Message Board
Chat Central
Mailing List
Competitions
Links

Contact Info
FAQ & Help

Westfield Sharks Sheffield Head Coach Chris Finch says that success in this year's BBL Championship Play-offs would be the ideal way to send off club captain Mike Payne, who is retiring from basketball after the upcoming Basketball Finals Weekend at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Saturday and Sunday.

33-year-old Payne, an international with 19 England caps to his name, has played in the top flight for the last nine seasons, including the last seven years with the Sharks. He has won every domestic honour available during an illustrious career, mostly with the Sharks, but play-off glory has always eluded Sheffield during his time at the club.

Payne has been a play-off runner-up for the past two seasons with Sharks, but hopes to put the record straight this weekend, before bowing out of the British game. Sharks play Scottish Phoenix Mitsubishi Rocks in the play-off semi-finals on Saturday (tip-off 6.00pm), looking to qualify for Sunday's final.

"You could definitely say that Mike Payne's retirement is a motivation for us," said Coach Finch. "Kevin Wall (Scottish Rocks' Head Coach) is also retiring and that could be a motivation for them, because they will want to send him off on a high. There are a lot of reasons why they will want to win and any other motivation you can get at this time of year is good.

"We have a similar situation with Mike Payne in our camp and although you shouldn't need them, these little things can help motivate you. We played upon that a little bit as we were shooting for the Championship, because it is a good rallying point."

As Finch points out, Sharks have already won the BBL Championship title this season and are now looking to add the play-off title to complete the "Double". If they do so, they will become the second team in as many years to achieve that feat (Chester Jets did the "clean sweep" last season), but only the second in the last ten years.

As well as Sharks versus Rocks at 6.00pm on Saturday, Brighton Bears and Newcastle Eagles clash in the other BBL Championship Play-off semi-final (tip-off 3.30pm), while Saturday's line-up is completed by the Men's NBL Division One Final (tip-off 1.00pm).

Saturday's action is just part of the Basketball Finals Weekend at the NIA. On Sunday, the Men's and Women's NBL Conference Finals will be staged (at 12.30pm and 2.30pm respectively) before the BBL Championship Play-off Final at 5.00pm.

Sky Sports 3 will screen live coverage of Saturday's BBL semi-finals and Sunday's BBL Final. There will also be live audio commentary of the BBL Championship Play-off Final on BBC Five Live Sports Extra.

Tickets for the event are available from the BBL on 0845 345 7890 or online at www.bbl.org.uk. Prices are £10-15 for adults and £7-10 for children per day or £23 for adults and £15 for children for both days.
Source: BBL