by Vlad Ionasc
Cheshire Phoenix will look for their third consecutive win in the BBL Cup when they’ll match-up against the Glasgow Rocks at the Emirates Arena on the 25th October.
The Nix find themselves in good form after two impressive road wins against the Riders & Giants. On the other hand the Rocks come into the fixture having lost their last two games in the Cup, against the Sharks and the Riders. It will be a crucial game for both sides as a win for either team will boost their chances of advancing to the BBL Cup quarter-finals.
The Rocks will provide a stern test for the Nix, they have a few danger-men that Ben Thomas’ team will need to be careful of. Parker Jackson-Cartwright will have a tough assignment, guarding the opposing point-guard, Greg Pyror. The Glasgow floor general is averaging 18.4 points-per-game and 2.2 steals-per-game so far in the BBL Cup. He can also shoot the basketball, he’s averaging 54.5% FG and 50% 3PT.
Alasdair Fraser is their top scorer, he is currently averaging 20 points-per-game. The power-forward will come into the game in good form, having scored 26 points on 12 for 16 shooting against Leicester. Frenchman Maxime Djo Ebala will also pose a threat. The 6’11 center is currently averaging 12.5 points-per-game along with 9.5 rebounds per-game. Having started just one game this season ,the big-man usually comes off the bench for the Rocks.
However, Glasgow also have plenty of weaknesses that will need to be exploited by Cheshire. One of them being poor rebounding. The Rocks have been dominated on the glass in all of their losses this season. The Nix must win the rebounding battle on Friday night in order to give themselves the best chance of coming home with the W.
The Scottish side aren’t the best at shooting. In their last two losses, they shot just 42.5% from the floor and an abysmal 22% from 3PT in their most recent loss against the Riders. Phoenix have plenty of shooters that can explode on any given night and with the prospect of Momcilo Latinovic potentially returning to the starting five, they can cause Glasgow a lot of problems.
Jackson-Cartwright will be looking to build on his near quadruple-double that he narrowly missed out in his last game, against the Giants. If he can put up a similar stat-line then the Nix will be in good shape at the Emirates Arena. Jalen Hayes had a great game against Manchester too, he will need to replicate his performance for the Nix to snatch a much needed win against the Rocks.
BRING THE NOISE! GO PHOENIX!