olympic Park.
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