NEW ROSTER FOR THE FINAL STRETCH

Words from the Chairman - Carl Heslop

We sadly couldn’t put three wins on the spin together against Manchester which we should have seen out, but the team ran out of gas after two nail biting overtime games previously. Defensively we managed to keep a number of quality players into moderate numbers but struggled offensively with our percentages not being what was required to get the game over the line. It was pleasing that the roster shared points, but we need to be more potent on the scoreboard as we enter the final stretch of the campaign.

With that in mind we have wasted no time to get some deadline signings into the club in the form of Ralph Bissainthe and Otas Iyekekpolor. Releasing Jawaun and losing Bell meant we had to reinforce what we had and although it has taken longer to get them into the group than we would have liked. They have trained well and can have no bigger baptism of fire then the London lions in their debut. However, both have already demonstrated a real professionalism in their work, and it is really pleasing to have some more experience in the roster and the atmosphere in the group has been great this week.

London are obviously the standard now to follow and with a roster we can only dream of at the moment it is going to be extremely hard to get a result. However, if we can match the atmosphere, we created last time the lions were in town we will be in for a really good afternoon of basketball. I’m sure the new recruits will want to make their mark and our seasoned pros will want to show that they can compete against the highest level of competition in the league.

You will have seen a number of articles and national exposure on ITV regarding the club which is really encouraging and shows the interest we are now generating. Our programmes continue to grow, and the recent video completed by the BBL on our community work is a very inspiring video which makes me really proud.

We also have had some success on the court with the Patriots ladies team becoming the Exeter and District league winners and cup champions. This was also followed up the Patriots coached BUCS Marjon university team winning their cup this week and being promoted out of their respective league this season.

All the above shows amazing progress this season which we look to continue to build on every month/season to develop a truly great basketball community.