Reading Rockets will be straight back to it on Friday night when they travel to the Capital to take on reigning NBL Division One Champions Essex Leopards in the National Trophy at the Brentwood Centre (8pm tip-off) before returning to Reading to host NBDL side Greenwich Titans in the second round of the National Cup on Sunday at the Rivermead Leisure Complex (5pm tip-off).
Rockets won a pair of games last weekend, comfortably defeating Kent Crusaders 96-66 in their first National Trophy game before opening up their NBL Division One account with a really hard fought overtime victory over Lancashire Spinners, winning by 99 points to 95 to keep their unbeaten record to the start of the season.
Reading Head Coach Manuel Pena Garces was a relieved man after Sunday’s incredible win against Lancashire Spinners but knows the two wins his team recorded last weekend must now be in the past as they look ahead to another two difficult encounters starting with Friday’s trip to Essex to take on the Leopards. The Spaniard said,
“It was a really good weekend for us and we won two very different games but they were both really important in their different respects and there were lots of lessons for us to learn going into this week too.”
“We played some good basketball at times and showed some real resolve, especially on Sunday, so there are some really positive things to build on as well. With the games coming thick and fast it isn’t giving us too much practice time but the time we do have together we must utilise to its full to improve in the areas we are not there with yet.”
“Friday’s game against Essex will be a really tough one especially as they are the reigning champions of Division One and I think having just lost to Kent, they will want to put that right very quickly so we will have to be well prepared against their new look team to try to counter this. Sunday’s game will be an unknown for us against Greenwich but having had a whole week of practice and played what will be a difficult game on Friday, we will have to make sure we are ready for this team who has nothing to lose.”
“Another exciting week ahead for our team and our club as we look to keep building.”
Rockets go into Friday’s match up with Essex Leopards with a number of injury concerns that arose from last weekend’s double header. Bulgarian guard Dian Ivanov played only a very small part in last Sunday’s victory against Lancashire after having to leave the game with a groin injury and it will be a game time decision for the 6’2 32 year old. American point guard Antonio Robinson and English forward David Ajumobi only managed one game last weekend with knee and ankle injuries respectively but should be back to training later on in the week and more importantly in time for the two games in three days.
The Reading team will be looking to make it five wins out of five this weekend and avoid a cup upset to a team that had a first round walkover as well as continue to top their National Trophy pool against a team with one win and one loss, the latter to Kent Crusaders last Sunday.
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