Reading Rockets will be looking to reach their first national final of the 2011/2012 season on Saturday when they travel to the East Midlands to take on close rivals and current league leaders Derby Trailblazers in the National Trophy semi-final (7.30pm tip-off). The competition has been a very successful one in recent years for the Berkshire club as they have lifted the trophy four times in the last five seasons. This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this term with the Trailblazers leading the series 2-1 having won both games away from their home floor when they defeated the Rockets 78-72 in the pool stage of the Trophy competition before most recently grabbing a one point victory at the Rivermead Leisure Complex in the league. Rockets victory came at Moorways back in November when they ran out winners by 81 points to 79 and the Berkshire team will be hoping that trend continues on Saturday as they go into the game off back to back wins in the league against Medway Park Crusaders and Tees Valley Mohawks which moved them back into play-off contention.
Rockets Head Coach Samit Nuruzade was a happy man after seeing his team finally end a four game losing streak and is very much looking forward to this week's National Trophy semi-final against Derby Trailblazers. He said, "I am delighted with the two wins we achieved over the weekend, especially Saturday's away win at Medway where I thought we put in one of our best performances of the season. The Tees Valley game was tough for us despite a high scoring first quarter as we were without Kas (Normantis) and look likely to be for four to six weeks now which is a bit of a blow but one we will overcome I am sure. The first trophy I won with this club was the National Trophy and I am really hoping we can have another shot at bringing it back to Reading, but first we have to take on a very talented Derby team and that is where our sole focus will lie this week. If we are as prepared as we were for the Medway game and we manage to come through the week without any other injuries, then I still think we have a great chance of getting the win but we know it is going to be tough."
Derby Trailblazers currently top EBL Division One due to Bristol Academy Flyers' unexpected home defeat at the hands of Worthing Thunder last weekend and go into Saturday's meeting having won nine out of their last ten league meetings and are the division's form team. Rockets Performance Analyst Ben Fisher has highlighted keys areas in which he believes his team will need to combat if they are to advance to the final of the competition. He said, "We have had some great games against Derby this season with no game being any more than a six point difference and we expect the same this weekend. Derby has a good deal of talent in their ranks and will be well prepared for this encounter as they will also be desperate to reach their first national final of the season. Clearly Troy Whittington and Rishi Kakad have been their stand-out players this season and are two of the top four leading scorers in the division so we will have to be prepared to combat their very different attributes when we play them on Saturday. They have also been the two players that have caused us the most problems in our previous three games so it is important we look at ways to defend them when we are preparing. However, it's important we don't get too caught up in just two players as they have other weapons in their unit which can cause problems so we will be vigilant of that as well as their team play and the ways they try to score and defend as a team. As ever, we are really looking forward to doing battle again as I'm sure Coach (Jamie) Maudsley is but rest assured we will be going there to try and win and reach a national final!"
Rockets do however go into Saturday's encounter with yet more injury woes. Lithuanian and most recent signing Kastytis Normantas has suffered a tear in his hamstring and looks likely to be sidelined for the next four to six weeks after consultation with the club's physiotherapist, Sarah Wilkins, on Monday. Veteran point guard Jon May will also be touch and go for the weekend as his injury problems continue this time with a shoulder strain which he suffered in Saturday's win over Medway Park. The Berkshire Club are however boosted by the progress of young centre Steve Vaughan but it looks as though this weekend's semi-final may be a game too early for him as he continues to recover from an ankle injury which he sustained over the festive period. Despite the high number of injuries suffered to the Rockets this season, Rockets Director of Coaching Matt Johnson remains very upbeat and is excited at the opportunities this has provided for other members of the organisation. In a final word he said, "Injuries have played a big part in shaping our season but it is something you just have to deal with and move on. The opportunities it has given our younger players has been fantastic and I think this is optimised by the fact we started a 16 year old on Saturday who went on to top score in the game. When I sit back and see 5 players on the court that are British and under the age of 20 and that are competing hard and contributing heavily to our team, I feel very proud of what we have achieved so far this season and really hope they get their rewards at some point during this campaign - roll on Saturday!"
