This weekend, both the BBL & WBBL sides face a challenging double-header in their respective pushes for the highest possible playoff seeds.
On Friday night, Gareth Murray’s BBL side travel to face his GB Head Coach, Marc Steutel’s Newcastle Eagles at the Vertu Motors Arena in England’s Northeast. Heading into the game, Eagles have a must-win game on their hands, as they must pick up the points if they wish to make the playoffs, missing out last year. However, the Gladiators’ place in the standings is not guaranteed – in a continued push for top 4, they proceed with a battle with Manchester Giants who have remained even all season long. Newcastle’s home crowd is always a busy and excitable one, but Gladiators are bringing down a solid fan section of their own, and hope to compete with a full arena of voices.
For Miguel Ortega, his side travel to Leicester on Saturday afternoon to face Leicester Riders – in another essential game for their push for 3rd place. Krumesh Patel’s Riders currently sit on the same points as Gladiators, with a game in hand and a record holding one more win than the visitors. Heading into the game, Gladiators look to continue on from a big win over Sheffield Hatters on Sunday, whilst Leicester will look to bounce back from a surprising loss to Durham Palatinates, who also defeated Caledonia earlier this year.
Next up, the BBL squad welcome Surrey Scorchers to the Emirates Arena on Sunday evening. Despite sitting last in the standings with only three wins on the season, Scorchers have proven to be a solid side, with the ability for an upset clear. In the past two occasions, the sides have shared their victories at one apiece, however, Gladiators lead the season’s head-to-head against the Guildford side 2-1, and hope to make it a definite 3-1 record. Get your tickets HERE!
In the second part of an away double header, the WBBL squad travel to Surrey Sports Park to take on Sevenoaks Suns, who are close to them in the table – 5th. Caledonia picked up a win in league action at home – 71-61, but Sevenoaks got the better of the Gladiators early in the season at The Peak in Stirling, knocking them out in the first round of the WBBL Cup in a close affair – 64-67. Jamila Thompson’s former side will provide a surely exciting matchup for Gladiators, who will be keen to get revenge over them following the previous competition knockout.
