River Lions trending downward
Victor Raso has had enough.
Following a 105-83 road loss to the Vancouver Bandits on Canada Day, the head coach/GM of the Niagara River Lions expressed frustration with his Canadian Elite Basketball League team.
“They (Vancouver) shot the ball incredibly well, they made some tough shots and there were some calls that didn’t go our way but every time one of those things happened, it affected the next play for us and that was the game,” he said. “We were not mentally tough.”
Raso saw his team blow a 10-point lead in the first quarter and then after closing the gap to 71-67 in the third quarter, they were out-scored 34-16 the rest of the way.
“We ended up losing by 22 because every time something doesn’t go our way, we are not resilient and we are looking for someone else to blame. It has got to change immediately because it’s not the stuff that wins championships. It’s the stuff you lose with at the end.”
The game versus Vancouver has been a continuing trend for Niagara.
“When I said we hadn’t been playing good basketball, this is the kind of stuff that has been occurring and it is not good,” he said.
Raso is addressing the issue head on with his team.
“We did that today (Monday) and I will address it individually with the guys.”
Given the league plays a 20-game schedule, Raso can no longer show patience.
“Changes have to happen quickly regardless of what those changes are: skill related; mentality related; or, roster related,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of time because my transaction deadline is at 15 games and we only have three more games where we get to the point where I either stick with the roster we have or move forward.”
Niagara’s 7-5 record has it sitting in first place in the CEBL’s Eastern Conference but Raso feels the team is trending in the wrong direction.
“We have got to make internal changes first and address these issues. If we can’t do that, I have two hats (coach and GM) that I have to wear and I have to make sure that we are ready for a stretch run.”
The team, and Raso, have three games to figure things out.
“We will play better than we played today (Monday) but it is the approach. I don’t care about being in first or how many road games we have played. It is an excuse or it is a badge of honour if we do really well but what matters is the mentality and type of basketball you need to win at the end,” he said. “The last couple of games we haven’t been playing with the mentality and the approach that will win at the end.”
Top performers for Niagara against Vancouver were: Khalil Ahmad with 18 points and six assists; TJ Lall with 18 points; Nathan Cayo with 15 points; Louden Love with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots; and, Jahvon Blair and Aaryn Rai with seven points each.
Top scorers for Vancouver were: Koby McEwen (22), Tazé Moore (21 plus 10 rebounds and 14 assists), Nick Ward (18) and Zack Copeland (18).
Niagara hosts Calgary Thursday at 7 p.m.
Visit www.riverlions.ca/tickets for more information.
