Basketball
Wolves face tough Leicester test

WORCESTER Wolves will be looking for their fourth consecutive win when they travel to BBL Championship contenders Leicester Riders tomorrow (Saturday).

Wolves will hope to start the New Year with victory against their Midlands rivals at the John Sandford Centre after back to back league wins against the Newcastle Eagles and Glasgow Rocks followed up by last weekend's BBL Trophy win against the Plymouth Raiders.

But Worcester will face a tough test with Leicester going into the game sitting second in the BBL Championship having won 12 of their 14 matches so far.

The last encounter between the two sides was won by Leicester and Wolves head coach Paul James said beating them will prove a difficult challenge.

"The Riders are right up there as one of the best teams in the league this season and have a great chance of winning the league title if they can keep it together for the second half of the season," he said.

"They are big, athletic and go deep into their bench. Rob has done a great job of assembling a real title-chasing team this season.

"Their main threat is the work ethic of the team and that they can change the way they play to suit the situation. Leicester is the toughest place to play in the league and so it is very difficult to go there and win."

James has also praised his Lithuanian centre Arturas Masiuilis after his fine performance last weekend earned him a place in the BBL Team of the Week.

"Teams are finding it more and more difficult to stop Arturas," he added.

"Someone who is already hard to defend just got harder now that Prezzie-Blue is getting him the ball just where he wants it. He had a great game against Plymouth and I’m sure he can continue to play at that level."

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