Reading Rockets will look to build on their first win of the season at the hands of Team Solent Kestrels last Sunday when they travel to Hertfordshire this Saturday to take on rivals Hemel Storm in their first NBL Division One game of the 2016-2017 campaign (7pm tip-off). Rockets split their National Trophy pool games, losing out to Worthing Thunder on the opening day of the season 78-71 before claiming victory by 79 points to 65 last weekend to finish second in their group but miss out on the semi-final stage of the competition with Thunder beating Kestrels to finish with two wins out of two. The Berkshire outfit will now turn their attention to league and National Cup duties with 3 games in 8 days, the latter two being back in Reading next week.
Rockets Head Coach Manuel Peña Garcés was pleased to see his team record their first win of the season but knows that there is still a lot of work to do if his side are to challenge for cup or league honours this term. The Spanish play-caller, who also is looking forward to Saturday’s match-up against Hemel Storm said,
[su_quote]I am pleased with Sunday’s win against Solent and I felt we took a positive step after our defeat to Worthing. We are working hard to find our identity and improve our performances week by week and that is something we will need to do if we are going to have success this season. At times, we moved the ball well and played some really unselfish basketball but we need to make sure we defend better individually and collectively throughout games if we are to win and this is something we will work on. It was good to get our first win but now we must immediately turn our attention to our next game against Hemel.[/su_quote]
[su_quote]Hemel looks to be a strong team in our league once again and I think they have a lot of offensive weapons to trouble any team. Over the last couple of seasons they have become a lot stronger and we have had some really tough battles against them. Sportspace (the home of Hemel Storm) is always a difficult place to play because they have such a great support and really use that in their favour but what is important for these games is to be focused on ourselves and make sure we improve during the week in practice and are prepared for the type of team and specific personnel we are going to come up against.[/su_quote]
[su_quote]The start of the league is an exciting time and we are really looking forward to Saturday.[/su_quote]
Good news on the injury front so far for the Rockets with no concerns to date despite Danny Carter’s on going achilles problems. No fewer than five players made their home debut against Team Solent Kestrels last Sunday with American Chris Hooper proving his worth pouring in 26 points and collecting 8 rebounds on his first outing in Reading. All five of Rocket’s new signings will begin their league campaign on Saturday against the Storm and will hope for better fortunes this time around with the Hemel outfit winning all 3 of last season’s encounters between the two teams.
To keep up to date with all the latest news and information leading up to Saturday evening’s game check out the club website www.readingrockets.co.uk and follow the team on Twitter @rocketsreading for live score updates.