Heat Sharking for Victory at Surrey Sports Park
14 October 2011
The Sharks, who finished third in the BBL last season, have opened this season with three wins out of three in the BBL Trophy and this despite losing four of their five starts from last season.
Coach Creon appreciates the situation his opposite number, Sharks' player-coach Atiba Lyons, found himself in:
"Not many teams can lose players of the calibre of Ryan Patton, Steve Dagastino, Marcus Stout and Paul Williams and still start the season as one of the favourites for the championship. Atiba has to be complimented for replacing four of his starting five players that won silverware last year with three top players and some good young talent."
The Sharks have hit the ground running with three wins out of three. Last weekend they crushed the new-look Mersey Tigers 99-56 and the weekend before they beat the Cheshire Jets in back-to-back games, 66-62 at home and 86-84 on the road.
Coach Creon was quick to identify the main threats:
"Jimmy Langhurst knows how to score so we will have to pay special attention to him. Justin Dobbins is a power-house down low and rebounds well so controlling him on the boards will help us. Then they have Nate Reinking who knows how to make big shots at important times and can't be left open. This is a deep team when you look at what Olu [Babalola] and [Mike] Tuck bring to the table and with Colin Sing and Zach Gachette coming in from Essex Pirates they'll have a deeper bench than last year. Single man coverage will be key to helping us get a home win.”
Sharks Captain Adrian Anderson missed most of last season through injury but came on in the dying seconds of a late-season game to sink the Heat in overtime with a pair of vital free-throws. Despite the Sharks' good start to the season, he isn't taking the Heat for granted:
"They’re always a tough team to play against, and it’s a difficult place to play — especially as we have to travel down after a game on Friday. My job as captain this year is to make sure we’re focussed on every game, and it starts in practice. If we train hard and keep focussed, we’ll do well in games.
"Mike Martin is a consummate professional who stays in shape and plays hard in every game. Julius Joseph is an accomplished player and Martelle McLemore is a tough player to face. They’re the kind of team that have a lot of energy when they get ahead, so we need to start well and take away some of the home court advantage."
The game tips-off at 3pm at Surrey Sports Park and you can get your tickets via the Surrey Sports Park Box Office or by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111.
