Cheshire Phoenix captain David Aliu admits his side’s failure to secure their maiden victory at their new Cheshire Oaks Arena home is a millstone around their neck.
Despite coming close to turning over a 21-point deficit at one stage, the Nix were beaten 87-72 by the visiting London Lions on Sunday, a defeat that stretches their winless streak to three games at their new home.
And with the club keen to keep the strong support that they have enjoyed thus far in Ellesmere Port coming back, Aliu knows that the first win needs to come sooner rather than later.
“It definitely is (a millstone),” said 34-year-old BBL veteran Aliu, who is in his second season with the club.
“All I want to do is get a win for the crowd who come out and support us every week and who have been fantastic from the beginning, especially with the move from Chester to Cheshire Oaks. I want to be able to give them the first win because we have a fantastic following and I want to give something back and the way to do that is on the floor.
“It will come, it has got to. We have got to improve and get that first win.”
Cheshire Phoenix 72 London Lions 87
The Nix came out of the traps in sluggish fashion on Sunday and allowed London to race into a 21-point lead by early in the second quarter.
A superb 14-0 run midway through the second brought head coach John Lavery’s men back into contention. But it was to prove too much of a hurdle to overcome as the Lions managed to keep the hosts at bay in the second half.
“We just came out flat at the beginning and didn’t start the way we needed to and that made it an uphill battle from the beginning,” added Aliu (pictured inset).
“It’s always tough to be chasing the lead and I think we were down 21 at one point. It takes a lot of energy to come back but we just need to play the way we did in the second quarter instead of starting late and chasing leads.”
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Aliu, who had nine points and eight rebounds in the defeat, stressed the need for the team to be more patient with their shot selection, with the Nix wasting possesion needlessy on numerous occasions in a bid to get a quick score when playing the shot clock would have been a better option.
He added: “We need to be a bit more disciplined when things aren’t going for us and be a bit more patient and make the right decisions because if shots aren’t falling for us early on we need to be a bit more patient and get a bit more of a structure going.
“We knew we were in a position to win it but when you are down such a large deficit then even if you get the game back you expend so much energy that it is really hard to keep it consistent.
“Basketball is all about runs and ups and downs and we had ours and they had theirs but we seemed to miss our final run which would have got us over the finish line.”
The Nix, who have a 3-4 record in the league, are next in action on Friday at struggling Sheffield Sharks (7.30pm), before heading back to the Cheshire Oaks Arena on Sunday, November 8 (5.30pm) for the visit of Leeds Force in the BBL.
