CAPTAIN Ashton Khan is desperate not to let another chance of reaching a final slip through his fingers as Worcester Wolves host Sheffield Sharks in the BBL Cup semi-final first leg tonight (7.30pm).

During his two-and-a-half seasons at Wolves, the point guard has had his dreams of lifting a piece of silverware dashed on three occasions.

He twice tasted defeat in the last four of the BBL Trophy and experienced the agony of missing out on a place at the O2 Arena following a gut-wrenching loss to Newcastle Eagles in the BBL play-offs in May.

Those sorry days still rankle with the 26-year-old.

And Khan has vowed to banish them from his memory bank by winning the two-legged tie against Sheffield to secure a spot at the Arena Birmingham next month.

“We got so close to getting to the Trophy final last season and were one point away from getting to the BBL championship final as well,” Khan said.

“I have tasted a few semi-final defeats in my years in the BBL playing for Wolves.

“But we have put ourselves in the position again so we want to make sure we get over this hurdle and make it to that cup final.

“The fans definitely deserve to see their club make a final.”

Sheffield have beaten Wolves in their last five meetings in the British Basketball League.

But when it comes to knockout competitions Worcester have proved too good for Sharks over two legs in recent years.

Khan was part of the side who defeated Sheffield in the BBL play-off quarter-finals last term and stressed the importance of “setting the tone” at the University of Worcester Arena ahead of the away leg on Wednesday, December 20.

“We can’t afford to get off to a slow start because we know it is an aggregate score and every quarter matters,” he said.

“Some of these guys are new to this type of format so I have been trying to let them know how important this game is and how important every play is.

“Even if we are up by 10 points with 30 seconds to go, we have still got to score as many points as we can.”

Khan added: “I quite like playing at home first as we can set the tone and let the opposition know how this semi-final is going to go.

“With the crowd behind us we can easily jump on them early and go 15 points up which would put us in a really good position.

“We feel like we are starting to get into our rhythm at the arena and know how to defend our home court.

“We are really confident going into this first leg so we have got to make sure we show that this evening.”