Tomorrow’s BBL Trophy final represents Caledonia Gladiators’ best chance of winning silverware in years – and head coach Gareth Murray is determined to ensure his players seize their opportunity with both hands.
The Scottish basketball side will face Cheshire Phoenix at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena this weekend as they look to secure what would be only the second trophy in the club’s history, and they go into the final from a rare position of strength.
The Gladiators will benefit from home advantage tomorrow and with the second-best record in the BBL on their own patch, it is a fairly sizable one. Add to that the fact that the Scots are currently ahead of Cheshire in the league table and all of a sudden, Murray’s men have the look of favourites.
The run to the final has come at an opportune moment. Earlier this month, owners Steve and Alison Timoney – who took charge of the club at the start of the season – announced plans to build a £20million facility in East Kilbride as a new home for the club, which they hope will become one of the best of its kind in Europe.
“We have had the announcement of the new arena, which is going to be huge for the club,” Murray said. “We want to get the name of the Caledonia Gladiators out there basically.
“We changed from Glasgow Rocks to Caledonia Gladiators and there are some people who are not too sure about the brand and all that. So we want to get that name out there, we want to show everybody what the intentions are for this team – not just the men's team, but the women's team and the whole community.
“The final is important for that. But at the same time, it's important for us to when we've not won the trophy in 20 years. I think this is probably our best opportunity. This is probably the best opportunity we will have for the next three to five years as well. So we’re really excited for that.
“We want to be a club that's playing in Europe in the next couple of years. We've got big ambitions, big plans and that and we have owners with that vision of how the club wants to get there.
“It is important it is for the community of basketball and the whole of Scotland. It's not just about Glasgow, it's about the whole of Scotland. That's why they changed the name to Caledonia, they want to reach the whole country. We want to make this facility the hub of that. Now it is ‘can we push forward?’.
“We have some good investment and owners that have a big vision. It’s important for the club to be winning something. That's where we want to be and that has always been the goal over the years. I think this is a huge opportunity for us to do that.”
Murray is expecting a tight encounter against Cheshire. The two teams have already met on four occasions this term, with the home side always coming out on top, and the 38-year-old from Arbroath is hoping that history will repeat itself tomorrow afternoon.
“The first two games we played them they beat us pretty bad down there,” Murray recalled. “They had a good start and we didn't start very well. We came back and took belief and then we kind of ran out and they finished the fourth quarter strong on us.
“The next time we went down there, we started well. We had to controlled the game until the last three minutes and then… Cheshire are a great team and they had a great crowd behind them, and then they get some momentum and we start missing some shots. It's difficult.
“Then they came up here and we had two good games against them. It was a high-scoring game, like in the hundreds, and we they kind of picked them apart and then the next game after that was a bit closer, but that's where we controlled the game for the majority of the time.”
Murray served as the team’s player/coach up until last summer, when he decided to call time on his playing career and focus fully on his management duties. As a player he never lifted a trophy with the Scottish franchise, although he did find himself on the losing side in finals – an experience, he believes, which will help him prepare for Cheshire.
“Obviously I don't need to get myself ready physically to play the game but mentally, yes,” Murray explained. “You can learn from those finals and I’ve played in my fair share of finals over the years but unfortunately was never able to win any of those.
🏆🏴 They've waited 20 years for another title, but this weekend @Cal_Gladiators have their chance to end the drought in the #BBLTrophy Final! Will they be ready for the challenge against @CheshireNix!? The players share their thoughts below!#KnowOurName #BritishBasketball
— British Basketball League (@BBLofficial) March 24, 2023
“You can take things from all of those games and the preparation leading up to the game is all about confidence, really. That's the huge thing, making sure everybody's feeling good. We've got a game plan for what we want to do against Cheshire, how to beat them, and it's about trying to stick the game plan as much as possible.
“Things do change throughout the game but we have played this team four times now so we kind of have a good idea of who they are and what they are. But for me personally, it’s just about making sure these guys are ready to play.
“We play very well at home and our home record speaks for itself. We have got the second-best home record in the league, it’s just our away record that’s not very good. That's why we're sitting in fourth place right now.
“We play good, team basketball. We come out with a lot of energy and we really jump on teams. We'll be looking to do that again on Sunday. We want to get a quick start to the game and build confidence around the group and play with the level of intensity that we are in a final and we want to win.”
