Pirates Can't Handle the Heat

UELSports News provides your sports news fix with up-to-date information about sports and exercise at UEL.

Contact David Cosford to submit your story.

Pirates can't handle the Heat

Guildford Heat 109 (35, 59, 84)
Essex Pirates 74 (10, 34, 57)

UEL Scorers: Hesson (injured), Sing (injured), Anderson (3), Gachette (16)

Guildford Heat went a step closer to the BBL Play-Offs with a win over Essex Pirates – who played their last game of the season - in Southend.

Head Coach of the Heat Creon Raftopoulos said, “This year it was a bonus to get to the Trophy Final but at the start of the season our goal was to get back to the play-offs.”

When asked about his team’s chances he replied, “There will be no pressure on us in the games coming up; no one expects us to do much. Saying that, we beat Mersey before and gave Newcastle some tough games this year, also we beat Sheffield. I think we can match anybody if we bring our A games.”

“We need to get a job done tomorrow and keep our destiny in our own hands.”

Essex Head Coach Tim Lewis was unhappy with the final match of the year, “I’ve been disappointed with our performances in the last couple of games. Some of us have lost focus, maybe taken a couple of days off and not come to play hard. At the end of the day we’ve had two winnable games – last night at Milton Keynes too – but we didn’t play hard. It’s maybe a lack of experience and their age in not knowing how to deal with that.”

Guildford arrived with a job to do and carried it out with style in the first ten minutes. The points piled up and reckless turnovers from the Pirates gifted a couple of crowd-pleasing dunks to Mike Martin. Dan Briglia and Adrien Sturt got some points in reply but they weren’t enough to cool the intense Heat. Guildford led by 25 at the interval.

The Second period was better from the home side as they matched Guildford point-for-point. Briglia kept up his impressive display in the paint and Ronnie Baker caused trouble on the edge. Before the buzzer the Heat’s Martelle McLemore dived to save the ball from going out only to complete the move seconds later with a sublime hook shot from the elbow under heavy pressure.

The third stanza swung one way then the other as both teams upped the tempo with fresh substitutions. The Pirates introduced Calum Nicol who immediately made an impact with a tidy three from the corner. The Heat brought Carlos Medlock into the fray and he also scored his first points within seconds – albeit from the foul line.

The final quarter made the teams reflect on their strategies. The Pirates gave some court-time to Josh Pape - recently back from a hand injury - who fizzed in a rocket for Zac Gachette to layup. Soon the Pirates had Captain Sam Toluwase fouled out, then Jamell Anderson followed quickly by Sturt. Guildford had already seen Janusauskas out for five in the third but it didn’t get any worse for them as they cruised to the final buzzer.

MVP went to Joseph for his impressive tally of 34 and some tremendous rebounding. Second was Briglia of Essex netting a sturdy 21 points, and third McLemore with a score of 14.

Guildford Heat have a game on Sunday to try and make the BBL play-off places - they need to finish eighth or above to get in - but for Essex Pirates it’s the end of a long year. The Pirates have shown great courage to keep battling for every game and will be back next season with the hope of improving on this year’s finish.

In an extended interview Essex Coach Lewis reviewed the season, “We’ve done a good job all year; it’s just that last couple of games that have been frustrating.”

He found it hard to pick a single player that had stood out all along but said, “Dan Briglia has been great; a real warrior, Myles [Hesson] when he was fit was good for us, Jamell [Anderson] early on, Colin [Sing] came through in the late season and Zac [Gachette] has had moments of brilliance.” He continued, “It’s tough when you’ve got to hold a season together like that; when you’re losing games, during games, and you can’t affect it.”

Lewis was happy to get a summer break, “We’ll go away, take some time to restructure. Maybe get a couple of guys in whilst some others may move on to other things but we want to move forward next year.”

“We’ve moved forward in many areas this season and we’ve lots of positives to take from it. It’s just frustrating with the results we’ve got.”

When asked just what needs to be improved Lewis replied, “We need to be better on the floor next year and personnel will affect that. We need some experience so in the off-season we’ll have a look at it.”

Overall Essex have been one of the most courageous teams in the BBL this year; getting some hard luck at times, injuries holding them back and players coming and going. They can rest up now, spend a few months in preparation and come back even stronger to fight for the treasure the Pirates’ spirit so often deserved this season.

University of East London Homepage

Pirates Can't Handle the Heat