Four times National Trophy winners Reading Rockets take their crown to London this weekend when they take on Brixton Topcats in the quarter-final stage of the competition on Sunday (2pm tip-off). Rockets are current holders of the Trophy which saw them defeat Leeds Carnegie in last season's final as they ran out winners by 76 points to 59. Brixton Topcats also enjoyed success last season as they won the other in-season knockout competition in the form of the National Cup when they went all the way to the final and defeated the EBL Division One champions Bristol Academy Flyers, winning the game in convincing style by 77 points to 63. This season the London-based team finished second in Pool One with a record of five wins and a single loss, whilst the Reading outfit finished in third place in Pool Two with three wins and two losses. The teams have already met this season at Sunday's venue, the Brixton Rec. and it was the home side that came out on top as they defeated a rather depleted Rockets team by 73 points to 63.
Despite Rockets heading into the weekend without a win in three games, Head Coach Samit Nuruzade knows that his team stands a great chance of advancing to the semi-finals as the winner takes all. He said, "When we played them (Brixton) before Christmas we only had seven fit players and I thought we did really well despite everything, but on the day we just didn't have enough to get the win. This competition has been very special for our organisation so even though we will treat it as another game and prepare in exactly the same way, it does have an added incentive for us due to the success we have had in previous years. I thought that despite our loss to Leicester there are signs of improvement although we did make a lot of mistakes which we will continue to look at and try to rectify. We have to remember that we have quite a young and inexperienced team and with the changes in personnel we have had, it is inevitably going to take time for us to gel and become the best team we can possibly be. There is no question that Brixton will be just as hungry to advance in the competition and they will probably be favourites going into Sunday's game having beaten us only a couple of weeks ago so we will make sure we do our homework from our previous game and try to match their fantastic intensity they bring week in week out - it should be a great game!"
Brixton Topcats currently sit two places above the Rockets in the EBL Division One table in sixth place with a record of six wins and four losses and Rockets Performance Analyst Ben Fisher knows that the London-based team's most recent win away at Worthing Thunder is bound to have given them confidence going into Sunday's match-up. He said, "Coach Samit and I have been studying game film this week of our game against them before Christmas and there are a number of things we can change to give ourselves a good opportunity to win. In terms of their personnel, we will need to be much more clued in as to 'who does what' for their team as well as how they try to play at both ends of the floor. Samuel Tolowase and Karolis Petkus have led them regularly in scoring this season but they have a deep roster and the players coming off the bench have really fulfilled their roles well and have played the way that the rest of the team play. They are a very aggressive one on one and rebounding team and that is something we will need to work on to have any chance of winning the game. Papa Demba-Kasse is a prime example of that and provides a good balance to the Brixton team. Travelling to the Rec. with former 'Rocket' Coach (Andy) Powlesland at the helm having his team fired up is going to be a very tough test but one we are definitely relishing as we look to advance to the semi-final stage of this prestigious competition."
Rockets go into Sunday's game on the back of three losses and and quite a few personnel changes. Point guard Matt Guymon and American Tryston Lawrence have been released by the Berkshire outfit, whilst Lithuanian Kastytis Normantas has joined the Reading team over the Christmas break. Steven Vaughan looks to be sidelined for a number of weeks after tearing tendons in his ankle whilst playing for a Rockets Under 20 team in Sweden who managed to get to the semi-final stage under Rockets Assistant Coach JP Campbell. The Rockets will be hoping for no new injury worries before the weekend and that the team is now settled heading into the second part of the season with their English youth and experience and two international players as they look to continue to challenge for the remaining silverware.
