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| Feeling The Heat; archives | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 17 2007, 11:29 PM (605 Views) | |
| Bada Bing | Dec 17 2007, 11:29 PM Post #1 |
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El Crack
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09 NOV HEAT BEGIN THEIR LEARNING CURVE Not being able to make it to Guildford Heat’s first even ULEB Cup game against former European champions KK Bosna in Sarajevo on Tuesday 6th November, I was glued to the radio, listening to coverage provided by BBC Southern Counties Radio, with expert commentary from Rob Paternostro, now of the Birmingham Panthers. In front of 6,500 fans at the Zetra Olympic Arena, the Heat, who are not renowned for bursting out of the blocks, started slowly. In the build-up, Rob had warned that Guildford “can’t let the game get out of hand early on.” But this is exactly what happened. Bosna raced into a 14-0 lead, with the Heat missing their first five shots before Carlton Aaron drained a two to finally get the UK league champions on the board. But undeterred the home team kept on going, extended their lead at one point to 21-4. Things were looking grim and critics who had suggested that the Heat’s decision to go into Europe was perhaps a little premature may well have felt justified in their belief. But Guildford started to stir late on in the first quarter, adding a further seven points as the period ended 29-11 in favour of the hosts. Hardly an auspicious start, but more encouraging than 14-0. And things continued to improve in the second quarter, with Danny Gilbert hitting three straight three-pointers as the Heat impressively dragged themselves back into the game. Bosna, meantime, had benched their most dangerous and highly paid player, Lance Williams, a move that Guildford were able to take advantage of. At 37-18, Coach Zdovc called a time-out, after which the home side went to a full court press in an attempt to curtail the Surrey side’s newfound momentum. But to no avail. Brian Dux, who seemed initially to be having trouble with Bosna’s huge defenders, began to find his range, successfully sinking a couple of his patented floaters. Guildford, who according to Rob Paternostro, had started off “looking a little tight” – a surmise certainly borne out by the early scoring – were beginning to find their game. The half ended with a deuce from Danny Gilbert which pegged the gap back to ten points (47-37), an extraordinary change of fortunes greeted by boos from the momentarily disgruntled home supporters. With 15 first-half points, Gilbert was Heat’s man-of-the-match so far. Thanks to the team’s re-awakening, Southern Counties Radio’s brave decision to air the Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” at the break was not as comical (or tragic) as it might have been. Heat chiefs were upbeat, with Marketing Director Phil Hardy claiming to be a “very happy man”. There was talk of a fantastic second quarter (with Heat outscoring their opponents 26-18) and a palpable feeling of relief all round. Known for being able to turn it on in the third quarter, Guildford could even begin to think the unthinkable … But, perhaps thanks to some frank talk from their coach, and certainly thanks to the reappearance of the devastating Lance Williams, Bosna were able to get their show back on the road. While they didn’t have it all their own way, they did succeed in keeping Danny Gilbert a little quieter than he previously had been and even extended their lead by a modest but significant two points. But Guildford kept the gap down to 12 points at the end of the stanza (64-52) and certainly deserved credit for hanging around. And when Dan Wardrope hit a three-pointer early in the fourth, reducing Bosna’s lead to single figures, anything seemed possible. Gilbert tried for another trey but missed and the game started going away from the Heat, who never got as close to their hosts again. The Sarajevo team, with their “borderline NBA players” and their all round height advantage, had enough to see out the game, shading the final period 20-16 for an 84-68 win. In the words of Rob Paternostro, Bosna were just “too long and too strong for the Guildford Heat”. So where does this leave Guildford’s ULEB Cup campaign? Certainly not in tatters. In his post-match interview Coach Paul James expressed pride in his players and talked of “making little steps to continue our progression”. Mike Martin pointed out that every match in the competition was great experience for the players. There’s no doubting that the ULEB campaign will be hard. But judging from last night’s performance there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be positive. |
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EuroLeague Women because women's basketball is the most important thing in life after family and good health! | |
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| Bada Bing | Dec 17 2007, 11:31 PM Post #2 |
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El Crack
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17 NOV EUROPE ON THE HOME FRONT There was a strange kind of atmosphere in Guildford last Tuesday evening. The Spectrum was buzzing, the converted ice rink looked magnificent, a haven of warmth on a cold winter’s night. An arena in the heart of Surrey fit to host one of the giants of European hoops. Two thousand fans turned out to see the game, rightly billed as the biggest club basketball event in the UK for over a decade. Determined work with the local media had borne fruit. Amongst the fans, those in the know were not anticipating a home win. They were excited at seeing the team sitting atop the ACB, tied with Real Madrid and Barcelona with a 6-1 record. They were full of anticipation at seeing Ricky Rubio and Spanish world champion playing in West Surrey, a pleasant part of the country that, with the exception of basketball, has never hosted a top-level sports outfit. They were intrigued that the incongruous phrase “Guildford in Europe” corresponded to reality. But Tuesday night was not an easy one. For reasons of which all readers of the Badaball site will be aware, Brian Dux was absent. In a display of solidarity at once touching and defiant, all the Heat players wore “Dux No. 6” headbands. They were going up against a larger, more skilful and infinitely better funded Spanish team without their talismanic point guard, the heart and soul of the team. John Hobbs has already posted a detailed report of the game itself. To resume, after Toney Dorsey had pulled the score back to 2-3, DKV broke away, with Ricky Rubio scoring seven in the first four minutes and Demond Mallet notching up double figures for the Catalans with a triple. Despite an excellent second period that included a 10-2 run in Guildford’s favour, DKV were able to stretch their lead to 48-32 at the half. Any thoughts of a rousing home team comeback evaporated in the third period which ended with a 30 point gap at 78-48. The fourth quarter was a subdued affair with both teams running the bench. Chi Lewis-Parry scored a lay-up on the buzzer to push the Heat past 60 and the game ended at 61-95 in favour of the once and – doubtless – future kings of Europe. The DKV match report (http://www.penya.com/) talked of a “hammering” (“un contundent triompf”). Certainly, for long periods of the game, the Guildford players looked a little out of their depth. Tony Dorsey, with his substantial European-level experience and Mike Martin, ever the warrior, were standouts for the Heat, with the latter’s jam after taking the ball past the massive Czech Lubos Barton one of the highlights of the match. And, after the final buzzer, Coach Paul James was enthusiastic about the performances of the younger players. The sight of James Jones putting the ball around the back of Ricky Rubio for an open lay up brought joy to the hearts of Heat fans, as did the air-punching enthusiasm of John Nottely (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist), and Lewis-Parry (5 points, 1 block). Along with the more senior members of the roster, players like this have the potential to maintain the Heat’s forward momentum. But, unsurprisingly, without Brian Dux, the Heat looked a little less like the team that made such a splash last season. Everyone at the club wishes him the speediest and fullest recovery. |
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EuroLeague Women because women's basketball is the most important thing in life after family and good health! | |
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| luker-t | Dec 20 2007, 07:48 PM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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hmm so how come feeling the heat gets an archive and my "legless but still standing" doesnt?
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8:51 AM Jul 11