River Lions Prepare For Final Four

Guess who's dribbling back to Saskatoon?

Hint: They're the only Canadian Elite Basketball League team that wants to end the season the same way they started it, with a win at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatchewan's largest city.

A 99-97 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers in the spring-summer pro league's first-ever game on May 9 set the Niagara River Lions on a course that saw them finish first in the six-team league with a 15-5 record.

Niagara is now only two wins away from capturing the inaugural CEBL championship, but so are the second-place Edmonton Stingers, 14-6; third-place Saskatchewan, 11-9; and the No. 4 seed Hamilton Honey Badgers, 10-10.

All four qualified to compete in a sudden-death tournament that tips off Saturday in Saskatoon with Edmonton taking on the host team in the early game followed by Niagara facing Hamilton. Winners advance to the championship final Sunday afternoon.

The Guelph Nighthawks, fifth, 6-14; and the Fraser Valley Bandits, based in Abbotsford, B.C., sixth, 4-16; missed the playoffs.

While the River Lions emerged as the kings of the hardwood jungle during the regular season, they were paper kings in head-to-head play versus the Stingers. Edmonton won the season series three wins to one. In comparison, Niagara swept Saskatchewan 4-0 and went 3-1 versus Hamilton.

With the championship on the line this weekend, those numbers are little more than ancient history as far as River Lions general manager-head coach Victor Raso is concerned.

"The lessons you learn are the most important ones. If you approach every game wanting to win as bad as you do in the finals, then every single thing you have gone through is an opportunity to correct itself and make yourself better," he said. "I don't think there's lingering bad emotions, like 'We can't beat that team.'

"It's more like, 'We've been through all these things in the regular season.'"

Niagara hasn't played since Aug. 14, but Raso isn't worried about rust.

"We've been going good since Sunday night, so I'm not concerned about the time off. The approach I had was that this is a good opportunity to almost have a mini training camp," he said at a Tuesday practice session at Ridley College in St. Catharines.

"We went Sunday night, Monday morning, Monday night, then we went again this morning and tonight.

"Just to get back to the basics, get back to the fundamentals."

On Wednesday, the River Lions flew west with the focus shifted to reviewing videos.

"Once we get out there, we'll do film every day, practise every day in preparation for Hamilton."

From the outset, the River Lions wanted continuity and stuck with the lineup that started the season.

"The guys can all play at this level, they can play really well together," Raso said.

"There's an advantage to having chemistry, there's an advantage to having gone through things with each other, situations when everything is on the line, you've been there before, or at least you have been in similar situations before.

"It's a team sport, so if you bring in really good players, in the end, there's always a chance they can go off for 35 and win you the game.

"But championship games and elimination games never usually go well. It's always about the teams that are better on their worst day."

The River Lions' primary focus as they prepare for final four weekend in on themselves. That's what prompted Raso to use the break between games as a mini-training camp.

"I really did it because these guys are so invested. The last two weeks, they've been saying, 'We only got 12 days left together, we only got 11 days left together …'" he said. "I wanted to take this time appropriately, make sure we focus on us, getting better in our stuff."

The neutral-site atmosphere for all but the host Rattlers doesn't bother the River Lions one bit.

"No, I think it's cool. I think it's cool for us. We've said from the beginning of the year that we have to win two games on the road to win the championship," Raso said. "And that first game is not necessarily a road game. You just have to throw out the ball and beat the other team.

"Having beaten Hamilton in Hamilton the week before, I think our guys are pretty confident that it really doesn't matter what gym we're in, we have to play our game."

Despite their record in league play against Edmonton, the River Lions don't regard the Stingers as their kryptonite.

"It is what it is. There are definite things that Edmonton did to us that we didn't do well enough in those games," Raso said. "If we do get the chance to play them, that will be our biggest focus."

Niagara has to be better at rebounding if they hope to beat the Stingers in the final, should the teams make it that far.

"It will be good if we can get past Hamilton because Hamilton has a team that goes to the offensive boards really well. We have to be good defensively," the coach said. "The last time we played Edmonton, we got destroyed on the boards, we lost by 20, which you just can't do.

"If it's tied on the boards, I think the game would be in our favour, but if you lose it – especially, by that margin – you really have no chance."

Guillaume Boucard, whose average of 15.9 points per game led the River Lions during the regular season, isn't looking past Hamilton.

"I don't think anyone is going to have a sure road to the finals. I think everybody has to come ready, and that's what we're trying to do."

He likes Niagara chances heading to Saskatoon.

"If we hold each other accountable to be the best that we can be individually, we will be good against anybody," Boucard said.

He said the River Lions' struggles with Edmonton came down to rebounding.

" I think we lost most of them. They're a pretty well-run machine," Boucard said. "They can go deep, so we just have to match their energy."

Bernd.Franke@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1624 | @TribSportsDesk

Bernd Franke | August 21, 2019 | The St. Catharines Standard