Guildford Heat Basketball Club News

Scorcher Mascot Grand National Favourite

Wed, 9 May 2012 10:45:52 GMT

This bank holiday weekend saw Scorcher take part in his first ever Mascot Grand National at Kempton Park Racecourse.

It was a strong showing with over 50 mascots racing from various places. Scorcher was seen relaxing in the VIP lounge with other mascots such as Haydon the Womble from Wimbledon FC, Bully from TV's Bullseye and Lily the Panda from Cambridge FC.

Scorcher spent a lot of time catching up with fellow BBL Mascot Hot Shot from the Leicester Riders. As the race day got under way they were comparing notes on the other mascots there, the state of the course and whether basketball shoes were a good match for wet grass.

When the mascots were called for their race, it was revealed that there would be a handicap system according to feet size. Some mascots had huge fluffy and clawed feet and others, like scorcher, had sleek fitting stylish Nike "Hyperdunks" with custom ID tags. This did not bode well for Scorcher and HotShot as they were put in the furthest back group with a hefty handicap.

The mascots were led out to meet the waiting crowds and were met by chants and applause from each of their supporters. There was a strong Heat Presence with a few familiar faces in the crowd. Scorcher's popularity was also raised with the crowd after the announcer on the day tipped Scorcher as the one to watch and a good bet. This lead to Scorchers odds going from 12-1 to 3-1 making him the favourite. Tensions built as the mascots made their way onto -the course, through high fives and cheers from the crowd.

The handicapped group started a fair way back from the others and as the flag dropped it was clear that there was no catching certain members of the "large feet" group. Scorcher did well to cut through the pack, as did HotShot and they both finished close to each other, Scorcher taking 8th place and HotShot in 9th. Scorcher was happy with his performance but made strong comments about the handicap system and the combination of wet grass and basketball shoes. A fun time was had by all and rumours are that Scorcher is already talking about competing next year.

Click here to watch the race on Youtube.

Heat Go Down Fighting

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:01:52 GMT

The Heat had little left to play for except pride on Sunday afternoon after conceding a 37 point deficit in the first leg of their first round play-off clash with the Newcastle Eagles. Anyone who missed the match, thinking it would be a formality, missed an exciting, passionate game of basketball in which both sides fought hard to get the win.

However, it was very much a game of two halves and in the first half, the Heat struggled. It's hard to believe, but they actually played better defensively than they had in the first leg up in Newcastle, making the Eagles work hard for their points. In particular, they had their transition defence in good order, holding the Eagles to 23 points in the first quarter and 17 in the second. Unfortunately, they struggled to score against the Eagles smothering defence.

Once again the Eagles were active, getting their hands on passes, and were tenacious in defence, rotating well and protecting the basket. On several occasions, a Heat player broke through only to find his path to the basket blocked at the last second by a Newcastle defender. Anyone who thought that the Eagles might not take the game seriously had under-estimated Fab Flournoy and his team.

The Heat, however, didn't help themselves, often over-complicating plays. In one four minute stretch in the second quarter, the Heat turned the ball over on eight of their 11 possessions and it was no surprise that they managed just 13 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second as they went into the second half trailing 24-40.

The second half, though, was a revelation. The Heat came out fired up and as they continued their tough-nosed defence, they stepped it up on offense. With four minutes gone, they cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the first quarter, and the Eagles briefly got back to ten in front, that's how it stayed, the Eagles never getting ahead by more than nine for the rest of the game. At 38-46, the Heat had scored more points (14) in four minutes than they had managed in either of the first two quarters.

The Heat kept coming, cutting the deficit to five at 45-50 with two minutes to go and then two at 50-52 with a minute to go. The Eagles, however, scored the last four points of the quarter, to leave the Heat trailing by six, 50-56. The Heat had outscored the Eagles 26-16 in the third and started the fourth quarter on fire, scoring the first five points to trail 55-56. After an Eagles three, Drew Lasker tied the game with a three of his own at 59-59 before Tayo Ogedengbe weaved his way through traffic to put the Heat ahead, 61-59.

After another Eagles three, Tayo put the Heat ahead again with a three of his own to make it 64-62 with six minutes to play, the Heat capping a 14-6 run. However, the Eagles stepped up their defence another notch and the game, which was already physical, became even harder fought, with players from both sides going down. Bridge put the Eagles back in front with a free-throw only for Big Frank Holmes to respond with a jumper in the paint. That broke a three minute drought for the Heat and with three minutes to go, they were back ahead, 66-65.

However, the lead was short-lived as Joel Madourie got out on the break to put the Eagles back ahead. Still the Heat and Eagles battled away, the Heat twice denying the Eagles before Big Frank drove the lane, span past his man and found Tayo underneath the basket. Tayo was hammered by Darius Defoe, and tied the game from the line, 67-67.

The Eagles scored the next four points, leaving the Heat down by four with under a minute to go. Tough defence stopped the Eagles from scoring and from the line, Martelle McLemore narrowed the gap to two at 69-71 with 25 seconds to play. The Heat pressed, but narrowly failed to get the steal. The Eagles got the ball ahead to Defoe who effectively ended the game with a dunk, although he was almost blocked at the rim by Drew, who fouled out on the play. Defoe hit the bonus shot and that was that, the Heat going down 69-74.

The Eagles celebrated like they had won the title, but the Heat knew that their pride was intact.

The Heat were led by Tayo Ogedengbe's 22 points, Drew Lasker adding 18 to go with six rebounds and three steals. Martelle added 14 points. Both Frank Holmes and Mike Martin pulled down 14 rebounds, Frank hauling down 9 offensive rebounds.

The Eagles were led by Joe Chapman's 20 points, while Darius Defoe added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, Paul Gause chipping in with 11 points and Andrew Thomson adding nine to go with his 10 rebounds.

After going 15-35 from three-point range in Newcastle, the Heat held them to 7-24. The Heat also improved their free-throw shooting, knocking down 16-27 from the line.

The full match report is now available.

Heat Have Mountain To Climb

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:25:01 GMT

The Guildford Heat left themselves a mountain to climb on Sunday after a disastrous trip to Newcastle on Friday night in the first leg of the play-offs. The game started brightly enough for the Heat and they only trailed 5-7 when Joe Chapman hit a three in transition. Tayo Ogedengbe answered for the Heat with a drive to the basket to make it 7-10 with five minutes gone. However, Chapman went on to hit two more threes, making it three in a row as he sparked a 14-4 Eagles run to close the quarter.

Time and again the Eagles got out in transition and got easy baskets as the Heat failed to get back fast enough. In the second quarter, the Heat tightened up on their transition defence and started to score at the other end. However, the Eagles still managed to score 24 points in the quarter to the Heat's 21, leaving the Heat trailing 32-48 at half time.

Most of the damage was done by the Eagles red-hot three-point shooting. They were five of 11 in the first quarter and four of eight in the second. While the Heat had tightened up, the Eagles were making threes with hands in their faces, mostly through Chapman, who had 20 points and four threes and Paul Gause who came off the bench to hit four of his five threes on his way to 15 points. Between them, they had outscored the Heat 35-32 by half-time.

It was more of the same in the third quarter as the Heat again struggled to score, while the Eagles put up 25 points to the Heat's 15, leaving them down by 26, 47-73, going into the fourth quarter.

The Heat really needed to rally in the fourth and keep the lead down to managable proportions, but instead a moment of madness and some very harsh refereeing caused the Heat to implode. With just over two minutes remaining, the Heat were down 28, 56-84, when Joe Chapman missed a three. Off the ball, Tayo went down on top of an Eagles player. As he was whistled for the foul, he tried to explain to the referee that he had been pulled down and was immediately called for a technical for his troubles. He continued to complain and was hit with a second technical, leading to an automatic ejection. On his way to the bench he kicked the adverstising hording in frustration and was hit with a third technical.

The referees had handed the Eagles a potential eight-point possession, but Andrew Thomson, after making the first three free-throws, missed the next three, although the Eagles scored on the subsequent possession to leave the Heat trailing 56-89. The Heat didn't score after that, registering just nine points in the quarter and the Eagles went on to win by 37, the Heat going down 56-93.

The Heat were led by Martelle McLemore's 12 points to go with nine rebounds, while Frank Holmes had a game high 14 rebounds to go with seven points. The Eagles were led by Joe Chapman's 33 points, with Paul Gause adding 25 off the bench, between them outscoring the Heat 58-56. The Heat weren't helped by their woeful performance from the line as they went just 7-25 from the free-throw line, spurning multiple opportunities to narrow the gap to manageable levels. In the second half they were just 3-16 from the line.

The full match report is now available on the Heat website.

The Heat now return home for the second leg on Sunday (29th April). The game tips-off at the Surrey Sports Park at 3 o'clock and if you haven't already got your tickets, you can go on-line or call the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111.

It's Play-off Time!

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:15:15 GMT

It's Play-off Time! The Heat have two games this weekend to progress to the semi-finals and cause the upset of the season. They face the newly-crowned BBL Champions, the Newcastle Eagles, over two legs this weekend. The Eagles, who have already won the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy to go with the Championship, will be looking for a Play-off Title to complete the clean sweep. The winners on aggregate over the two legs will go through to the semi-finals.

The Eagles come into the Play-offs having lost all four games that they've played since clinching the Championship. Prior to that, they had lost just three games all season and hand't lost back-to-back games. In fact, that four game losing streak is the longest in the 10 year tenure of Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy, not that he is worried:

"The losing streak is irrelevant, what is important is that we have the right mindset going into what will hopefully be a further five games. I am actually very happy with the way our personnel have played."

The last of the Eagles' four defeats was against the Heat at the Surrey Sports Park, as the Heat ended their season in style, winning comfortably, 100-74, their first win against the Eagles in over two years. That victory also meant that the Heat had won four in a row at home, giving them valuable momentum going into the clash.

However, no-one is fooled by the ease with which the Heat overcame the Eagles. Since clinching the Championship, the Eagles have been resting their starters and four of them, forwards Andrew Thomson and Charles Smith, and guards, Paul Gause and Joe Chapman, were missing on Sunday. Chapman and Smith are the Eagles leading scorers, with 20.2 and 17.5 points per game respectively, while Thomson is their joint-leading rebounder, with 8.7 boards per game, matching Darius Defoe, the only Eagles starter to take the floor against the Heat. Between them, the four missing players average 65 of the Eagles 89 points per game.

For the Heat, they welcome back Drew Lasker, who missed the two games last weekend to rest an injured ankle. Drew, who played for the Eagles at the end of last season and in the play-offs, will be keen to face his old side for just the second and third times this season. The first time was when a full-strength Eagles narrowly defeated the Heat at the Surrey Sports Park just before Christmas. That was a Heat side without Frank Holmes and still working Drew and fellow newcomer, Shaun Durant, into the mix.

The Eagles' Fab Flournoy isn't put much weight on that victory, or the other two meetings between the two sides this season:

"Our games this season will really have little relevance. We played them first game of the season when they were a different team and then just before Christmas when they were struggling with fitting in new players. Last week will have no influence on the play-offs either.

"The Heat are an athletic deep team who have turned their season around after Christmas with the additions of Drew Lasker and Frank Holmes. They are a team who shares the ball well and it’s tough to focus on any one player.

"We hope to be full strength this weekend and we have also benefited from getting Joel [Madourie] and Lamar [Morrison] some minutes and good quality competition over the past week so we know that when called upon they will be ready.

"I really don’t worry about the home and away situation. We have to play 80 minutes in total so we just get on with it whether we are home first or away first."

Coach Creon acknowledges that his side are the clear under-dogs, but has made no secret of the fact that he feels his side matches up well with the Eagles.

"I think that not many people will give us too much of a chance as an eighth seed going up against the Eagles in the play-offs. Sport is very unpredictable and that's why games have to played, even if the odds don't look great for one of the teams.

"We will go into the game with a strong belief that if we play to the best of our ability as individuals and more importantly execute our game plan together as a team we can compete with the Eagles. Fab has done an amazing job this season and they won’t be content with the three trophies they hold already so we know we are the first barrier on their road to a clean sweep of BBL silverware.

"Fab [Flournoy] made a decision to rest his starters for the last few games game's and that could work out in a positive as they return fresh and hungry to compete or on a negative as it could take them a game or two to get their timing back so I hope it will be the latter.

"Drew Lasker was 90 percent fit for the Sunday encounter but we chose to rest him so we have him fully fit for the play-offs. Its great to have him on my side for this first round match-up as it was him and Reggie Jackson that did most of the damage to knock us out the play-offs [against the Eagles] last season. He has been a top professional for our club since he joined us on and off the court. I asked him to run the point and he changed his style of play to do what was best for our team."

The first leg tips-off at 7.30pm at Sports Central in Newcastle on Friday, 27th April. If you want to join the team, there are spaces on the team coach which leaves the Surrey Sports Park at 9.45 in the morning. The cost is £20 and you can book your place by e-mailing Peter Bowyer. if you can't make the game, there will be a live webchat from the game, starting at 7.00. If you've not joined in one of Heat's webchats before, it's a great way to keep up-to-date with game and to express your support for the team.

The second leg tips-off at 3.00pm at the Surrey Sports Park on Sunday, 29th April. You can get your tickets on-line or by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111.

Heat Finish Season In Style

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:23:13 GMT

In a preview of next weekend's first round play-off clash, the Guildford Heat hosted the BBL Champions, the Newcastle Eagles, on Sunday afternoon and came away with a comprehensive 100-74 victory. Behind a large and noisy crowd, the Heat made short work of a visiting side who were missing a host of familiar names, not least star guard Joe Chapman and star forward, Andrew Thompson, who have been rested by the Eagles ever since they clinched the championship last weekend.

The Heat were without Drew Lasker for the second game running and for the opening five minutes looked as if they were playing the full-strength Eagles as they struggled to get into their stride. With five minutes gone, the Heat trailed by 5, 9-14. However, after Mike Martin scored inside, the Heat got rolling. Big Frank Holmes scored the Heat's next six points as they took the lead for the first time, 17-16. Although the Eagles retook the lead, Martelle McLemore, tipping-in his own missed drive, gave the Heat the lead for good at 19-18 and the Heat were up 24-20 at the end of the first.

The Heat carried that momentum into the second quarter, scoring the first six points to put the Heat ahead by 10 at 30-20, and capping a 21-6 run. With just a minute gone in the second quarter, the Eagles called timeout and briefly threatened to get back in the game with a 5-0 run over the next minute. However, the Heat regained their composure and reeled off a 13-2 run to put the Heat in control at 43-27 with three minutes to go.

It was 46-32 at half time and more was to come in the second half as the Heat steadily built on the lead. The Eagles maanged to match the Heat for most of the third, but even so, the Heat pushed the lead out to 21 points when Tayo Ogedengbe finished under the basket from a nice feed from Mike Martin. That made it 66-45 with just over three minutes to go and the Heat were still ahead by 20, 73-53 at the end of the third.

The Heat had outscored the Eagles 27-21 in the third and they went on to do exactly the same in the fourth as they kept up the intensity. Richard Green hit a jumper to restore the 21 point advantage at 80-59 and a quick 8-0 run which put the Heat ahead by 26, 91-65. For a while it was touch and go if the Heat would exceeed 100 points for the first time this season, but Xavier Lutaaya got the Heat there in style with a dunk for the final score of 100-74.

The Heat were led by Frank Holmes' 22 points and six rebounds in just 23 minutes, while Tayo Ogedengbe shook off a slow start to score 20 points to go with his five rebounds and two juicy blocks. Julius Joseph and Mike Martin both looked back to their best with 14 points and six rebounds each, while Shaun Durant had 10 points and eight rebounds. Albert Margai chipped in with nine points.

The Eagles were led by Darius Defoe's 22 points and nine rebounds, with Joel Madourie adding 22 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Bridge chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.

You can read a full match report on the Heat website.

The two sides now meet again next weekend over two legs in the first round of the play-offs. The Heat travel to Newcastle on Friday, 27^th April before hosting the second leg at the Surrey Sports Park on Sunday, 29^th April, 3 o’clock tip-off.

Heat To Finish Eighth

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:35:24 GMT

The Guildford Heat and the Leicester Riders both went into Saturday's game needing a win, but at the end of the day, the Riders wanted it more. A win would secure them a second-placed finish, their highest ever, and also give them a win in their last ever game at the John Sandford Centre. Meanwhile, the Heat needed the win, along with a win against Newcastle and a loss for the Cheshire Jets in order to finish seventh.

For the first three minutes, it was all even, the scores tied at 7-7. With four minutes gone, the Heat only trailed by two, 9-11, after Frank Holmes scored inside from a beautiful feed by Mike Martin. That's when the Riders took over. First Bradd Wierzbicki, who already had two threes to his name, faked another three, and drove all the way to the basket for a lay-up. Rundles and Wierzbicki then hit back-to-back threes before Ayron Hardy scored on the fast-break to cap a 10-0 run that broke the game open.

That left the Heat down by 12, 9-21, and that was the deficit at the end of the first quarter, 13-25, Big Frank scoring with a dunk at the buzzer after a steal. The game didn't get any better in the second quarter as the Riders opened with a 5-0 run to make it 13-30 and from then on, the Heat were just struggling to stay in the game. The Heat trailed by as many as 20 at 27-47, but they could never get any closer than 15. As they had in the first quarter, the Heat closed the second on a high, although it was not quite how they had planned it. Julius Joseph had the ball but could only get it to Shaun Durant at the top of the key, who probably wasn't the Heat's first-choice shooter. However, he drained the three as time expired to send the Heat into half-time down 35-51.

The game, however, was effectively over after the first five minutes of the second half. The Riders compiled a 15-3 run to leave the Heat trailing by 28, 38-66. JJ stopped the rot with a three and the Heat replied with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 20 at 50-70 before going into the fourth quarter down 50-72. Although they outscored the Riders 22-18 in the fourth quarter, it was just pride they were playing for as the game was over long before that.

The Riders were led by Bradd Wierzbicki's 26 points, with GB Captain Andrew Sullivan adding 19 points and 18 rebounds. Barry Lamble also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. For the Heat, Julius Joseph had 21 points and Frank Holmes added 14 points and nine rebounds.

A full match report is now available on the Heat website.

The loss means that the Heat will finish eighth, regardless of the outcome of Sunday's games and will face the Newcastle Eagles in the first round. The Heat now finish the regular season when they host the Newcastle Eagles in a preview of the play-offs. The game tips-off at three o'clock on Sunday afternoon at the Surrey Sports Park, followed by the annual End of Season Event.

Things Get Interesting

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:44:42 GMT

Things got interesting in the BBL on Friday night and not in a good way for the Guildford Heat. Two of the three games played had an impact on the Heat's final position in the BBL table. First of all, Champions, the Newcastle Eagles, who the Heat host on Sunday, lost their third straight game since clinching the Championship when they went down at home, 81-96, to the Heat's rival, the Cheshire Jets. To put that into context, the Eagles had lost just three games all season before their current slump.

Also in action on Friday were the sixth-placed Sheffield Sharks, who triumphed 102-99 at home over the Plymouth Raiders. That win for the Sharks means that the Heat can't overtake them, leaving the Heat to finish in either seventh or eighth. However, to finish seventh, the Heat will have to win both their remaining games, today at Leicester and tomorrow against the Eagles and hope that the Sharks beat the Jets on Sunday afternoon. If the Sharks win, they'll finish sixth, but if the Jets continue their good run of form and get the victory, they'll leap-frog over the Sharks into sixth, the Sharks will finish seventh and the Heat will be in eighth.

The loss for the Raiders on Friday night also has an impact on the Heat's opponents today, the Leicester Riders. Had the Raiders won, they would have finished second in the BBL, but the loss means that they can now no longer overtake the Worcester Wolves who are in second place. A win for the Riders against the Heat would move them up the table past both the Raiders and the Wolves, leaving the Riders finishing in second place, the Wolves in third and the Raiders in fourth. If the Heat beat the Riders, then they will end up fourth, with the Wolves holding onto second and the Raiders slipping to fourth, where they will face the Glasgow Rocks in the BBL's longest road-trip.

So, it's all to play for in the final weekend of the regular season. If you can't make the Leicester game tonight, you can follow all the action via our live webchat (go to the Heat Facebook page and follow the links). Then get yourself down to the Surrey Sports Park for this year's last regular season game and the end of season event.

The game tips off at 3 o'clock (Sunday 22nd April) and you can get your tickets by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111 or by going on-line. The annual End of Season event starts at six o'clock at the Surrey Sports Park and includes the famous shirt auction. Entry is just £2 for adults and £1 for children.

Heat Host Champions

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:52:34 GMT

The Heat round off the season in style on Sunday as they host the newly-crowned BBL Champions, the Newcastle Eagles. Just as the Heat qualified for the play-offs when the only team that could stop them (in this case, the Milton Keynes Lions) lost, so the Eagles clinched the Championship when the only team that could stop them (the Plymouth Raiders) also lost. Both teams then seemed to relax and went on to lose games that most thought they would win.

The Heat and Eagles come into Sunday's game at different ends of the play-off spectrum and as potential first round rivals. If things go badly for the Heat in the Championship's final weekend, they could find themselves dropping to eighth spot and facing the Eagles once again, this time over two legs in the first round of the play-offs. Alternatively, if the Heat win at Leicester on Saturday and other results go their way, they could find themselves looking to beat Newcastle in order to move up to seventh or even sixth in the BBL Championship and facing either the Worcester Wolves or Plymouth Raiders in the first round.

The Eagles are the model of a successful franchise and it was a great surprise last season when they failed to win any of the BBL’s four competitions. However, they have made up for it with a vengeance this season! To add to the BBL Championship, they have already secured the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy and are looking to add the Play-off Title, which would give the Eagles their second ever sweep of all four competitions and the first in the BBL since the Eagles did it the first time in 2005-06.

This is, of course, the Heat's third and final meeting with the Eagles and they are looking to avoid a second successive season sweep. Of all the teams in the BBL, the Heat have had the least success against the Eagles, although Coach Creon remains optimistic, believing that his side matches up well with the Champions.

Although the Heat lost heavily when the two sides met in Newcastle at the start of the BBL campaign, that was the old-look Heat. When they met again in December, at the Surrey Sports Park, it was a much closer affair. In a game featuring 20 lead-changes and nine ties, Heat were within two points, 70-72, with under two minutes to go. However, a controversial unsportsmanlike foul against Shaun Durant, who looked to have accidentally tripped the Eagles' Andrew Bridge, gave the momentum to the Eagles. They went on to close out the game from the line, going 8-8 in the last 90 seconds, having gone 11-20 in the rest of the match.

That, of course, was a Heat team without centre Frank Holmes and with Drew Lasker still working his way into the line-up. With the Heat line-up settled, Coach Creon is confident that his side will give the Eagles a run for their money.

The game also represents a chance for Tayo Ogedengbe to set a club record. He goes into the weekend as the club's leading scorer, narrowly ahead of Martelle McLemore. He is also the BBL's leader in free-throws attempted at 197 and needs just three more trips to the line to become the first Heat player since the great Brian Dux in 2006-07 to attempt 200 or more free-throws in the Championship. Brian went to the line 227 times in 36 games, an average of 6.3 per game. Tayo has made his 197 trips in just 28 games. While he is very unlikely to surpass Brian's total, he is attempting an average of 7.0 free throws per game and even if he fails to take a single free-throw all weekend, he will set a new club record for free-throws attempted per game.

The game tips off at 3 o'clock at the Surrey Sports Park on Sunday 22nd April. You can get your tickets by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111 or by going on-line. And don't forget that to round everything off, the annual End of Season event is after the game. It starts at six o'clock at the Surrey Sports Park and includes the famous shirt auction. Entry is just £2 for adults and £1 for children.

Big Weekend for the Heat

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:50:26 GMT

The Guildford Heat have a big weekend coming up, with a road trip to fourth-placed Leicester on Saturday, followed by a visit from the newly-crowned BBL Champions, the Newcastle Eagles. And to round everything off, there's the annual End of Season event which is after the Eagles game at the Surrey Sports Park.

The Heat get things underway with a tricky trip to Leicester on Saturday. This is the third meeting betwen the teams this season and the Heat are looking to avoid a season sweep. When the teams first met in November at the Surrey Sports Park, an off-balance buzzer-beater from Cameron Rundles was all that separated the sides, while the Heat also went down on the road just over a month ago.

The Riders are in fourth place in the BBL going into the weekend and the visit of the Heat will be their last game of the season. The Riders did their chances of moving up the table no harm when they beat the Eagles on Wednesday and if they can beat the Heat, they will move up into at least third, overtaking the Worcester Wolves, who finished their season last weekend. Their chances of finishing second were also given a boost when third-placed Plymouth Raiders lost on the road to the Milton Keynes Lions on Wednesday. If they lose their last game, on the road to the Sheffield Sharks on Friday, then the Riders can jump past them as well and finish second if they beat the Heat.

However, if the Raiders win that match, the Riders can finish no higher than third and if the Riders lose to the Heat, then they will finish in fourth, where they will meet the Glasgow Rocks in the play-offs.

The Heat face a similar up-hill struggle, lying in eighth spot and chasing the seventh-place Cheshire Jets and sixth-place Sheffield Sharks. If the Heat win against the Riders and the Eagles, they can finish sixth, as long as the Sharks lose both their games (at home to the Raiders and on the road to the Jets) and the Jets only win one of their two games (on the road to the Eagles and home to the Sharks). If the Heat lose either of their games, they will finish eighth, so they will be playing on Saturday to keep their season alive.

If they win, then it will all come down to the final games on Sunday, with the Heat hosting the Eagles and the Jets tipping off against the Sharks just after the game finishes.

The Heat could also do with the win to avoid being swept for the first time ever against the Riders. The all-time series between the two teams stands at 14-12; of all the teams still in the league, only the Lions and the Raiders have lost more times to the Heat (20 each), while a win on Saturday would move the Heat to 15 wins, matching their win total against the Worthing Thunder (who are no longer in the BBL).

A man who might have something to prove is ex-Rider, Frank Holmes, who joined the club at the end last season, where he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game. He was re-signed by the Riders at the start of the season, but was cut after the Riders signed fellow American, Brett Royster. Royster, who has had injury problems this season, has played in 20 games, averaging just over six points and six rebounds per game, while Big Frank has averaged just under 10 points and six rebounds in 15 games since joining the Heat.

However, the key for the Heat will be stopping high-scoring guards, Cameron Rundles and Bradd Wierzbicki, both of whom can shoot the three pointer and drive to the basket. They each average just under 20 points a game and are in the top 10 three-point shooters in the BBL, connecting on over a third of their attempts. Small forward Ayron Hardy is also a threat as he leads the Riders in rebounding (eight per game), assists (five) and steals (three).

If you want to join the team, there are spaces on the team coach. It leaves the Surrey Sports Park at 2.45 on Saturday afternoon and costs just £15, including entry. E-mail Peter Bowyer for details or to reserve a place. The game tips-off at 7.30 at the John Sandford Centre, Western Boulevard, Leicester, LE2 7BU. If you can't make the game, there will be a live webchat from the John Sandford Centre. See the Heat's Facebook page for details on the night.

Heat Into The Play-offs

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:21:05 GMT

It was a mixed weekend for the Heat as they made it into the play-offs, but at the same time slipped one place down the table into eighth spot.

The weekend started well, with rivals, the Milton Keynes Lions, losing at home on Friday to the Cheshire Jets, 78-95. This eliminated the Lions chances of overtaking the Heat, ensuring that the Heat would finish no lower than the eighth and final play-off spot. On the same night, sixth-placed Sheffield Sharks lost to the Glasgow Rocks, going down 74-82 at home and keeping alive the Heat's chances of finishing sixth.

From that high point, the weekend got steadily worse for the Heat as the following day they travelled up to Durham and lost to the Wildcats, going down 96-85. Worse was to come on Sunday when the Jets, who had an excellent weekend, hosted the Rocks and defeated them, 80-68. This moved the Jets level on wins with the Heat, but since they have the series head-to-head, it enabled them to move up to seventh spot, pushing the Heat down to eighth.

It was also a bad weekend for the Lions who lost for the second time, going down 94-86 on the road to the Mersey Tigers. That loss, coupled with the Jets' win, meant that the Jets were also sure of qualification for the play-offs. So, the season's final weekend will be all about fighting for position for the eight teams that have already qualified.

Looking at the top of the table, it was also a mixed weekend for the Newcastle Eagles, who clinched the Championship on Wednesday when the Plymouth Raiders, the only team who could overtake them at the top, lost on the road to the Leicester Riders. The Eagles, like the Heat, then seemed to take their eye of the ball once their goal had been achieved and went down at home, 74-82, to the Tigers. This made it a good weekend for the Tigers, who won both their games, but in their case, it was all in vain, since the Jets' two wins left the Tigers unable to qualify for the play-offs.

The Worcester Wolves concluded their BBL Championship campaign over the weekend when they hosted the Riders on Saturday, winning 93-71, and then went to Plymouth on Sunday and lost, the Raiders pulling off a 94-80 victory. This means that the second, third and fourth-placed teams all won one, lost one at the weekend, leaving all to play for in the Championship's final week.

		P	W	L	Pts
1	Newcastle Eagles	27	23	4	46
2	Worcester Wolves	30	22	8	44
3	UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders	28	21	7	42
4	Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders	28	20	8	40
5	Glasgow Rocks	28	14	14	28
6	One Health Sharks Sheffield	28	12	16	24
7	Cheshire Jets	28	11	17	22
8	Guildford Heat	28	11	17	22

9	Mersey Tigers	29	10	19	20
10	Prestige Homes MK Lions	28	8	20	16
11	Durham Wildcats	28	3	25	6

So, here's how it shapes up. The Eagles are Champions, but second, third and fourth places are up for grabs with any of the three teams, the Wolves, the Raiders and the Riders, able to finish in any of those places. The Wolves, whose campaign is now over, will have to wait to see if they can hold onto second place. If the Riders and the Raiders win their remaining games, the Wolves will finish fourth.

Below them are the Rocks, sitting in fifth place. Although the Sharks could match the Rocks' win total, the Rocks have the head-to-head, having swept the series, so they will finish fifth, regardless. That leaves the Sharks, the Jets and the Heat all fighting for sixth, seventh and eighth spots with all three teams having two games to play. All outcomes are possible, but the Heat will need to win both their remaining matches, on the road to the Riders and at home to the Champions, the Eagles, to stand any chance of catching the Sharks for sixth spot. They will also need to get one more win than the Jets to reclaim seventh spot.

So, it's all to play for in the final weekend of the BBL Championship. The Heat are on the road on Saturday at Leicester. If you want to join the team, there are spaces on the team coach. It leaves the Surrey Sports Park at 2.45 on Saturday afternoon and costs just £15, including entry. E-mail Peter Bowyer for details or to reserve a place. Then, on Sunday, the Heat's final game of the season is at the Surrey Sports Park, when the Champions, the Newcastle Eagles, come to town. The game tips off at 3.00 and you can get your tickets by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111 or by going on-line.

Don't forget that the Heat's end of season event, including the famous shirt auction, takes place after the game. See the Heat website for more details.