Reading Rockets (10-4) will travel to the East Midlands on Saturday evening to take on Nottingham Hoods (5-9), 7pm tip-off before returning to Reading to host Thames Valley Cavaliers (9-4) on Sunday afternoon, 5pm tip-off at Rivermead Leisure Complex.<\/p>\n
Rockets defeated Westminster Warriors (3-11) in their opening game of 2020 by 98 points to 78 to record their tenth win of the campaign and keep them in the hunt for a top four finish with 12 regular season games remaining but have a tough task ahead of them this weekend.<\/p>\n
After Sunday\u2019s win and ahead of this weekend\u2019s double header, Rockets Head Coach Alan Keane has identified areas he feels his team need to be better at and highlights these could well play a vital part of the outcome this weekend. The Irishman said,<\/p>\n
“Another double header weekend sees us travel back to Nottingham where we recently were successful in a cup fixture by the narrowest of margins. Nottingham is always a tough place to go and having played Hoods twice this season we are well aware of their strengths and the depth of talent they have. Somewhat similar to our Sunday game v Thames Valley at home, we will have to be at our best on the boards against both teams.”<\/p>\n
“Rebounding is something we are struggling with, especially without the influential AJ Carr and still awaiting a replacement. Our guards will need to take a lot of responsibility to win the battle of the rebounds in both games. Both teams do a great job of pushing the ball in transition and have individuals who can create their own shot from the perimeter. These back to back games will be won or lost of how well we can defend individually and whether we can limit them to one and done on offence.”<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s match-up against Nottingham Hoods will be the third meeting between the two teams this term with Rockets holding a 2-0 series lead. The Berkshire outfit defeated the East Midlands side by 98 points to 85 back in October at Rivermead Leisure Complex before winning by the narrowest of margins in the National Cup third round 77-78 at the Wildcats arena.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s encounter against the Cavaliers is the second of the season with Rockets recording their first NBL Division One victory against their opponents 93-108 at Uxbridge College at the start of October but the Thames Valley outfit have only lost three games since then and are also vying for a top four finish.<\/p>\n
Rockets head into this weekend\u2019s two games with no further injury concerns but will have a full roster with the return of the academy team from their Erasmus trip to Spain. David Obediah, Kesley Espeut, and Ross Stepney are likely to return to the fold with Asher Ndah playing again after returning early to suit up for Coach Keane\u2019s team last Sunday. The Reading team are still in search of a replacement for American AJ Carr but it is unknown if this will be in place for the upcoming double header as the Rockets go in search for wins 11 and 12 heading towards the business end of the season.<\/p>\n
Follow the Rockets on social media; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – @rocketsreading or check out the club\u2019s website – www.readingrockets.co.uk<\/p>\n
Media@readingrockets.co.uk
\nBasketball Hotline 0118 926 3040
\nwww.readingrockets.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reading Rockets (10-4) will travel to the East Midlands on Saturday evening to take on Nottingham Hoods (5-9), 7pm tip-off before returning to Reading to host Thames Valley Cavaliers (9-4) on Sunday afternoon, 5pm tip-off at Rivermead Leisure Complex. Rockets defeated Westminster Warriors (3-11) in their opening game of 2020 by 98 points to 78 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":[],"_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"spay_email":""},"categories":[244,4,6],"tags":[237,218,210,217,142],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/readingrockets.co.uk\/rr2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_5495.png?fit=700%2C298&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdDaI5-1f5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3457,"url":"https:\/\/readingrockets.co.uk\/rr2021\/rockets-to-face-first-double-header-of-the-year-after-taking-opening-win-of-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":4779,"position":0},"title":"Rockets to face first double header of the year after taking opening win of 2019","date":"07\/01\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Reading Rockets (8-4) will look to continue their unbeaten start to 2019 when they travel to the East Midlands on Saturday evening to take on the Derby Trailblazers (7-6) (7.15pm tip-off) before entertaining second-placed Worthing Thunder (10-3) on Sunday afternoon at Rivermead Leisure Complex (5pm tip-off). Rockets were victorious in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Club Announcements"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/readingrockets.co.uk\/rr2021\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Jan-news.jpg?fit=700%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2432,"url":"https:\/\/readingrockets.co.uk\/rr2021\/rockets-face-league-and-cup-double-header\/","url_meta":{"origin":4779,"position":1},"title":"Rockets face league and cup double header","date":"09\/10\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Reading Rockets (1-0) will be looking to build on Sunday\u2019s narrow win against Team Newcastle University (0-1) when they take on Hemel Storm (0-0) in league play on Saturday afternoon (5pm tip-off at Bohunt School) before entering the National Cup for the first time this season at the third round\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mens 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