Coach Paternostro: “This Riders team is more focused than any other I’ve coached”

by UK American Sports Fans

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With a long season culminating in the BBL Play-off Final this Saturday 12th May at the NIA in Birmingham, you could forgive the occasional lapse in concentration from both sets of players as they look forward to returning to their home countries to spend summer with their loved ones.

But speaking to Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders Head Coach Rob Paternostro, he says his team are more focused than ever before:

“A long season is coming to an end, everybody is excited about playing in the game, I’m sure everybody is excited about eventually going back to their families. But in my four years coaching, this group has been more focused on a task at hand than anyone and we’re all fired up to go down there and play in Birmingham.”

Although a handful of the Leicester Riders players have competed in BBL Finals before (Sherlock, Sullivan and Williams), for the majority, this will be their first time. Coach Paternostro himself joins the minority of the team in having had previous BBL Finals experience, but this will be his first time as a Head Coach.

With that being the case, how have preparations gone?

“Early on after we won the Glasgow game, we enjoyed it for a day or two,” said Paternostro. “But it’s gotten back to normal this week. Same approach, same preparation, same way we go about things. There has been a definite buzz in the room. The guys are so excited about playing in this game.

“We’re doing everything in our power to try to figure out how to win a basketball game and what’s good for us is that over the last two months or so, every game was treated as a must win and Saturday will be no different.”