New club Patriots get season underway

IT’S the dawn of a new era for basketball in Plymouth as tonight, the Plymouth City patriots play their first ever competitive game.

Back in May, the future of the sport in the city looked bleak when Plymouth Raiders pulled out of the BBL, but their franchise was taken over by local businessman Carl Heslop. He tried to keep the name of the Raiders alive, but deemed it unfeasible which led to the creation of a whole new club.

It has been a crazy few months ever since but with an agreement in place to play their home games at the Pavilions, a new kit with fresh colours and, of course, a new name, these are exciting times as the club bids to establish itself, just as the Raiders did for so long.

Tonight, they head to Bristol in the BBL Cup before they head to London on Sunday. But while the Patriots are new in many ways, some things remain the same.

Head coach Paul James has moved over from the Raiders and taken some familiar faces with him. Among those is Denzel Ubiaro, who is excited at what lies in store for the Patriots.

“There’s been a theme in my life where I’m the first player to join a new situation, which is crazy to think about,” the 24-year-old guard said. “When I was younger I was the first player in my old basketball academy, and the same in BUCS, and now with the Patriots, and I’m just so excited for everything that is to come here.

“I can’t imagine moving away from Plymouth and from all these amazing fans who just live for basketball and give so much for the game here, so for me it was a no-brainer to take this opportunity and help give this city something to shout about.

“Plymouth deserves a basketball team to support. Whether we were a BBL team or a National League team, these fans would give everything for their team, so they deserve it and I’m proud to be a part of that and hopefully we can give them something to shout about this season.”