Friday Fever

The conclusion of the third WBBL season will see a third different Play-Off winner crowned at The O2 Arena on Sunday.

Nottingham Wildcats are hoping it will be third time lucky in the season finale, while Sevenoaks Suns are also looking to finish on a high with both teams are out to complete a memorable double on the season.

The Wildcats have the recently crowned Molten WBBL MVP amongst their ranks in Ashley Harris and the American believes her side are ready to take the title on Sunday.

 

“Sunday is going to be a great game of basketball,” she declared.

“Sevenoaks are playing very well and have seemed to really come together throughout the season.

“We have had a great week of preparation heading into Sunday though and I really believe we are ready for this game.

“It’s going to be a physical and tough battle on both ends of the floor and I think it’ll come down to the team who does the dirty work/little details that’ll come out on top on the final buzzer.”

And, Harris is looking forward to playing on the big stage once again having played at the North Greenwich venue in last season’s Final showdown.

“It’s what every athlete in the country playing at this level wanted – a chance to play at The O2.

“We have worked hard to make it there and have overcame a lot of ups and downs this season in the process.”

Sevenoaks made history with their WBBL Trophy title earlier in the season and they finished the regular season in third place.

And, rising star Dani Lozzi cannot wait for the experience as the Suns look to cap a wonderful season.

“Not only is it such an amazing achievement that we’ve made the Play-Off Final, but to have the opportunity to play at The O2 is simply incredible,” she enthused.

“It is definitely the opportunity of a lifetime, and an experience to remember.

“This has been a pretty phenomenal season for us and we’d all love to finish the season on a high.

“This will be the last game for Gabby (Nikitinaite), Jade (Blackburn) and myself, before we go Stateside in the fall, so we’re all extremely determined to come away with the trophy.

“It would be an incredible way to end an incredible season.”

The awards season starts with a bang! Massive congrats @gxbszn of @gbbasketball and @7oakssuns #theWBBL

A post shared by WBBL (@wbblofficial) on Apr 27, 2017 at 4:54am PDT

The Suns defeated Nottingham in their final league game, but Lozzi knows it will be a different game and anticipates a strong challenge from the league champions.

“Nottingham is our toughest match-up yet, and their record this season proves this, however they are beatable, and we have nothing to lose.

“The road to the Final has not been easy, and we’ve had to beat some tough teams to make it, but I think we’ve definitely proved that we deserve to be here.

“We’ve been playing well the last couple of months, and we’re hoping we can continue our momentum into the final and play like we know we can.

“We’re going to have to play defence like never before and be composed on offence and take OUR shots, but I’m most confident in our ability to outwork other teams and grit it out till the end, so we’ll see what Sunday brings.”

You can watch this Sunday’s WBBL Play-Off Final on the BBC Sport website HERE and on the red button.