STEVE²: DOUBLE TROUBLE

This weekend, The Worthing Thunder clinched the EBL Division 1 league title.

At the heart of the team's success this season has been the backcourt combination of The Two Steves - Messers Vear and Gayle.

Vear came up through the Ealing Tornados / London United programme, whilst Gayle is a product of the now-defunct Manchester Giants set up. Until this season, they'd never played together...not that you'd know it.

"We play well together, I ain't gonna lie," Vear told us.

"We worked out in the summer and we gelled straight away. We kinda vibe off each other".

Gayle's also positive about the situation: "Yeah, we're doing very well together, I'm not gonna lie!"

"I penetrate...Steve's there for the kick and he's knocking down the shot. But if the defenders don't come over, I'm going to the hole. I'm finding it really easy this year and I'm loving it!"

However, the two are quick to point out that there's more to the team than just them:

"We've got some good Americans," says Vear.

"We've also got Pat Bates in the middle, who's probably the best English big man...and he doesn't get enough respect...AND we've got deep a bench."

So going into the play-offs, who are the teams to look out for?

"WE are the team to look out for!" Gayle boasts.

"Because the way we're playing at the moment, I don't think we're going to get beat at all. Even on a bad day we're playing well, so...nobody!"

Vear adds: "On our day, we think we're unstoppable - that's the mentality we've got. We're going into games saying 'if we play like we CAN play, then we ain't going to lose'".

Worthing now face Coventry in the first round of the play-offs - a team they've comfortably beaten twice this season. However, whilst Vear is confident, he knows that they can take nothing for granted:

"They can shoot the lights out," he says.

"The first time we played them, they hit 9 threes in the first quarter...and when we played them at our place they hit 7 threes in the first quarter...so they shoot the ball well!

"If we can stop them from doing that then I think we'll be fine. But I don't want us to be going in there complacent. We're not going to take it lightly".

Looking at the play-off picture in general, Vear told us: "I don't think we have to go through Reading or Sheffield until the final - which is good news, because they're both tricky.

"The team no one should sleep on is London United. They beat Reading - which did us a massive favour.

"Manchester beat Coventry by 30 last night, which shocked the hell out of me. We beat them by 25 at our place, so they seem to have improved.

"If we beat Coventry we'll end up playing Worcester or Manchester, both of whom will be tough".