Kwesi Mugisa, Staff ReporterTHE KFC bMobile defending league champions, St. George's Slayers, will look to add the DHL Knockout Classic trophy to their collection when they take on the Runnin Rebels at 7:45 this evening at the National Stadium outdoor courts.
The last time the teams met, in the National Basketball League (NBL) play-offs, the Slayers won easily.
The Rebels had no answer for the Slayers' frontcourt line-up or their very crisp offensive execution. Defensively the Slayers swarmed the Rebels, forcing them into rushed shots for most of the series. But the Rebels are coming off a big win against the Link Up All-Stars by a comfortable margin.
LOOKING TO CHALLENGE
"They have a more experienced team than us and they are the defending league champions; as a result they definitely have the upper hand." Runnin Rebels coach Pete Matthews explained. "It should be a very challenging game, but we look forward to it.
"We know them very well and we may have a trick or two up our sleeves when it comes to slowing them down." he said.
But slowing down the Slayers will not be an easy task. In addition to their disciplined offensive and defensive execution, they have NBL MVP Owain Hall. When the teams last met in the post season Hall had 26 points in the first game and a 36 point, eight rebound performance to oust them from the playoffs. Containing him will, therefore, be a big part of the Rebels bid for success.
