DAVE Elderkin has told his Durham Wildcats to tilt for the play-offs after they notched their first ever BBL win over the weekend, writes MARK DOUGLAS.
The Wildcats have been competitive in the opening weeks of the season without actually putting points on the board but prevailed over former champions Cheshire Jets in a topsy-turvy clash at Newton Aycliffe on Saturday.
It was a major milestone for the expansion franchise, who have illustrated with their opening displays that they are far from the division’s whipping boys.
Indeed Elderkin believes they should be gunning for a top eight slot this season – with the play-off prize that would bring.
“It was a very important moment for the club – not just for the points it gave us but also for the confidence it will give our players,” he said. “We had an absolutely great second quarter and then I don’t know what happened at half-time. But we came back in the third quarter and managed to turn it around in the fourth.
“It’s massive for the players and it will mean so much for them. It gives them the confidence to go on from here.”
The Jets are in something of a transitional phase this season but anyone writing them off as a shadow of former sides would have been confounded when they went to Guildford Heat on Sunday and triumphed – a win that puts extra gloss on the Wildcats achievement.
It has been that sort of BBL campaign so far, with every team beating each other, and Elderkin hopes his team can make the most of it. “I think the play-offs has to be our goal. It’s not a question of realism, it’s a question of what we can do,” he said. “I certainly think our personnel is good enough and our results so far suggest we’re good enough to do it. With the results going as they are in the league, we have to be encouraged by our chances of getting into the play-offs.”
In a further boost to the Wildcats cause, they will welcome back Paul Elderkin from a serious shoulder ligament injury for their game with Worcester Wolves over the weekend.
Elderkin senior said: “At the moment we have a full compliment of players to choose from, which will be the first time this season that’s been the case.
“If Paul Elderkin comes through a couple of hard sessions this week then he will be in contention for his first minutes in the BBL.”
