BBL: Bristol Flyers start off on a high

Bristol Flyers started their 2014 BBL season on a high, taking home two wins on opening weekend.

First up was a 65-56 win over Plymouth Raiders on Saturday night, followed by a trip north of the border to beat the Glasgow Rocks 79-62 after a late rally.

Andreas Kapoulas’ side led 56-53 heading into the final 10 minutes and outscored their hosts 23-9, Roy Owen connecting on a three-pointer that helped open up the decisive advantage and complete a memorable maiden weekend.

Coach Kapoulas praised his team afterwards saying: “It was a great way to start the BBL Campaign. We had a good first half but I think we really stepped it up defensively in the fourth and we found the open guys which was great.

“I really think we have added experience to the team. That certainly showed in the fourth quarter and we had big players like Doug McLaughlin-Williams who really stepped up in the fourth. We’ve certainly added a depth to our team and it was a real team performance. It was great having a bench who were able to make the big plays when needed.

“The crowd really helped us especially in the fourth. I hope they enjoyed it and keep coming back to support us like that in all our home games!”

Manchester Giants marked their first BBL game at a new home with a hard-fought 76-72 triumph over last year’s runners-up Sheffield Sharks thanks to 24 points and some clutch play from Stefan Gill.

Durham Wildcats bounced back from their opening-night loss at Sheffield Sharks to spoil the debut of this season’s other new team, Leeds Force, winning 80-46.

Leicester Riders led by as many as 18 points at Cheshire Phoenix and, despite being pegged back within a single point in the fourth quarter, held on for a 65-59 success.

And David Evans hit all six of his three-pointers en route to a game-high 28 points as Plymouth beat Surrey United 94-74 for their first victory of the season.