LAST FOUR CALLS FOR BBL CUP

By Mark Woods on November 2, 2012

Glasgow Rocks crashed out of the BBL Cup as Sheffield Sharks pulled off a fourth quarter rally to steal a 72-71 win that secured a semi-final showdown with Leicester.
But Sterling Davisâ€™ men blew a golden chance when they led by as much as 14 with 12 minutes to go at the EIS.
Although GB forward Kieron Achara grabbed 22 points and 10 rebounds, the Sharks produced a late surge and held on when Glasgow captain EJ Harrison missed the gameâ€™s final shot.

Sheffield advanced onward to a last four tie with Leicester, who cruised past London 90-74

They were joined in the next round by Cup holders Newcastle, who will meet the winners of tonightâ€™s tie between Surrey and Plymouth after despatching Worcester 107-85.
The last remaining quarter-final throws up an intriguing clash betweenÂ Surrey Heat and Plymouth Raiders on Saturday nightÂ at Surrey Sports Park. The Heat are unbeaten at home but must be concerned over Raiders being intent on revenge after Heat beat them only last Sunday to inflict a first defeat on Gavin Love and his players.

Not only must Raiders – led by Â October’s Player of the MonthÂ Colin O’Reilly – try to take one step closer to successive BBL Cup Final appearances, they must also get back on track in the BBL Championship too, andÂ that task starts tonight at Manchester Giants.

While hardly ideal preparation for the quarter-final on Saturday, Love is just relieved his slightly undercooked team are now in the thick of things.

“I’m happy to be playing more games now since up to this point, we have played half the amount of some other teams so it’s actually good to get ourselves going,” insisted the playcaller.

There are other league games over the weekend includingÂ the north west derby between troubled CheshireÂ and Mersey TigersÂ and Tigers forwardÂ Chris Bigley isÂ determined to improve on their performance against Wildcats last time out.

He said, “Coach Walsh rams home the point that it’s pretty much us against the world right now.

“Despite the efforts of everyone, we just can’t afford periods of two-to-three minutes like we had against Durham and expect to still be in the contest down the stretch. But, were chipping away at the deficit from game on game and maybe we will sneak one soon and that would certainly upset the apple cart.”

Durham Wildcats meanwhile will be searching for a third win of the season whenÂ Manchester Giants face them at Durham University’s Queens Campus.

Finally,Â Glasgow Rocks welcome Worcester Wolves to the Emirates ArenaÂ on Sunday night desperate to improve on their disappointing league form which has harvested only a solitary win from four games so far.

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