Dave Ryan reports…

Levett Essex Leopards will be looking for revenge when they host Sussex Bears at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon.

A poor fourth period saw Thomas Baker’s side suffer a surprise 97-79 defeat when they travelled to the newly promoted side in October, but a win on Sunday is vital if they are to remain in the promotion race.

The Bears contain many players who Leopards faced in Division One games against Worthing thunder, but are currently seventh in the table with a 5-9 record and are still not clear of the relegation dogfight.

The action starts at 4pm, with a training session for under-16s at 2pm. See www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk for more details.

The Big Cats are also in action at the Brentwood Centre the following weekend, hosting Team Birmingham Elite on the Saturday (6.30pm) and promotion rivals Thames Valley Cavaliers the following day, tip-off 4pm.

Having already seen their game at London Greenhouse Pioneers postponed due to snow, the Big Cats had another one on Saturday as their game at London Westside was called off due to a leaking roof at Kensington Leisure Centre.

While both teams were willing to start the game and see if mopping the puddle at every stoppage in play would suffice, the referees were unwilling to risk any injuries and called it off five minutes after the scheduled tip-off time.

“We haven’t got any complaints, though it’s a bit concerning to hear that it isn’t the first time the venue has had these problems” said general manager Dave Ryan.

“We’d have liked to have given it go, but the referees are responsible for player safety so I can see why they didn’t want to play it.

“The baskets on an adjacent court weren’t up to National League standard, but it was a bit disappointing that the refs wouldn’t officiate a friendly on that court because it would have been good to get a game in.

“It’s another blank weekend, we now have to fit the second half of our league fixtures into just two months.”