Reading Rockets (7-6) will be looking to bounce back from their National Trophy semi-final defeat this Saturday when they travel to London to take on bottom of the league side Westminster Warriors (2-12) at the Moberly Sports Centre (6pm tip-off). Sunday's game against table-toppers Bristol Academy Flyers has however been postponed due to the Rockets Under 18 Premier team being in Sureshot Cup final action in Manchester at the Amaechi Basketball Centre on the same day (1.45pm tip-off). The Berkshire club go into Saturday's game looking to pick up their third league win in a row to keep themselves in the hunt for a play-off place, whilst the Warriors will be searching for only their third win of the campaign as they look to escape from the relegation zone. The Reading team will be looking to put behind them only their second loss at the semi final stage in five years in the National Trophy competition, whilst the Westminster outfit will be hoping for the same performance they gave against Medway Park Crusaders last month where they won by seven points in Kent.
Saturday's defeat to Derby Trailblazers came as a disappointing end to Rockets' interests in the National Trophy, and Rockets Head Coach Samit Nuruzade knows his team needs to dust themselves off and now concentrate on the remaining league games as they look to cement a play-off spot. He said, "Saturday's loss was a pretty tough one for us, especially as we have been so successful in this competition in recent years. They had a good game plan and executed it very well against us, coupled with the fact we didn't shoot well and got out-rebounded which obviously made life very difficult for us to win the game. However, there was one major positive from the game and that was our defence; we are always well prepared going into games and I thought we defended really well and that is something we must take forward into this Saturday's game against Westminster. Things are really tough for us again injury wise and we will need to dig deep and use some of that resolve we have built up in order to get these important wins we need to secure a play-off spot. What is great is that we continue to work hard and give everything into being better and more experienced basketball players and that is what we will continue to do in every remaining game we have."
Saturday's match-up will be only the second meeting between the two sides so far this season. It was the Rockets who came out on top back in November when they ran out comfortable winners defeating the Warriors by 101 points to 47. However, as many results have shown this season, Performance Analyst Ben Fisher knows that anyone can beat anyone in this league and he expects a tough encounter being away from home and with all Rockets' injury woes. He said, "Westminster had a really good away win at Medway only a couple of weeks ago and that shows that they do have what it takes when everything clicks. Lekan Popoola has been a constant threat this season at both ends of the floor and young Ed Lucas has really stepped up for his team and they will certainly be two key players we will be looking out for this weekend. Marvin Addy and Yannick Bulambwe also give us problems to solve and provide the Warriors with a nice balance to their unit and with their overall athleticism as a team, we will have to be near to our best defensively to have a chance of winning the encounter. This is a very dangerous game for us as we will be under-handed and travelling away from home to a team that is fighting for their lives."
The injury news for the Rockets remains similar to last week with Lithuanian Kastytas Normantis now back in his home town receiving specialised treatment for his torn hamstring. Jon May is still fighting a shoulder injury that has meant limited minutes in Rockets' last two games, however, it is possible that 19 year old centre Steve Vaughan could return to the bench at least this weekend after six weeks out with an ankle injury. Lukas Aleksandravicius will not be making the trip for personal reasons and German Michael Matzeder is away with University commitments so the Berkshire club will head into the weekend's game light handed as they look for their eighth league win of the 2011/2012 campaign.
Sunday sees the attention turn to the Rockets Under 18s team who had a fantastic win ironically over Westminster Warriors in the semi-final of the Under 18 sureshot cup last weekend. Without Head Coach JP Campbell, the team secured a 75 points to 71 win over their rivals to advance to the final of the competition where they will face Manchester Magic at the Amaechi Basketball Centre. The Under 18 team currently lie near the top of the south premier division and Coach Campbell is very proud of what his team have achieved so far going into this weekend's final. He said, "I was so, so gutted I couldn't be at the game on Sunday but at the same time so proud of my team for coming through and getting a massive win over a team we had recently lost to. I felt we had had a good week of preparation but knew it was going to be a difficult game anyway. I'm thrilled for the players that we have made it through to a national final because they have worked extremely hard this season and have overcome a lot of hurdles along the way and it's no more than they deserve. Sunday's game against Manchester in Manchester will be very tough but one we are relishing and going to give our best shot of winning!"
