Basketball: Paternostro's joy at Leicester Riders win
Leicester Riders head coach Rob Paternostro said he felt "tremendous" after leading his side to a nail-biting victory in the BBL Cup final.
His side defeated reigning champions Newcastle Eagles 85-80 yesterday in a repeat of last season's play-off final to clinch Riders' first piece of silverware in 12 years.
-
Riders led all the way until a final-quarter onslaught from Eagles saw them go behind with a minute left on the clock.
A three-pointer from Zaire Taylor made it 82-80 with just 30 seconds to play and then a trio of late free-throws from Jorge Calvo and Anthony Rowe sealed the historic win.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013
"When the buzzer went off, I just felt tremendous," said Paternostro. "To stand out here having won the competition in front of our fans just means so much.
"I am going to have no thoughts to anything other than this win. We are going to enjoy this one.
"We have been working round-the-clock to prepare for this game, and it will be great if, just for tonight, I didn't have to think about the rest of the season. I want to enjoy this one.
"I said in the locker room that you're going to have to knock this team (Newcastle) out five or six times because there is no way they are going to go down without a fight – this thing was going to the end.
"I just told them just to keep battling, no matter if they got rolls on the rim, just keep going and we will find a way to win.
"When you get to a final, you figure Newcastle are going to be there, so it makes it pretty good to be able to beat a class organisation and a great team like that."
Paternostro also paid tribute to Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan, whose last-gasp block in the dying seconds was crucial in securing the victory.
"I have said it time and time again, he is the best player in the league," said Paternostro.
"If I was having a draft, he would be selected first without a shadow of a doubt. He has meant so much to us over the last two years, he has led by example and he is such a skilled player. We are happy to have him on our team and no-one else's."
Comments