Men's previews - Warriors v Carnegie, Flyers v Leopards
21st January 2011by Dave Ryan
Leicester Warriors v Leeds Carnegie (Division One Men)
Sunday January 23, 1.30pm, Braunstone Leisure Complex
Leicester Warriors and Leeds Carnegie meet for the second time in as many weeks on Sunday afternoon at Braunstone Leisure Complex.
Adrian Fenyn proved crucial for Carnegie last week as they chalked up a 96-80 home win against the Warriors.
The American forward had been out of action since early November, but he marked his return to Matt Newby's side with a 21 point haul to lead Leeds to victory. Albert Margai added 18 and Marek Koltun 16 for the home side, while Rishi Kakad continued to impress following his move from cross-town rivals Riders with 24 points for Warriors.
That result saw Carnegie move into joint fifth place with Brixton Topcats having split their opening ten games, while Warriors are now ninth with a 3-6 record.
There was success for both teams in the National Trophy last Sunday, with Leeds winning at home against Derby Trailblazers while Warriors defeated Durham in Leicester to progress to the last four for the first time.
Bristol Academy Flyers v London Leopards (Men's National Trophy quarter finals)
Sunday January 23, 5.00pm, Filton College
Bristol Academy Flyers and London Leopards will be aiming to join Reading Rockets, Leicester Warriors and Leeds Carnegie in the semi-finals of the National Trophy when they meet at Filton College on Sunday evening.
The sides have already met on the same court in the group stage of the competition this season, and after falling 16-1 behind in the first five minutes Flyers controlled the game on the way to an 82-63 win.
Flyers also won 78-67 at Barking Abbey when the sides met in Division One play in November, never looking back after a 10-0 start.
While Leopards head into the weekend in seventh place in Division One with a 4-3 record and are 8-6 in all competitions, Flyers are top of the league with a 9-0 record. Their only defeat this season came in the Trophy, against Reading Rockets, which ultimately cost them top spot in the group and a bye through to the semi-finals.
Bristol captain Greg Streete knows that the London team will not be an easy obstacle on the way to the Trophy semi-finals. He said, "Leopards are always a strong opponent and have picked a new import (Ousman Krubally) who is very athletic and we need to make sure we contain him. We have performed very well so far in the league and the Cup so it will be great if we could continue our success in the trophy competition as well."
As well as that win against the Leopards, Flyers also shaded a close game 78-75 at PAWS London Capital and won 73-64 at home against Brixton Topcats. However the 70-67 loss at Reading Rockets cost them top spot and a bye to the semi-final.
The Leopards' route to the last eight proved a bit more complicated. A heavy home loss against Rockets followed by that loss at Bristol saw them needing to win their final two games to progress. A 73-56 defeat at Capital was subsequently ordered to be replayed due to the incorrect court markings at Capital City Academy, and their London rivals then conceded the game 20-0. That meant that Leopards had to beat local rivals Brixton Topcats - who themselves had also had a walkover win against Capital - in a winner-takes all showdown for a place in the quarter-final.
Even then it wasn't simple, with the snow putting paid to the first attempt to play the game, but a massive 31 point, 14 rebound double-double from Ousman Krubally saw them through with a 91-77 victory.