Sunday 10 November 2013
Surrey Sports Park (15:00)
Fab Flournoy and his Esh Group Eagles Newcastle team want to step back onto the right path against Surrey United on Sunday after stumbling on a ‘bump in the road’.
Eagles didn’t have a game last week but suffered their second defeat of the season at home to Worcester last time out.
The experienced Flournoy won’t get carried away however, taking it all in stride as simply another stage in the journey.
Flournoy said: “Everyone is always disappointed to lose but we have a bunch of level-headed guys who understand that occasionally you have to take some lumps to get better.
“The Worcester loss was a bump in the road for us but hopefully no more than that.
“There are a number of extremely talented teams in the league this year and a lot of basketball still to play.”
But right now he won’t be looking beyond an exuberant Surrey side.
“Surrey is an extremely young team but not a team without talent,” he added.
“There is a significant gap between EBL and BBL basketball and it is sometimes not appreciated as such by people who don’t watch BBL regularly.
“As they are young they can play without pressure and I am sure that with every game they play they are becoming more attuned to the higher level. That in turn makes them a dangerous opponent.”
Last time they met:
Surrey United 96 Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 92 (BBL Play-offs, Surrey Sports Park, BBL Play-offs second leg – Eagles won 202-178 on aggregate, 21/04/2013)
What they say:
United guard Elvisi Dusha “I personally feel we are progressing rapidly in training and games, Leicester was just not what we expected.
“Everybody is fully committed to training and giving 100 per cent every time, and the chemistry is rapidly growing between us all.”
Eagles forward Stuart Thomson: “They are a young team so we need to make sure we control the game from start to finish and don’t let them find confidence.
“The Worcester loss was a tough pill to swallow and we have moved past it as a team but our next meeting will be highlighted in the calendar.
“We learned a lot about our team during that game and saw room for improvement. Our focus remains the same though – win the Cup, Trophy, League and Play-offs.”
