Another nine game extended weekend

Four of those contests take place tonight, with Leeds Force out to spring an upset when they entertain table-topping Esh Group Eagles Newcastle.

“There is a complete difference preparing for Newcastle and I think one of our better performances (or at least certainly in the first half) was actually up at Sport Central,” mused Force head coach Matt Newby, who watched his team beat Durham last weekend and then fall to Surrey.

“We achieved a really good win last Friday night against Wildcats We had a solid game plan and negated what they do well and that was reflected in the score-line.

“We had a really good team performance, we shot the ball well and that reflected the decision-making.

“We did a good job of creating advantages and extending them and that is where the success stood – but we then struggled to do that at Surrey.

“The additions they have made are brilliant. They have balanced some of their needs and I think Ant Downing is very, very tough and he was the difference maker in the game.”

And, Downing will go up against his ex-employers Leicester tonight, with Riders’ play-caller Rob Paternostro eager to highlight just how competitive the BBL now is ahead of tonight’s match-up.

He said, “What has been interesting so far is that there have been a lot of teams who in the past, may have been an easy game for certain teams.

“However, the league looks a lot more competitive this year and it looks like there is an opportunity for a lot more teams to get wins – no matter where they play.”

One of the most attractive looking games takes place tonight when Worcester Wolves entertain London Lions, with both teams coming off the back of losses. It could be a pivotal period for both clubs in terms of their BBL Championship ambitions, with Wolves also facing Riders live on BBLTV on Tuesday night.

Having lost against Newcastle, Vince Macaulay not only has to contend with his Lions side playing the title-chasing Wolves, but also facing arguably the hottest team right now in the rejuvenated Cheshire Phoenix at Northgate Arena on Sunday.

Meanwhile BBL Cup semi-finalists Sheffield Sharks and Glasgow Rocks had different emotions as they tried to reach the Final, the former failing and the latter succeeding. Now league action is the main focus when Sharks host their rivals tonight – who lost heavily in their last two league outings.

“Cheshire and Leicester are two very good teams,” reflected Rocks’ wing star Tommy Freeman in respect of those defeats.

“We have picked up some good wins and if you look at our schedule through the first half of the season, it has been one of the toughest in the league.

“I think that if we can become a more consistent team where we know what we’re getting night in and night out from guys, we should be able to move up the table in the second half of the season.”

He added, “We need both to go into the New Year breaking above .500.”

Sharks’ forward Mike Tuck is trying to take solace in the wake of Cup disappointment with a brilliant comeback against Wildcats.

“It was a disappointing loss to go out of the Cup, but I was proud of the way we played, we fought hard,” he said.

“Then on Sunday we had a terrible start to the game, but it shows the resilience of our team that we were able to fight back from such a deficit and bring back a win.”

“We must start coming out with more energy and make sure we start games better.”

Wildcats will be hoping they can pick themselves up from being squeezed out in that game when they go to Manchester Giants on Sunday – who themselves have a tricky away game at Eagles in the only BBL game being played tomorrow night.

“We are going to the Giants home court and they are going to be fired up,” warned Durham coach, Lee Davie.

“They shoot the ball really well at home and offensively, we need to make sure we are working towards getting a great shot each and every possession.

“That is something which at times, we haven’t done in the past three or four games.”

Finally, Plymouth University Raiders will go in the hunt of a second home win against Surrey United this season and will be looking forward to the first outing for Jordan Clarke and Great Britain senior star, Ben Mockford.

“I think both players will have enough time to handle their debuts,” insisted play-caller Jay Marriott.

“It will take them time to fully integrate but both are high level basketball I.Q guys and have picked things up quickly.”

Enjoy the games!

Story – BBL