Manchester Giants forward David Aliu reckons the side are improving despite the side’s fifth defeat of the season last Sunday.
The Giants had appeared to turn a corner after their abysmal start to the season after grabbing their first victory of the BBL campaign against the Birmingham Knights.
However, the feel good factor was short-lived as they followed the victory up with defeat against the Glasgow Rocks last weekend.
With pressure mounting this Sunday’s home tie against the Plymouth Raiders becomes a much more daunting prospect for Jeff Jones’ side but top scorer Aliu is confident of turning form around.
“We are very disappointed with the start we made to the season,” he said after his 24 points fell short as the Giants failed to recover from a cataclysmic first period in the 100-86 defeat against the Rocks.
“Losing your first games is not easy to handle.
“We didn’t have many pre-season games to iron out any problems so we’ve had to do it game-to-game but we are improving every game and that’s the most important thing.”
Despite the struggles facing the Giants, Aliu has continued to shine with a magnificent run of form that has not gone unnoticed.
Alongside the league’s leader in assists Stefan Gill, Aliu was named on the bench of this week’s BBL team of the week and with the forward credentials at the club it is only a matter of time before the Giants begin to perform well on a consistent basis.
The Raiders are in blistering form after they toppled league leaders the Worcester Wolves last time out and head coach Jay Marriot is anticipating a fast and thrilling encounter at the Wright Robinson.
“Manchester have had a slow start but have some real talent and heart in the team,” he said after victory against the Wolves lifted his side up into fifth position in the league ladder.
“Coach [Jeff] Jones is way too good of a coach not to turn things around and will be preparing them all week to take the fight to us.
“They love the running game as well so it should be a good match-up and we need to know our match-ups in order to get ahead in this contest.”
It is all to play for this weekend and a victory for the Giants could see the side climb three precious places as they look to mount a fight back this season.
Image courtesy of Jack Hinds, with thanks.
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