25/10/2001
Record to be set, one way or the other

Whatever happens this Sunday in the ntl:home National Cup, there'll be an entry to be made in the Riders' record books.

A victory for Leicester would be their third in a row over the Sharks, following last weekend's success and the Championship Final - never before have the Riders enjoyed three consecutive 'W's' over Sheffield.

A defeat, would end the best record in the BBL at the Skydome Arena, Coventry. Riders head to the venue dubbed 'Leicester West' by coach Billy Mims, with an unblemished 4-0 record at the Skydome, no other BBL outfit who've been there have maintained an unbeaten record.

Prior to last weekend, Riders had only ever beaten the Sharks back-to-back once, in 1997, when they claimed a trophy group success at Granby, followed four days later by a Cup quarter-final success at Ponds Forge.

The history books have good and bad news for whoever is victorious, the two sides have met twice before in this competition both at this stage and on both occasions the winner has gone on to reach the final. But, on both occasions, Sheffield in 1997 and us the following year, they lost.

Both teams are in action 24hours before, Riders have the difficult ask of ending the BBL's only 100% record. Robbie Peers and his Chester Jets have been flawless in their opening six encounters, including victory over the Riders at the start of the month, as they've marched to the top of the Northern Conference.

Sheffield, meanwhile, are on their travels, with a trip to Brentwood for the second time this season. Their win there two weeks ago set up the Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday, Chris Finch will be hoping his team can bounce back from two defeats last weekend.

Riders game against Chester tips-off at 7.30pm at Loughborough University on Saturday, where you can buy tickets for Sunday's Cup games. Riders v Sharks takes place at 6.15pm on Sunday and is preceded by Milton Keynes v Thames Valley (1.45pm) and Newcastle v Chester (4.00pm) and followed by Birmingham v Edinburgh (8.30pm).

Tickets are also available on the day priced £8 adults and £5 children, doors open at 12.45pm, but don't forget that the clocks go back Saturday night/Sunday morning or you might have a longer wait to get in than you thought!

15/10/2001
Riders face Sharks in Cup

Nurishment Leicester Riders will go face to face with the bookmaker's favourites to take their ntl:home National Cup crown. The reigning champs were paired with Sheffield Sharks in Monday's draw for the quarter-finals.

"This is the toughest draw we could get," admitted Coach Billy Mims. "First of all, they have the best record in British basketball and they are undefeated right now. Also, their record in the National Cup is as good as anybody else's if not better - in 1999 and 2000, they won it.

"But, last year, we played Birmingham in the quarter-finals of the Cup and that was on their home court and was at the time the toughest draw possible. We had to face a Thames Valley Tigers team that we had not beaten for 16 games and that was the toughest draw possible. Everybody knows how superstitious I get, and I think the omens are there."

The game is set to be the third of the day at the Skydome Arena, Coventry on Sunday 28th October, with a 6.15pm start.

It is the third time the two sides have met in the competition, ironically all three games have been at this stage. Both previous meetings were in Sheffield, with the Sharks taking a 103-98 victory in the 1996/97 season and Riders claiming the 69-66 victory 12 months later.

The two sides are set meet for the time this season this weekend when Riders travel to Ponds Forge on Sunday - amazingly by some freak of the draw three of the four Cup quarter-finals are previewed in the Championship this weekend.

The full draw is as follows:

ntl:home National Cup Quarter-Finals
Sunday 28 October, Skydome Arena, Coventry
Milton Keynes Lions v Thames Valley Tigers (1.45)
Chester Jets v Newcastle Eagles (4.00)
Nurishment Leicester Riders v Sheffield Sharks (6.15)
Birmingham Bullets v Edinburgh Rocks (8.30)

10/10/2001
Three doubtful for Thunder trip

Nurishment Leicester Riders could be three men short as they take on Worthing Thunder in the opening round of their defence of the ntl:home National Cup.

Karl Brown is definitely out after suffering a knee injury at Chester on Sunday and is also rated as 'very unlikely' to play in this weekend's visit of Derby Storm in the BBL Championship.

Brown has damaged the meniscus ligament in his right knee - the same knee which ended his Championship Final prematurely in May. The physio was unable to give an accurate assessment on how badly damaged it is (and therefore how long he could be out) during the first examination because of the swelling, so a further assessment will be made on Friday.

"It's basically wait-and-see with Karl," admitted coach Billy Mims. "Until they are certain how much damage is done, we don't know how long he will be out for but I would say it's very unlikely he'll be ready to go by Sunday."

Jermaine Brown is hoping to recover from the hamstring injury which sidelined him at the weekend. The summer signing limped out of Saturday's encounter with Newcastle and didn't play against Chester on Sunday. Also back-up forward Tom Mahood will face a late fitness test after spraining his ankle during practice on Tuesday.

"We'll just see how they go," said Mims. "Hopefully they will both be able to play, but if not then our bench will be tested to the maximum."

04/10/2001
New signing set for Towering debut

Nurishment Leicester Riders have filled the remaining non-national spot in their roster with BBL veteran Michael New.

The 6'9" forward is now expected to make his debut for Leicester this evening as they travel to defending Southern Conference champions, Kinder London Towers.

The Riders are the fifth British club New, 33, has played for, following spells with Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Derby over the last five seasons.

"Michael is the missing piece to our puzzle," said a delighted Billy Mims. "In our opening two games we've been short inside of a forward who can rebound, score and play defence.

"Michael is all that and more because he also brings to the table experienced veteran leadership. This is his sixth year in this league and he has a career average of 15 points per game, so he knows how to get it done."

After graduating from New Mexico State University in 1991, Michael spent two years in the CBA in America, before moving to Japan, Turkey, Sweden, Hong Kong and England.

He spent the 1996-97 season with Newcastle, moving to Manchester the following season. After two years in Edinburgh, he joined Derby last year. New was selected for the 1997 All Star Game.

"He gives us a strength inside and will help Billy Singleton out on the boards, but not only that he is a hard working team player. He'll give 100% to the Riders every time he steps on the floor," concluded Mims.

After making his debut for Leicester tonight, New will play in front of his new home fans for the first time on Saturday when Riders play host to Newcastle (Loughborough University, 7.30pm). That's part of a tough run of fixtures for the BBL Champions - their third game in four days is at Chester on Sunday (5.30pm).

Towers meanwhile are expected to give a debut to 6'9" forward Stephen Barnes. The Birmingham-born player has represented England nine times since making his debut in 1999. He's been drafted in as cover for the injured Robert Youngblood and received clearance to play this afternoon.