Reading Rockets will play arguably one of the toughest games in their history as they take on the British Basketball League Champions, the Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Trophy first round at Rivermead this Wednesday (13th) at 7.30 pm. This is the second time in 12 years that the EBL Division 1 club have been invited to participate in such a prestigious competition, the first being in the 2006-2007 season where they were knocked out in the pool stages. The Eagles are current holders of the BBL Trophy having beaten the Guildford Heat last time out by 83 points to 71. They have also appeared in the last five consecutive finals and it is therefore a competition the Tyne and Wear outfit will be looking to win once again.
This is the first time in either team's history that the two clubs have met in any competition and Rockets Chairman Gary Johnson is hoping that this showpiece game will not only bring the Rockets fans out in force, but will also be a great advertisement for basketball and indeed Reading itself. He said, 'When we were invited to take part in one of the top competitions in the country, it was difficult to turn down the opportunity. To draw Newcastle, who are arguably the best team in the country, is fantastic, and I sincerely hope that all our fans will enjoy what should prove to be a fantastic game and high quality basketball on show.’
Rockets go into the game slightly under-prepared having only been able to practiSe three times since the Christmas break and having not played a competitive game since their National Trophy victory over London Mets which saw them advance to the Quarter-Final stage of the competition. The snow has caused havoc with Rockets schedule over the last week seeing two of their practices cancelled and most recently their first game of 2010 being postponed as the London Leopards were unable to travel to play the Berkshire team. Rockets Head Coach Sasa Punosevac has found it a frustrating period which sees his team playing more games than training in this busy two week period. He said, ‘This has been a difficult time for us especially just after the Christmas break: however we have managed to practiSe a couple of times and I am confident the good form we showed before Christmas will continue going into these next three games.’
The Newcastle Eagles travel down to the Rivermead currently lying 2nd in the BBL Championship, a competition they also won last year along with the BBL Trophy. The Eagles possess a wealth of talent and Rockets Team Analyst Ben Fisher knows the Eagles will be a tough team to shoot down. He said, ‘Newcastle has a great team, with some stand-out players, with none other than Player/Coach Fabulous Flournoy who is a veteran of the game and a very successful player and coach. The likes of Darius Defoe, Lynard Stewart and Andrew Bridge who have all played internationally, will be one of the toughest match-ups that a Rockets team has ever faced – having said that, we can’t wait for the challenge!’
The game tips-off at 7.30pm on Wednesday at Rivermead – don’t miss out on the action!
