Aaron Falzon sets up to shoot from three-point range. Photo: Leicester Riders
The Leicester Riders are through to the BBL Playoffs semi-finals after cruising past the Bristol Flyers for the second time with a 92-79 win, adding to Monday’s 85-56 win to end the two legs with an aggregate 42-point margin.
Malta international Aaron Falzon, who did not feature in the first leg, made up with ten points on Wednesday, going two-of-four from three-point range in around 15 minutes of play. Falzon added five boards to his points as the side started shaky in the first five minutes but dominated throughout.
Asked in the post-game comments, Riders coach Rob Paternostro lauded his side’s efforts.
“I thought we did a good job. The first five minutes or so came out a little slow but after that, I thought we played a good solid game,” Paternostro said.
“It’s always weird with these leads and it always feels strange on the sidelines. But I think the guys handled themselves well. It was a real balanced attack when you look at the stat sheet I think we had six guys in double figures and one with nine, so the points were spread and the good thing is we didn’t have to play a lot of guys a lot of minutes.
“I really like the approach from our team, I’ve liked it all season and that’s why we won the league, because these guys come out and they mean business and I think today they did that.”
Asked about what was next on the agenda, Paternostro prioritized his side’s rest ahead of the semi-final games on homecourt in Leicester.
“This has been a great season and we’d love to cap it off right. We know we’re going to have a challenge in the semi-finals but I think now as we head away now we’ve got to rest it’s been a long week of travel so we’ve got to get rested up and get ready for another two legs,” the Leicester coach said.
