Jets v Rocks Sunday 6 Nov’ 2011
Two sides who picked up BBL Championship wins last weekend meet at Northgate Arena on Sunday evening when Cheshire Jets host Glasgow Rocks.
Jets’ coach John Lavery knows that his team will have to play well to beat a Rocks side who have now chalked up three straight victories: “They’re a tough team and Sterling [Davis] has got them playing really well at the moment. EJ Harrison and Gareth Murray are key players for them.”
Rocks’ player-coach Sterling Davis has a good idea what to expect when his side arrive at Northgate Arena: “I know they still have some very important pieces from last season’s team in Matt Schneck and Colin O’Reilly.
“Schneck will be a big part of what they do because of his ability to impact the game in so many ways.”
Jets returned from Surrey Sports Park with a 90-84 win against Guildford Heat last week to leave Lavery a happy man: We played well, especially in the third and fourth quarters, and I was pleased with the contributions of Adam Brown and Colin O’Reilly.”
Meanwhile, Rocks produced arguable the biggest shock of last weekend when they hammered BBL champions Mersey Tigers 92-62 on their own floor, and Davis was understandably delighted with the result: “I thought we really did a good job defensively and keying in on their threats. I thought Otten gave us some problems at times because of his craftiness, but we played very well.”
Davis was also pleased with the Rocks 18 point victory against non-league City of Edinburgh Kings SM which saw his side safely through to the BBL Cup quarter-final, and he is pleased with how the season is progressing: “I thought Kings were a very tough team and played with a lot of discipline.
“Yes I am happy with my team. I think our group of guys really play well together and beginning to understand each other.”
Two of the three meetings between the sides last season went the way of the visitors, with Rocks winning the series 2-1. A tight game in Glasgow in mid-December saw Rocks win 91-87, and they sealed the head-to-head series with an 80-67 road win six weeks later before Jets gained revenge with an 80-71 success in the final weeks of the campaign.