GLASGOW ROCKS produced one of their best performances of the season on Sunday night as they overturned a first-leg deficit against league runners-up Sheffield Sharks to book their place in the semi-finals of the BBL play-off with a resounding victory. Now that they are in the final four, the ante has been upped once again.
This time it is table-toppers Leicester Riders that stand in the Rocks’ way and the challenge facing player-coach Gareth Murray and his team could hardly be more daunting. With 25 league wins out of an available 27 under their belts, the Riders come into the semis with confidence high and expectation on their shoulders.
The Rocks, though, have good reason to be optimistic themselves. A formidable home record at tonight’s venue, the Emirates Arena, this season will provide a confidence boost while the victory over the Sharks on Sunday proved that the Scottish team have the potential to win wherever they go.
That’s the message that Murray has been reinforcing in his players. They are just two games away from a potential final at the O2 Arena in London, he says, and the Rocks have as good a chance as anyone of booking their place in the showpiece occasion thanks to their runs to the last four of the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy earlier in the campaign.
“It’s 80 minutes of basketball,” Murray said. “We have had this many times this year.
“We had two semi-finals where we had the lead going into the second round and we have got plenty of experience in this situation. You can’t really say that about a lot of teams – over the course of a year, not many get these opportunities of two-legged games.
“We know how it works and everybody is on the same page about keeping it as close as possible during games. We can’t let leads get increased on us and we know we have to keep fighting the whole time.
“It’s not going to be easy – this is going to be the most difficult job we’ve had all year – but we’ve been now for eight months to prepare for situations like this. It’s the last challenge.
“They’ve lost three games all season – two in the league and one in the BBL Trophy – but this is the kind of year where anything can happen. We have made it this far and we have the home game first.
“We will play as hard as we can, share the basketball, try and take a lead down to Leicester and then it’s another 40 minutes of basketball.
“If we play our basketball and are fighting for our lives and give everything we’ve got, who says we can’t reach the final?”
Sunday’s win over the Sharks was well-fought and although the Rocks got off to a strong start in Sheffield, the result was not always certain. After gaining the lead on the night in the first quarter and then the lead on aggregate in the second, the Sharks fought back in the third to hold a two-point lead on aggregate going into the fourth.
It was a crucial juncture in the tie but the Rocks soon regained their advantage. Jaycee Hillsman, the game’s MVP, scored a three-pointer to restore the Glaswegian’s lead before they pulled away in the final quarter.
Hillsman is modest when discussing the incident and he was quick to heap praise on his team-mates for their contribution too. It’s indicative of the collective spirit that Murray has instilled in the group, and Hillsman believes that attitude will serve the team well against the Riders tonight.
“I feel like our pace and the way we were playing was the bigger thing,” Hillsman said. “We all make big-time plays and big-time shots and different moments and it was just my turn.
“We all have our individual moments. JJ [Jordan Johnson] is always going to be the engine that drives our offense and he did his job. We all contributed in different ways.
“I’ve got to shout my boy Fraz out too. Fraser Malcolm has been playing some unbelievable basketball over the last three months. I’m very happy for him and very proud of him.
“Like G [Murray] said after the game, we’re not just one player or three players or five: we are a whole team. The whole team is the only reason we have got to this point.”
Murray concurs as he outlines his ethos. “As a professional player you’re always going to believe in yourself because you’ve put the work in over all those years, right? It’s about other people believing in you and you believing in other people too.”
