Riders hoping to clip the wings of the Eagles in TV showdown

TOP-OF-THE-TABLE CLASH AGAINST THE ARCH RIVALS LIVE ON SKY SPORTS TONIGHT

LEICESTER Riders face a top-ofthe-table clash with Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Championship tonight at the Eagles Community Sports Arena (7.30pm).

It is the second match-up between the arch-rivals in the Championship, with Riders winning 83-75 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester in mid-February.

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports.

In the BBL Cup, the Eagles won the head-to-heads with the Riders 2 to 1 and progressed to the final at the expense of Leicester.

They won the final against the London Lions to claim the season’s first piece of silverware.

The Lions had revenge against both teams when they knocked out the Riders and Eagles in the BBL Trophy.

In the Cup Final, the MVP was Eagles forward Justin Gordon, but he has been out in recent weeks, plagued by injuries.

That has significantly impacted the balance in the Eagles’ team, and they lost twice at home to Sheffield Sharks, a bogey side for them in recent seasons.

The Eagles also lost at home to an in-form Plymouth Raiders, who have won 10 of their last 11 games.

Newcastle have had solid wins at home recently over Cheshire Phoenix and away at Bristol Flyers and then hammered Manchester Giants last Sunday on the road.

The heavy playing minutes for Newcastle are borne by their experienced backcourt of former league MVP Rahmon Fletcher and multipurpose guard Cortez Edwards.

They are each playing about 34 minutes per game, and Eagles try to ensure one or both are always on court. Fletcher is averaging over 17 points a game and leads the BBL in assists at over nine per game.

Edwards is averaging nearly 15 points a game and is managing nearly eight rebounds a match, extraordinary for a player of his size.

Both are efficient scorers shooting about 50 per cent from the floor, including about 37 per cent from the three point line.

When he has been fit, forward Gordon carries the biggest load inside, averaging over 29 points per game, while also averaging 16.4 points and seven rebounds per game.

Riders head coach Rob Paternostro said: “Both these teams and the players know each other so well and there are no secrets. The Eagles have had a tough time of it recently, and so they will be desperate to bounce back.

“They had lost their big guy Gordon for a while, but I expect he will be back for our game.

“Irrespective of positions in the league, they are always big games when these two clubs get together and it won’t be any different this time.

“They have a great combo at guard in Rahmon Fletcher and Cortez Edwards, who do different things, and we will be well aware when those guys are on the court.

“They are coming off a very strong game at Manchester so will be confident again, and if at full strength it will give them a big lift.

“Knowing their speed on the break, we want to control their transition game and keep their big guys off the boards.

“As ever, it will be about execution under pressure, and which team can find the big shots at the right times.”

Leicester Riders: Corey Johnson, Jamell Anderson, Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Darien Nelson-Henry, William Lee, Conner Washington, Ali Fraser, Aaron Falzon, Greg Wild, Kyle Jimenez, Justin Hedley, Victor Ndoukou, Mo Walker Newcastle Eagles: Rex Pflueger, Evan Maxwell, Justin Gordon, Rahmon Fletcher, Cortez Edwards, Louis Sayers, Darius Defoe, Drew Lasker, Sauveur Kande, Eddie Matthews, Shore Adeneken, Sean Murphy