| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
Co-captain Julius Joseph sat out the Rocks recent victory over Cheshire Jets with a wrist injury and he’ll likely remain on the bench Sunday. Joseph talked about his injury and likely return.
“I got knocked down in practice a week or so ago and hurt it trying to break my fall. I tried to shoot a simple lay-up yesterday and it was still pretty painful. But I’m getting treatment that seems to be helping and practice next Tuesday looks like a more realistic date for my return.”
Also down is Danish super-sub and sharpshooter Bilal Clarance who twisted an ankle at Wednesday’s practice. His status is day-to-day, but Davis and rest of the Rocks must be ready to play without him.
On a brighter note, Glasgow’s Scott Russell was back in action yesterday after missing two days with a back strain. This comes as welcome news to Davis as his squad is now down to just five players who have seen significant minutes plus Russell and Edinburgh’s Andrew “The Giant” Sanders.
While Russell and Sanders are likely to see increased minutes, player/coach Sterling Davis has played down the Rocks injury woes.
“We’ll be fine. I still have some great players to put out there and all of us want to play every minute anyway. Scott and Andrew have been practicing really well and I’ll use them when needed, but the bright side is that I don’t have to spend much time thinking about match-ups and substitutions. I can just go out and play.
“Then again, you never know; with two more days of physio treatment, Bilal and JJ might wake up on Sunday feeling fine and we’ll have them as a bonus. Either way, we’re ready to give our all to win these last three games and get ready for the playoffs.”
PLAYOFF PREP
With just three games left in this British Basketball League (BBL) season, the Rocks must win out to retain hope of securing a top-four finish and that coveted home-court advantage for the quarterfinal round of the BBL Playoffs.
Davis is focused on that one remaining piece of BBL silverware.
"It's all about the playoffs now. We still have a shot at that fourth place spot, and we'll do everything we can to get it, but we also want to be ready if we have to go on the road.
"We can't control what Milton Keynes do in their last 2 games, so we're just focused on our own games. The main thing is that we finish the regular season strong and in synch so that we go into the playoffs feeling good."
After a record crowd of 2,417 turned out to see the Rocks last home game v Milton Keynes Lions just 2 weeks ago, the organisation will look for the another strong turn-out to help lift the Rocks to victory on Sunday.
“It was an incredible atmosphere in that game and it felt like a playoff game,” said Rocks General Manager Bruce Cook. “It’s amazing what a good crowd can do to influence a game in this sport. It not only inspires the home side, but we’ve had several occasions this year where I know the other team has missed important shots because they felt the pressure from our crowd. We need them there in full force Sunday.”
If all goes well over the next 10 days, the Rocks reward will be a rematch at Braehead against those same Milton Keynes Lions.
NOTES:
*Rocks v. Plymouth Raiders, Sunday 13th April, Braehead Arena, 5:pm start (doors 4:pm)
*The BBL regular season finishes on Sunday 20th April and Quarter-final playoff games will be held between the 23rd and 27th.
*The BBL quarter-final game on Wednesday the 23rd (teams TBC) will be shown live on Setanta Sports 1.
* * *
Posted on 11 April, 2008
