Reading Rockets (1-1) will return to league action this weekend when they travel to the north of the country to take on high flying Team Northumbria (5-1) on Saturday evening (6.30pm tip-off) before facing another in-form team in NBL Division One when they meet Bradford Dragons (3-1) on Sunday afternoon (4.15pm tip-off). Rockets made it through to the National Cup quarter-final stage last Sunday after beating Hemel Storm for the second time in a month as they secured an 84-67 away win to set up a last eight clash with Division Two outfit Kent Crusaders who provided a cup upset of their own knocking out Essex Leopards with a comprehensive 94-67 win. The Berkshire outfit now play catch up in league play having only played two league games so far and it doesn’t get much harder than this weekend’s double header against two teams that have had impressive starts to the 2016-2017 season.
This is a well known fact to Rockets Head Coach Manuel Peña Garcés but he is taking confidence from Sunday’s win against Hemel Storm in the knowledge that his team held their opposition to their lowest points tally of the season with defence being crucial for this weekend’s visit to Team Northumbria and Bradford. The Spanish play-caller said:
[su_quote]It has been a difficult two weeks for us having not played any competitive games after our loss to Derby and not being able to have a full practice with some players on the Erasmus trip to Spain, however I felt our response on Sunday was excellent and we really worked hard to grind out an important win that keeps us in contention in the National Cup. We will need to carry this momentum forward into this coming weekend as the teams we play are doing really well right now and playing back to back games is always a challenge for any organisation.[/su_quote]
[su_quote]We defended a lot better against Hemel and limited their opportunities for easy baskets and that is something that is going to be key this season if we are to have the success we want to achieve. And this needs to be the way we approach this weekend with Team Northumbria averaging nearly 86 points a game and Bradford Dragons a massive 107 in their first four games so we know we have to prepare this week to play against two high tempo, offensive teams.[/su_quote]
[su_quote]Both opponents have been well-established teams in the division over the last five or so years and are both really well coached. I have a lot of respect for both Marc (Steutel) and Chris (Mellor) and I am sure they will both be really looking forward to our respective games and preparing thoroughly. But this is of course the same for us and these two games are already really important ones despite it being still quite early in the regular season and we will be building momentum this week in preparation to be competitive from the outset and impose our game on both teams so we can bring two wins back to Reading on Sunday evening. A tough proposition but one myself, Alan (Keane, assistant coach), and the players will be relishing.[/su_quote]
Rockets go into their northern double header weekend with one or two injury concerns despite Coach Manuel Peña Garcés expecting to have a fully fit squad to take away with him this weekend. Captain Danny Carter and Point Guard Juan Valerio have had one or two niggles between them but look set to recover in time for the trips to Northumbria and Bradford respectively. Under 19s Ali Sbai and Ibu Jassey Demba have returned from two weeks in Spain and will once again be available for selection with Under 18 forward Fidel Gomez de Enterria Lopez the only selection dilemma with his Under 18 team having a cup game of their own on Sunday afternoon in Plymouth.
To keep up to date with all the latest news and information visit the club’s website www.readingrockets.co.uk and to follow their progress this weekend keep in touch on Twitter @rocketsreading.