John Coffino says that defeat for his Cheshire Phoenix side in the BBL Trophy on Sunday should serve as a wake up call to his players.
The Nix head coach was disappointed with the defensive effort of his side as they missed out the chance to equal a 14-year club record as their 10-game winning streak came to an abrupt end at Plymouth Raiders.
The Nix failed to shut down the Raiders offence and allowed their Devon hosts plenty of open looks from outside as Jay Marriott’s side bagged themselves a 109-100 success to progress to the next round of the competition.
With the fourth-placed Nix flying in the league and putting the squeeze on the top three sides, Coffino is eager to see his side learn their lessons from Sunday’s defeat.
“I hate losing more than I enjoy winning and to lose a chance of silverware doesn’t sit well with me,” said Coffino, who gave a debut to new signing, American swingman Dustin Salisbery who joined the club on Friday.
“I thought our defensive intensity just wasn’t there and we allowed them way too many open looks and made thinks comfortable for them.
“We had an incredible start to the game but I think that we took our foot of the gas and were too focused on the scoreboard.
“We have been heading down a slippy slope since Christmas so this needs to act as a wake up call. To a man every player knows that they didn’t play their best.
“But I would rather have a wake up call in the middle of the season than at the end of it.”
The Nix travel to Yorkshire to face Leeds Force on Sunday (7.30pm) in the BBL Championship before hosting Sheffield Sharks on Sunday at the Northgate Arena (5.30pm).
With two games in three days this weekend, Coffino is wanting to see a response from his side and bounce back from their Devon disappointment.
“You can’t afford to take any days off in this league and if you don’t show up and be on top of your game, you are going to come away disappointed,” said Coffino, who is hoping to add a defensive UK player to his roster in the near future.
“Leeds will be a difficult game as they are a scrappy team and I’ve seen them come up with some great results against Manchester Giants and Sheffield Sharks this season.
“We can’t underestimate them and I want the guys to bounce back this weekend. We’ve two tough games coming up and we want to get on another winning run.”
