BBL ChampionshipSunday 11 October 2009 (5.30pm) @ Northgate Arena. The Cheshire Jets and the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders meet each other for the first time this season on Sunday, with the former having the upper hand, as they beat the Raiders by 14 points at the Plymouth Pavilions at the back end of last season. In the last ten games between the sides however, they have been reasonably well matched, as Plymouth are in front 6-4. The offseason proved to be completely different for each of these teams, as the Jets managed to retain eight players from last season's play off qualifying team, whereas the Raiders have recruited an entirely new line up other than James Noel and Captain Allister Gall, who return from last season.

Because of this, Head Coach of the Jets Paul Smith admits that his knowledge of Plymouth is limited, but expects that after they fell by 20 points to Worthing Thunder, they will have made some adjustments, and will be ready to go. He said: 'I don't know much about Plymouth at this stage. They have a new team which had a tough loss on the opening weekend, but they have had a while to work on that and put things right, so we are expecting a very tough game this weekend.'

Plymouth boss Gary Stronach feels that his new team are slowly getting to where they need to be, and warns them of the several weapons that Cheshire posses: 'I feel we have along way to go to reach our potential. Right now guys are finding and developing their roles within the team. (The Jets) can hurt you in all departments- Chez Marks, James Hamilton, Shawn Myers are veteran players who know how to win in this league.'

Stronach's biggest concern though, is that his team will be able to put together a consistent performance, something that they struggled to do against Worthing in their first league game. The Raiders did not play last weekend, and whilst he feels a game would have been beneficial, Stronach also hopes that the break will give his players an extra edge going into a crucial tie. He added: 'There are some tough match ups in facing the Jets but we are looking forward to the challenge. We certainly need to put a 40 minute game together. We had extra practice last week, but obviously it's not the same as a game. However, I'm hoping the guys will be extra hungry going into this weekend having not played last week.'

Sunday 11 October 2009 (3.00pm) @ Echo Arena. The Guildford Heat travel to Liverpool to take on the Everton Tigers on the back of two victories, one against Essex Pirates last weekend, and the other, a thirty-point defeat of the London Capital the week before. What has pleased player-coach Chad McKnight the most about the two performances is the togetherness that his team has shown, and that the statistics have shown in the spread of scoring. On last week's home tie against the Essex Pirates, McKnight said: 'I think we played well, and it was a good team win. We had four guys in double figures and so far, there have been a lot of guys that have been star performers. We had six players in double figures in the first game and four in the second so there is not one or two that stand out, its pretty much everyone.'

The Tigers, led by Team GB Assistant coach Tony Garbelotto, look to have recruited some more youthful players this term, and American point guard Kevin Bell led the way for them at the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, with 23 points personal. Despite the defeat in the East Midlands, Garbelotto was full of praise for his new point guard. He said: 'Kevin is a next level player and I do not think he will have any problems integrating himself into our team. He is quick, can score and is a very good defender, all of the things we have wanted in our point guard.'

It was not just Bell that impressed Garbelotto last weekend, but the Londoner insists that he is focussing more on getting his own team in shape, before worrying about the opposition. He added: 'After the first game for us, it is still too early to know how we will match up against a team like Guildford. At present, I am more worried about what we are doing than other teams. We have a balanced squad, which now has the speed and athletic ability that our team did not have last year. What we lack is experience, so our practice and preparation are vital.

He admits, however, that he is unsure as to the status of some his players for this Sunday: 'We are still waiting for Steven Rush to arrive, Olu (Babalola) has had the flu and Jerome Gumbs was injured for last Saturday. I am not sure what their status will be come this weekend.'

Sunday 11 October 2009 (4.00pm) @ Bletchley LC. Sunday's action is completed by a game between the Marshall MK Lions and the Worthing Thunder. As these teams have only met three times in BBL Competition, it is difficult to predict how the result will swing on Saturday, but the Thunder look a very different outfit this term under new boss Dave Titmuss, and whilst Vince Macaulay is back at the helm for the Lions, he seems to have added some youthful talent, along with retaining the likes of BBL Veteran and stand-out Shooting Guard Yorick Williams this season.

Macaulay's strategic recruitment has meant that he has a new-found versatility in his side, and he feels this will work to his advantage against the Thunder this weekend: 'The Thunder are small and quick, but we are able to put a little of everything on the court' he said 'We can go big or small, quick or slow, but we will just be concentrating on getting better throughout the game. '

Whilst Macaulay could not deny that the Thunder's Reggie Bratton is on top form at the moment, he stressed that Worthing's strength was a collective one, adding: 'Obviously Bratton scored forty seven points at the weekend so he won't be slipping under anyone's radar, but their strengths are playing as a team and playing together.'

Worthing Thunder Coach Dave Titmuss is looking at the weekend as a clash of the veterans and the rookies of the league, and highlights the Lions' experience and 'know-how' in terms of winning games, as the tools to them being successful. He explained: 'On Sunday in Milton Keynes, it'll be a veteran Lions team with the likes of EJ (Harrison), (Robert) Youngblood, (Mike) New, (Yorick) Williams and (Dru) Spinks against our BBL Rookies! We expect a physical game against a very experienced, competitive and savvy team.'

The coaching staff at the Lions managed to take a look at the Thunder in action last weekend, but this does not concern Titmuss, as he added: 'We know they scouted us against Rocks, although we are still under-prepared, so apart from individual player tendencies, I wouldn't expect them to have picked much up.'

As well as being 'under-prepared' Titmuss also said that his side were gradually learning how the game is called in the league. He used Worthing's defeat against Sheffield on Friday as an example: "We were disappointed with our performance in Sheffield on Friday, although after a dominant first period, our play became increasingly disrupted and disjointed by having three key guys – (Kadiri) Richards, (Petroslav) Zafirov, and (Sam) Cricelli – all sitting out in foul trouble. In the end they each played around half of the game only and two of them fouled out. Sheffield did a much better job than us of reading how calls were being made and adjusting to them. I was especially concerned at what I felt was a lack of equitable protection for shooters, especially on penetration. We'll know better next time.'

Source: www.bbl.org.uk