Dave Ryan reports…
LEOPARDS face their biggest game of the season as they return to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon to play Manchester Magic in the National Cup quarter-final.
The Big Cats will look to put a poor start to the league season behind them as they face one of their oldest rivals with a place in the semi-final of a competition they have won twice since reforming in 2004 up for grabs.
Thomas Baker’s team are still hoping to bring two American players into the side in time for the game, but they were boosted by Dion Easton receiving his British passport last week and making an encouraging debut in Saturday’s loss at Worthing.
Magic reached the Cup quarter-final with comfortable wins against Derbyshire Arrows and Reading Rockets, and like Leopards they have saved their best performances for the Cup having lost both National Trophy and all three Division One games prior to Sunday’s thrilling 73-72 home win against Team Newcastle.
Having accepted a late promotion to Division One, Leopards had to start their cup campaign a round earlier than their rest of their Division One rivals, and progressed to the last eight with tight wins at Derby Spartans and Westminster Warriors before comfortably beating Nottingham Hoods at Essex Arena.
Tip-off at the Brentwood Centre is 4pm, with the Big Cats expecting a big crowd for their first game there since September. Tickets can be booked at www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk or purchased on the door.
A massive performance from former BBL stand-out Zaire Taylor saw Leopards go down 104-88 at Worthing Thunder on Saturday.
Taylor finished with 38 points, seven rebounds and four assists with fellow American Alex Owumni adding 23 points and 14 boards for the big-spending south coast side.
A poor first quarter, where they were outscored 27-14, gave Leopards too much to do, and even though the rest of the game saw them only outscored by five, they never looked likely to pick up their first league win of the campaign.
Captain Sam Newman led the way with six treys in his 20 point, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals performance. Lee Hodges added 14 points with Findlay Wood chipping in with 13 points and six assists.
