David Aliu says that last weekend’s win at Glasgow Rocks came at just the right time as the Mersey Tigers kept up the pressure at the top of the BBL.
After going 15 days without a game, the last being a 97-95 defeat at the hands of Milton Keynes Lions on February 3rd, the Tigers returned to action with a commanding 83-59 win at title rivals Glasgow.
They then watched on as league leaders Newcastle suffered back to back defeats against Sheffield (102-98) and Leicester (102-99) to potentially hand the initiative back to the Tigers in the title race.
Aliu said: “It was crucial beating Glasgow last weekend as the league is so tight at moment. Plus Glasgow is team right there in with a chance, so it gave us a boost and let the rest of league know that we aint going anywhere.”
The Rocks were blown away in the first half as the Tigers opened up a 49-30 lead, with Nate Reinking top scoring in the game with 22 points, and Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan racking up 21 points.
The win means the Tigers have the fewest losses in the league, sitting two points behind Newcastle but with two games in hand.
Aliu added: “With the losses of Sheffield and Newcastle, it puts us in a great situation but still, the season is a long way from over and if we want to win the league, we have to beat both those teams.”
Mersey Tigers return to action with a double header of games at Manchester’s John Amaechi Centre this weekend, taking on Plymouth Raiders (Friday, 7.30pm) and Essex Pirates (Sunday, 6pm) as they look to return to the top of the pile.
