Article Originally Appeared in Times Union
“It’s the playoff series everyone wanted.
Albany vs. Schenectady. The Capital Region’s longstanding pro basketball franchise against its first-year rival.
The Albany Patroons take on the New York Phoenix in The Basketball League’s North Atlantic Division semifinals. Game 1 of the best-of-3 series is 7 p.m. Thursday at Washington Avenue Armory in Albany.
“This is what it’s all about, man,” Patroons coach Derrick Rowland said. “I think it’s great for both teams to get a game like this, a series like this and I think it’s going to be tough battle the whole series.”
Game 2 will be 7 p.m. Saturday at Armory Studios NY in Schenectady. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 3 p.m. Sunday in Schenectady.
The Patroons, who finished third in the regular season, won 122-106 at the Halifax Hoopers in Nova Scotia on Tuesday in a play-in game. Phoenix co-owner Sam Clifford, whose team finished first, said he was happy to see Albany advance.
“It’s such a special treat for the 518, for the Capital Region,” Clifford said. “It wouldn’t be the same if it was not Albany. It’s very, very special. I think both teams wanted to play each other. I think I can speak for a lot of people and I think everyone is very happy at how it’s built itself up.”
If Halifax had advanced, all three games would have been played in Schenectady to reduce travel costs. Instead, it will be a matchup of two teams only 18 miles apart.
The Patroons (18-5) and Phoenix (18-3) split their four regular-season meetings, each winning once on the other’s homecourt.
TBL president Dave Magley, who played for the Patroons in the 1980s, said he hoped for a playoff matchup like this when the league granted Schenectady a franchise this season.
“Of course,” Magley said. “It’s actually been better than I thought. I didn’t know it would be a 2-2 (regular-season) series with, really, very little confusion. The teams get along, they all compete hard. They’ve been the best crowds of the year for both teams, for the most part, so I’ve been happy with it.”
There are strong ties between the franchises. Sam Clifford and his wife, Rebecca, operated the Patroons for the past two seasons before starting the Phoenix with Paul Marquardt.
“It’s always going to be odd,” Clifford said of returning to his former arena. “Because for two straight years, we basically lived at the Albany Armory.”
Former Patroons guard Trevis Wyche is the Phoenix head coach. He brought with him ex-Albany players AJ Mosby, Arsenio Arrington, Mustapha Traore and Shadell Millinghaus.
“We know each other well,” Rowland said. “I’ve got a lot of my guys over there. We know their players. They know us. They’ve got a lot of talent. But ti’s going to come down to the details, who executes the small things in this series.”
Efforts to reach Wyche were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the Patroons have changed on the fly. Albany native Trahson Burrell, who averaged 22.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, left the Patroons earlier this month to play for more money in the Dominican Republic. While commending Burrell for doing what’s best for his family, Rowland said the lateness of his departure made it impossible to replace him.
In the play-in victory over Halifax, Albany had three starters who joined the team at midseason – guard Denzel Banks, power forward Tyshon Pickett and guard Zion Styles. Guard Ja’Quaye James, in his second season with Albany, scored 28 points in the victory. He averages 19.6 points and 8.4 assists per game.
Patroons guards Derrick Rowland Jr. (hand) and Elijah Ford (back) might return Thursday after missing the past several games, the elder Rowland said.
Rowland called Game 1 “a must-win” for his team because the final two are scheduled in Schenectady.
“It’s not going to get much bigger than this,” Rowland said. “I’m sure if Halifax had played Schenectady, it wouldn’t be the same. So there’s a lot riding on this series.”