Blake’s challenge is to keep the roster together

May 4 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

NEWCASTLE Eagles chief Paul Blake has pledged to do all he can to make sure their dominant side is not broken up in the summer.

The Eagles added the play-off championship to the Trophy and league titles yesterday with an 87-84 win over Everton Tigers, the only team that have come close to challenging their dominance of British basketball this year.

It pushes the Eagles up to 11 trophies accrued in the modern era – one closer to the all-time record of 12, which was set by Guildford Kings. The next couple of months will be busy for Blake as he goes about trying to retain the Eagles’ entire roster. With a budget that is not the biggest in the league, and wages below what could be offered in some of the bigger European leagues, it promises to be a intriguing couple of months for Blake and player-coach Fab Flournoy.

Certainly Tafari Toney, who will join up with the Great Britain training camp this summer, is likely to be on the radars of several clubs.

The Eagles are in a strong position, however, as the dominant side in Britain and possessing a fierce team spirit and bond that could prove persuasive. “I’ve got no time for a breather and everyone’s asking me the same question – can we keep the team together?” said Blake.

“There has been plenty of talk over the weekend about who is going where. All the rumours start now because everyone across the leagues are on one-year contracts.

“We’re in a good position, though, because we’re treble winners. Other players from other clubs will want to come to us but we don’t want anyone else, we want these guys we’ve got.” Blake paid tribute to the Eagles’ displays over the course of the season – and said that their first quarter performance against the Tigers was one of the best he’s ever seen.

“It was one of the best first quarters of basketball that I’ve ever seen. We didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

“It’s been a great, wonderful season for all of us and it’s much nicer to be walking out of Birmingham a success rather than last year. It’s been an interesting weekend, but a lot more positive than it was then. We weren’t feeling particularly positive then.”