Reading Rockets are back in league action this weekend when they take on Derby Trailblazers on Sunday at Rivermead Leisure Complex (4pm tip-off) in a mouth-watering EBL Division One clash. Both teams advanced to the semi-finals of the National Trophy last weekend with the Trailblazers having a comfortable passage through as they dispatched Leeds Carnegie by 91 points to 66, whilst the Rockets had a somewhat tighter affair as they won by a single point away at Brixton Topcats by 70 points to 69. This will be the second time the two teams have met in the league and the third time in all competitions with the Rockets coming out victors in the other league meeting by 81 points to 79 in Derby whilst the Trailblazers took the trophy pool game by 78 points to 72 in Reading. The Berkshire team currently lie in seventh place with a record with five wins and five losses with the East Midlands outfit above them in third with seven wins and three losses to their name.
In speaking about Rockets' narrow National Trophy win and in looking forward to this weekend's clash with Derby, Rockets Head Coach and newly crowned Reading International Sports Personality of the Year Samit Nuruzade was delighted with his once again depleted team's performance and is looking forward to taking that form into this weekend's game. He said, "We played very well in Brixton, especially in the first half as we showed defensively exactly how we can play and that encourages me going forward. We have still been suffering personnel wise with injuries and absences but in this time of adversity we are working extremely hard in practice and in games to be the best we can be and get results every time we step on the floor. What has just been so good for us is the effort and application of our young players; at the end of a very physical game in Brixton we had four players under the age of 19 on the floor and our young point guard knocked down two free throws late on which turned out to be the winning points. I am looking for us to take this form and performance into our next game against a tough Derby team who will no doubt be prepared and provide us with a stern test this weekend."
Derby Trailblazers go into Sunday's game having won five out of their last six league games and are one of the form teams at this stage of the season. Rockets Performance Analyst Ben Fisher knows only too well that the East Midlands team will be desperate to maintain their recent form and overturn the loss they suffered to his team earlier on in the season. He said, "Derby has done really well again this season and has some very talented players who together make a difficult team to beat. Rishi Kakad has hurt us on both occasions we have played them this season and has been a major scoring factor all year long averaging just over 24 points a game and being the second leading scorer in the division so we will need to be much better and clear on how we guard him this time around. American Troy Whittington has also been a very productive player and keying on his rebounding capabilities is a must this weekend. But what is tough about Derby is they can score from anywhere on the floor and have a really nice inside/outside balance to their game. Coach (Jamie) Maudsley will certainly want to avenge the defeat from our previous game and he will no doubt have his team well prepared for this very important league game."
Rockets head into Sunday's encounter with yet more injury concerns. 19 year old forward Harrison Gamble suffered a shoulder injury last week in training but played through the pain barrier in the victory against Brixton but the Berkshire club will be monitoring him this week as he is listed day to day by the physio staff. Shooting guard Robbie Parker only managed five minutes of play before suffering a severe lip injury which meant he had to go to hospital to have three stitches, however the Reading outfit expect he will be fit for this Sunday's clash. Rockets will be buoyed by the return of German Michael Matzeder as they are still without the services of Steve Vaughan who looks set to be out for the next four to six weeks. Youth and experience will be once again key this weekend as the Rockets look to secure their first league win of 2012.
