| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
Glasgow Rocks are entering a defining week of their season as they play the Tigers in the Quarter Finals of the Trophy Thursday Night, and then they play league leaders the Sheffield Sharks on Sunday.
The long journey up the M6 awaits the Everton Tigers on Thursday evening with a BBL Trophy quarter final tie against the Glasgow Rocks at the end of it. The last time the teams met north of the border was in November when the Rocks won 84-69.
“When we played Glasgow earlier in the season we were just coming together,” said Garbelotto. “We ended up taking the loss but a lot went against us. The Rocks are playing really good basketball right now.”
Both the Rocks and the Tigers are among a clutch of teams in the middle of the BBL table who are all trying to catch up with Sheffield Sharks and Newcastle Eagles at the top.
And while this is a Trophy match Garbelotto is quick to point out that this parity between teams makes for some intriguing matches.
“I always felt that every team in the league could beat each other,” he said. “But Sheffield and Newcastle are looking unbeatable at the moment. Yes, they can lose matches but it won’t be very many.
“I think you can put ourselves and Glasgow in with a group of MK Lions, Leicester (Riders), Cheshire (Jets), Worthing Thunder, Guildford (Heat) and Worcester Wolves who can all beat each other.
“From third down to tenth will probably be the closest race there has been for sometime in the BBL.”
Tigers had hoped that the signing of current league Most Valuable Player Trey Moore would help them break from of the pack. Garbelotto says it has been hard for the former Newcastle player to adjust.
“Trey has been really struggling and we don’t know why. It is never easy bringing a player in mid-season and while the style of play we run isn’t totally unique it is very systems orientated. It is just taking him time to fit in.
“We have missed Kevin Bell. He was someone that would score easy points for us. There’s a lot of pressure on Trey; he has to make shots, he has to play defence.”
Moore is averaging just over 17 points per match in the four games he’s played for Tigers. His proficiency from the free throw line is still very good having missed just three of 24 attempts.
Posted on 10 February, 2010
