Three years without silverware is the longest the club had gone without getting their hands on a trophy since Paternostro won his first with the club in 2012.

The SLB Championship trophy was the 18th major honour he has won in his 17 years as Riders boss.

Jaylin Hunter, voted most valuable player in the play-offs, and Zach Johnson finished up as joint top-scorers with 23 points each in a final that Leicester dominated from the outset.

The East Midlands club were 11 points up at half-time and by the time that was blown out to 20 in the third quarter, Paternostro saw his side “locked in” and in a “good position” to get the job done.

“As we left Leicester, we felt the guys were really prepared and knew everything about the opponent,” Paternostro added.

“When I look back at all these trophies, it’s not just about the ball going in the basket, or the great assist or the slam dunk, it’s about the people that we had that were hard workers and good team-mates who were able to shine on the big day.”