Flyers ready for Playoff Semi-Final

Bristol Academy Flyers coach Andreas Kapoulas is an excited man as his team prepare for this weekend's Final Fours:

"To be in the playoffs Final Four for a second time in three years is a great achievement for our team. Winning the National Cup and reaching the top four is a recognition of the hard work the players, coaches and supporters have put not only this season, but over the five years that our club has been in existence.

"I also need to mention that all of this will not be possible without the support that Filton Colllege and Principal Kevin Hamblin have given us over the years. They have been a vital part of our success.

"I think it is always good to be involved in the last weekend of the season and this was our target when we started the season back in September. In terms of expectations, I think a place in the final will be something that we really want as any other team that has reached this stage. However we got to concentrate on one game at a time as we have been doing all season. For now the semi-final versus Derby is the only thing in our minds."

As Kapoulas says, Flyers won their first piece of top division silverware when they won the National Cup in January and will be aiming to complete a double at this weekend's climax to the season.

A thrilling 63-61 overtime victory against Manchester Magic at the EIS in Sheffield saw Kapoulas' team win the oldest piece of silverware in English basketball as American import Davis Bowne finished with a 12 point, 13 rebound double-double.

After annihilating Plymouth Marjon 90-61 in the second round, Flyers had to win three tough games against Division One opposition to reach the championship game. Wins against Taunton Tigers (81-79), holders Reading Rockers (84-80) and Derby Trailblazers (83-76) put them into a top division title game for the first time, and they completed the job with a revenge victory against the club who beat them in the 2008 playoff semi-final.

Flyers will come against the Trailblazers again on Saturday (Follow the Live Stats) in the first semi-final, and Kapoulas expects a tough game:

"Derby are a very experienced, balanced side with very good coaching staff," he said.

"One of the key players for me is their point guard, Matt Shaw. I joked with him the other day that the only way to deal with him is to lock him in the changing rooms during the game!

"Jokes aside, Matt is playing really well and we definitely need to find a way to contain him. However, I do not think you can concentrate only on one player when you play a team like Derby as they have a number of players that can hurt you during the game. Gayle, Allaway, Baker and Spencer are quality guards with great shooting ability while the front court of Attewell, Madourie and O'Shea is the best, in my opinion, in our division.

"From our point of view, we need to concentrate on good team defence and we will need to think of ways to disrupt their offensive rhythm. In such a game, defence and rebounding are always going to be the decisive elements."

Bristol went into the final weekend of the regular season with a chance of making it a league and Cup double, knowing that if they won at Trailblazers, and Magic defeated Leeds Carnegie, they would be champions. Magic completed their side of the bargain, but Flyers came up just short at Derby as the home side took the title with an 82-76 victory.

Such a finish had looked unlikely as Bristol split their opening ten games and they looked set for a mid-table finish. However, that National Cup final victory against the Magic kick-started their league season, and they reeled off 11 straight wins to go into the final weekend of the season with a shot at winning the most closely contested Division One championship in recent years.

The Flyers also had some success in the National Trophy, bouncing back after a narrow loss against Taunton Tigers to beat their neighbours 81-67, and with two wins against Coventry Crusaders, they won their pool. London Mets were the visitors in the last eight, and that proved to be the end of the line for Flyers as they went down 86-84, but having already tasted success this season, Bristol will look to upset the formbook when they face Derby on Saturday.

If they are successful they will face either Manchester Magic in a repeat of the Cup final or London Mets, and Kapoulas expects the home team to prevail when they meet immediately after Bristol's semi-final:

"With Kimbrough back, Manchester have regained their lost confidence and that has been evident in their recent results. I think the fact that Magic play at home plus the experience of Kimbrough, Watts and Gill will give them the extra edge.

"Having said that though, London Mets are a very unpredictable opponent as they do really well to use their physicallity and athleticism to stay close to teams for the duration of the game. I would definitely not write them off but they will need to have a very good game to have a chance to progress to the final."

Back to the Flyers team, they were led by Doug McLaughlin-Williams who finished with 18.5 points and 6.36 rebounds per game, while English youngster Greg Streete added 12.8 points and 6.2 boards per game.