Author

Joel Osborne writes

Posted Sunday, September 9th 2018 @BristolSportJO

Defence is everything for us - Kapoulas

Sunday, September 9th 2018

Andreas Kapoulas hailed Flyers’ defensive intensity as he reflected on his side’s 85-56 victory against Solent Kestrels.

The Flyers head coach saw his side notch their second straight pre-season win, despite a slow start which saw them trail by four at the end of the first period.

Marcus Delpeche led the way with a team-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds, whilst Tevin Falzon’s fine pre-season form continued, recording his first double-double for the club with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

"It was another very useful game for us in preparation for the season ahead,” Kapoulas told Bristol Flyers TV.

"Credit to Solent, they came out in the first quarter and they played really tough, but I didn’t think our defensive intensity was to the level that was required.”

Bristol outscored Solent 31-16 in the second period, including a 15-0 run, whilst holding their opponents to just five points in the last five minutes of the first half.

"I thought from the second quarter onwards we stepped it up, especially in those last five minutes,” he added.

"Defence is everything for us - we had spells where we did things well and we got consecutive stops which led to points in transition.

"We’ve got to be more consistent. The reality is we’re preparing for BBL play and we can not come out and play the way that we did for the first ten minutes of the game.

All nine Flyers players ended up on the scoresheet, apart from Panos Mayindombe, who was rested as a precaution following the opening pre-season clash with USA Select.

"I think everyone is finding out their role within the team, but it’s going to take time,” Kapoulas continued.

"Both Marcus (Delpeche) and Tevin (Falzon) were very active today, but for us, it’s about five guys on the floor playing together and contributing in different ways.

"I think that we’re ahead of schedule in terms of where we’ve been in previous years after just two weeks, but there are a lot of things that we need to continue to work on.

"We don’t want to settle. We want to stay hungry for it and continue to get better every day."

Flyers will continue their pre-season preparations when they host the Welsh National Team on Saturday, September 15th.

FIND TICKETS