The cliché in elite sport is that it’s all about the process, rather than the outcome.
But Robyn Lewis admits that over the next month-or-so, more than a few thoughts about silverware will be creeping into both her mind, and the minds of her Caledonia Gladiators teammates.
Earlier this month, Gladiators defeated Sheffield Hatters to reach the Trophy Finals, in which Lewis and her teammates will attempt to win the first piece of silverware ever for Gladiators’ women’s side.
And it is, admits Lewis, impossible to overstate quite how significant a moment that would be for both her personally and her team.
“The Trophy Finals is absolutely massive for us. We’ve had some highs and lows over the past few months so it was nice to see everything come together in the semis and it means a lot to us to be in the final,” the 29-year-old from Paisley says.
“We really, really want to win some silverware. And as a Scottish player at a Scottish club, it meansmaybe even that little bit more to me. This has been a three-year build and the entire time, we’ve been working towards the moment when we win a trophy. And for the women’s game, a trophy would hopefully put us on the map that little bit more.
"Ahead of the semi-final, we had a very good week in training and we felt very prepared for that game so it’s about doing the same again for the final and hopefully by game-time, we’re ready to go.”
They’ve been unable to replicate their form of the Trophy Finals in the Women’s Super League, with the East Kilbride-based side currently sitting mid-table in seventh position, and a mixed campaign in the EuroCup Women has left Lewis somewhat frustrated at their inconsistency. However, she remains confident that there’s been enough glimpses of brilliance across the competitions to suggest the second half of the season can produce more highs than lows for Gladiators.
“We’ve been very up and down. Our European schedule has been very tough and then we dropped a few domestic games that we weren’t happy with. We’ve had high highs and low lows but we’re working hard every day to get that consistency,” the 5’1” point-guard says.
"Domestically, the league is getting much more competitive – the margin for error is much smaller than it used to be. If we have an off-day, there’s a team waiting to beat us. So getting that consistency is very important.
"We’ve been unfortunate not to get over the line in a couple of our European games, which is really heartbreaking and then we also had one of the top teams in France in our group which opened our eyes to a higher level of basketball. But that exposure will only make us better down the line.
“As a team, we all agree that the goal for the season is to win silverware, so it’s then about working out how to get to that point because a trophy isn’t going to magically appear.
"We know it's about consistency in our practice every single day and making sure we always have positive energy.”
Before Lewis and her Gladiators teammates can allow themselves to think about getting their hands on any silverware in the Trophy Finals at the end of January, though, they must remain focused on their league campaign, with the Scots hosting Leicester Riders in their final pre-Christmas game this afternoon.
And with a two week break from competitive action looming, Lewis is desperate to go into Christmas and New Year on a high.
“We want to go into Christmas with a win," she says.
"Over Christmas, we do have a little bit of down-time but also, in the back of all our minds, we know we can’t just work our way through a load of selection boxes because we want to hit the ground running in January. It’s all about balance, though, so I think it’s okay to fully relax on Christmas Day.”
For Lewis personally, this portion of her career is something of a second chapter given she retired from top-level basketball three years ago, only to return a year later and since then, she’s established herself as one of Gladiators’ most important players.
And by combining her status as a player at Gladiators with her roleas a strength-and-conditioning mentor, Lewis is having more impact than most on the club.
“Coming back to playing has definitely gone better than I thought," she admits.
"When you’re an athlete, your career passes in the blink of an eye so I just love that I’m still playing. I’m so passionate about the sport and the club and I really like that being Scottish is such a big part of Gladiators' identity.
"At this point in my career, I’m much more capable of zooming out and looking at things like the development of the younger players as opposed to focusing purely on my own performance.
"So it feels very special to be a small part of a much bigger thing at the club."
