Bristol Flyers head coach Andreas Kapoulas admitted that his side needed to be more “consistent” in their 80-84 ENBL defeat against Inter Bratislava on Wednesday.
“I think that there were a lot of positives out there,” he acknowledged, “When you play a team like that, you’ve got to be really consistent on both ends of the floor, and we had spells in the second and third quarter where that consistency lacked on the offensive or defensive end.
“We kept on fighting and even at the end where the game was like five or six points difference, we were able to execute on offence and even have an opportunity potentially, if we could make the free throws, to win the ball game.
“But it doesn’t just come down to those free throws, it’s other things as well… so you know you need to do a combination of things, and it doesn’t always come down to one factor. We need to be consistent in all those areas of the game.
“So, there is a disappointment because of the loss, but at the same time, we’re making the right steps forward as a group.”
The Flyers are 0-4 so far in this season’s European campaign, having faced last year’s champions Bakken Bears, nine-time German Basketball Bundesliga champions Bamberg, and Polish giants Legia Warsaw.
And while results haven’t gone their way, there have been plenty of positive signs so far against such strong opposition, and Kapoulas is looking at the bigger picture.
“The ENBL is a great competition, and the level of competition is much higher than what it was last year; you see a club like Bamberg who beat Alba Berlin the other day in their domestic championship, which is a EuroLeague club, so it is a very high-level competition,” he said.
“You have a lot of clubs with much bigger budgets and resources out there, but I think that we’re competing.
“From the wins and losses perspective, it doesn’t look great, but I think all the performances that we’ve put on the floor have been very positive and actually, sometimes we’re leaving with a feeling of disappointment from not actually getting the results, which speaks highly of how we’re battling above our level.”
The Flyers came out firing early on, in part due to the exploits of shooting guard Trey Tennyson who caught fire, hitting three three-pointers to give the Flyers a 30-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The visitors grew back into the game in the second period, Dontay Caruthers scoring 14 points in the quarter, though the Flyers held on to take a six-point lead into half-time.
Caruthers, along with Isaiah Cousins, formerly of the NBA G League, combined to tie the game less than two minutes into the third quarter, and after exchanging scores through the period, the score going into the fourth was 56-56.
The final quarter remained close for large parts, though Bratislava eventually pulled away with a six-point lead, their largest of the game, though the game was eventually decided by free throws – the Yellow and Blacks making all but one of their eight shots from the line to Bristol’s three from eight.
Final: Bristol Flyers 80-84 Inter Bratislava pic.twitter.com/PxD6OqgmEl
— George Townsend (@GeorgeTJourno) November 6, 2024
It’s a quick turnaround for the Flyers, as they take on the Cheshire Phoenix tonight in the Super League Basketball Championship – winners of the SLB Trophy North group.
The Phoenix won the British Basketball League Trophy last campaign, as well as finishing second in the Championship, and finishing as runners-up to the London Lions in the Play-Offs.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” the head coach said, “We’re going to go through things on the court, we’re going to make sure that we build that element of consistency again.”
“They play a very fast-paced type of game, very similar to ours, so obviously, our bodies need to be ready for this 40-minute battle, but at the same time, we’ve got to keep progressing.
“Sometimes, especially when you have those types of losses, having another game in a rapid turnaround is what the team needs, and it’s about toughness, it’s about togetherness, and I think that they’re the moments that reveal character for our team.”
