PJ Completes the Collection
Paul James completed his personal collection of BBL medals
as his Guildford Heat team became the first to ever score
100 points in a BBL Championship Playoff Final to defeat the
Marshall MK Lions at the NIA on Sunday.
James had previously won all of the major honours in the
BBL with the exception of the post-season competition, and,
in fact, the Heat had won the Championship, Trophy, and Cup
under his stewardship in the last two seasons. However, twice
as a player and twice as a coach, James had been on the losing
side in the BBL Championship Playoff final.
Understandably, the 43-year-old was delighted with Sunday's
100-88 success,
"I enjoyed every second of it," he said. "It
was a fantastic weekend for everyone at the club and the whole
season has been my best ever. The things we had to deal with
have made us stronger: we lost Brian [Dux] and we had to play
the extra ten games in Europe. To finish the way we did makes
me incredibly proud. To play with such style and go into the
summer as the last team standing is a great testament to everyone
connected with the Heat."
Heat defeated Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 81-66 in the semi-final
on Saturday, and James was pleased with how his side performed
in the two games,
"We had great performances in both games. We did what
we wanted to against Plymouth, we disrupted them and stopped
them playing their game. Against Lions it was a matter of
telling the players it would be a case of us losing it rather
than them winning it.
"I told them that MK weren't smart enough to win it
by outplaying us. We needed to keep running, and wear them
down. Our big players - Danny Gilbert, Mike Martin, Tony Dorsey,
and EJ Harrison - all stepped up and had fantastic games.
It was a fitting end to a brilliant season."
Heat won the league and BBL Cup last season, and having now
added the play-off crown to the BBL Trophy success in March,
James admitted that it was hard to believe the success his
three-year-old club have achieved,
"It's madness really, we've won all of the four trophies
in two years. I'm not sure what's next for us. I guess we
want some success in Europe, but I'm really happy with the
team I have, and I will try very hard to keep them all together.
We've been one American short since November, so we'll look
to see if we need to bring someone in, but we want to keep
pushing forward, make teams worried when they play us, and
to keep playing the game the proper way."
Heat lost the services of inspirational point guard Brian
Dux following a serious road accident in November, but James
was delighted to learn of the progress that the 27-year-old
is making,
"I spoke to Brian on Monday, and he was chuffed that
we had won it. He was disappointed that he couldn't be there,
but he's pleased for everyone at the club and really excited.
He had managed to take a few steps at rehab, which is music
to my ears. I'm so pleased that we got a winner's medal for
him."
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