Riders aim to end year with a home victory for fans
BBL CHAMPIONSHIP
Join our footie5 pundits former England star
and Olympic gold medallist
- in making your predictions for this weekend’s matches.
Follow them, or go your own way and personalise your selections from the other games!
Arsenal Chelsea
Two good attacks and two shaky defences! One for the neutral to enjoy.
Arsenal Chelsea
I think this will be a pretty open and exciting game. Both teams will be desperate for the win, but I see an entertaining score draw.
LEICESTER Riders play their final home game of 2019 tonight as they host Glasgow Rocks at the Morningside Arena (7.30).
The sides have already met twice this season in the BBL Cup, with Riders posting big wins in both games.
But after the disappointment of missing out on a quarter-final spot despite starting the campaign well, Rocks have made significant changes to their roster.
Terrell Vinson and Dante Thorpe both joined the club last week and helped them to backto-back league wins at Worcester and at home to Cheshire.
“That’s something we’ve been talking about this week, not only do they have different personnel but I’m sure they feel better about their team collectively,” said Riders coach Rob Paternostro.
“It’s an interesting part of the season, some of the teams who maybe didn’t do so well in the cup competition are playing well at the moment because of the additions and changes that they have made.
“I think when you get to the end of the season and look back on it, you’ll notice teams that
About the Rocks
Glasgow Rocks have made a stuttering start to their 2019/20 campaign under French head coach Vincent Lavandier, who is in his second season in charge.
As Scotland’s only team in the BBL, Glasgow built their team around a group of Scottish internationals – shooting guard Gareth Murray, forward Ali Fraser, point guard Jonny Bunyan, and off guard Fraser Malcolm, but are having to cope with the retirement of GB and Scottish captain Kieron Achara.
Lithuanian international Tadas Rinkūnas and American point guard Greg Pryor both return. Pryor previously played in France and averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 assists per
Friday, December 27 struggled early how they adapted and they certainly look like a team that have made themselves better.”
With most of the league having already suffered at least one defeat, Paternostro has been impressed by the competitive balance in the BBL in the first few weeks of the league campaign.
“I definitely feel like there are going to be a lot of tough games for a lot of teams.
“The home teams have done well so far, but I think each night will be a grind.
“The way the league has delayed itself this year, you’ll have more stronger teams than we’ve had in the past.”
A bumper crowd is expected at the Morningside Arena for this game and Paternostro enjoys it when his side are playing at home over the festive
game last season with the Rocks.
Glasgow released American forward Eli Pepper after their last defeat by Leicester. In midDecember, they signed 25-year-old guard Dante Thorpe.
Born in Washington DC, he spent the last two seasons with Northern Illinois University, starting in 60 games. He averaged nearly 14 points, three rebounds and three assists per game.
They have also recently added forward Terrell Vinson, 29, from Baltimore, who has competed in a number of leagues across Europe including the LEB Gold in Spain and Romanian Div A. Most recently he played in the Icelandic league, averaging 22 period. He said: “When we’re at home during the holidays, it’s always been a good crowd and a great atmosphere.
“It’s an exciting time in all sports throughout the world when teams play around the holidays, so we’re looking forward to the atmosphere.”
Teams: Riders:
Cartwright, Chuku, Lascelles, Anderson, WardHibbert, Roberts, Wright, Dieterich, Jimenez, Scott, Thomson, NelsonHenry.
Rocks:
Thorpe,
points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Form Guide
The Rocks had a disappointing BBL Cup campaign, finishing fifth in the Northern group. They were not helped by fielding an ineligible player against Manchester in their opening match. The campaign did include a rare but memorable win in Newcastle, against the Eagles, their biggest and closest rivals.
In the Championship, they started with a loss at the champions London Lions, 88-72, in their opening match at the Copper Box. But they bounced back with two wins last weekend away at Worcester and home to Cheshire.
Vinson, Pryor, Djo Ebala, Fraser, Murray, Rinkunas, Malcolm, Bunyan, Geddes, Allan, Mortimer.
Riders twice beat the Rocks in convincing style in the group stages of the cup, 88-66 in Glasgow, and 93-58 in Leicester.
Players to Watch
Scottish international forward Ali Fraser continues to be the dominant man on offence for the Rocks. In their opening match in the BBL Championship he top scored with 24 points, on 11 from 17 shooting from the floor, and pulled down three rebounds, and added three assists.
American point guard Kyron Cartwright continues to be the man who pulls the strings for the Riders, dishing out another 24 assists in the two games on the road last weekend. He tops the BBL in that category.