Riders set for ‘huge’ season

TITLE DEFENCE DELAYED AS TEAM OPEN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CAMPAIGN

THE BBL fixtures for the 2018/19 season have been announced, and Leicester Riders defence of the BBL Championship will start a full month later than the rest of the BBL, because of their participation in the Basketball Champions League.

Riders’ opening match in the first qualifying round of the Champions League is on September 20 and, depending on results, they could be in the third and qualifying round, which completes on October 4 in Murcia, Spain.

Riders head coach Rob Paternos- tro said: “When the fixtures are announced it is always an exciting time for coaches, players and fans.

“The start of the season feels that much closer. Playing in Europe has added a lot of fixtures and we knew there would be implications for our BBL fixtures. So it will be a huge season for the Riders, and very demanding, but very exciting.”

Riders’ pre-season match against the USA Select touring side at the Morningside Arena has been brought forward 24 hours to Friday August 31.

The Riders’ first match in the BBL Championship will be at home against the BBL new boys, the London City Royals, on Saturday October 20, at the Morningside Arena.

The preceding weekend, Riders will get a chance to see the top eight teams in the BBL last season, at the Matchroom All Star championship at the Copper Box arena on Sunday October 14, where teams will be again competing for prize money, with special rules to speed up the game and increase scoring.

With teams again playing each other three times in the BBL Championship, Riders will have one fewer home game scheduled than six other teams, although they will have two home games against perennial challengers Newcastle Eagles, including a huge one over the Christmas break on December 27.

Riders will be on the road twice to last year’s runners-up, the London Lions, including in the final game of the regular season on Sunday April 28 at the Copper Box Arena.

No BBL matches can be scheduled in the two breaks for international matches from November 26 until December 4, and from February 18 to 26, and those restrictions, coupled with the late start to the BBL season for the Riders, means Leicester will have to play back-to-back games in the BBL seven times, by far the most in the BBL, including on the final weekend of the regular season.

The draws for the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy will be announced shortly. The cup final will return to the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on January 27, the BBL Trophy Final will be again at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on March 10, and the BBL Play-off Final will be at the O2 Arena on May 19.

In the BBL Cup, last season’s top four teams in the Championship, including the Riders, receive a bye to the quarter-Finals. The eight remaining BBL teams will take part in Round 1, with an open draw conducted at each stage of the competition.

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