Storm’s playoff journey begins against Bristol

Hemel Storm’s postseason endeavours start on Saturday evening as Bristol Hurricanes visit the StormDome for playoff quarter final action. 

The Hurricanes snapped a seven-game losing streak last weekend, overcoming Newcastle Knights to secure the final top-eight spot. That barren stretch included a defeat to their opponents on Saturday, the Storm, who got the better of the sides in their most recent meeting in late March. 

That was a close affair, 87-91 the final score in Bristol, and Storm owed much to Matt Ellis’s Player of the Week-winning 29 points. They’ll have noted, however, the troubles the Hurricanes caused them, moving the ball quickly throughout to constantly threaten and ensure that they could not pull away. 

Storm are in the midst of a tough period themselves, despite being crowned NBL Division One Champions for the second time in the last three years. They’ve lost two on the bounce and four of their last six, with last Saturday’s trip to Bradford unsuccessful as a lack of discipline cost them. 

Mark Clark’s side will look to direct their focus firmly on on-court matters this time out, rather than letting perceived injustices from the officials distract them. The six technical fouls they picked up on Saturday proved significant as they fell to a five-point defeat and they must move past that ahead of this weekend. 

Daniel Edozie may be their biggest threat, leading Bristol’s scoring with 18.5 points per game and ranking second across the whole league in terms of efficiency. Another former top-flight operator in Elvisi Dusha hurt them from long range in last month’s encounter, while Lithuanian Vilmantas Dilys is a key man for the Hurricanes, although he’s been absent since March 6th. 

Storm lead the season series 2-0 so far, having also claimed a 10-point win in Hemel earlier this campaign. They’ll be desperate to shrug off their slight blip of late and find their form when it really matters as knockout basketball is upon us. 

A victory on Saturday will secure a home semi final next week, where they will hope to face either MK Breakers or Loughborough Riders. For further ticket information on that potential clash, keep an eye out on the Storm website and socials, and to purchase your tickets for this week’s quarter final, head to the Fanbase app now! 

Written by Callum Humphrey