The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders host Leicester Warriors this Saturday in their first group match of this years Patrons Cup. Crusaders have been drawn in a group alongside Leicester Warriors, Northampton Neptunes, Plymouth Raiders II, Tamar Valley Cannons and Cardiff Celts so a good start is essential.

Last year Crusaders missed out on a semi-final place by the smallest of margins. Despite an impressive 86-74 win over Taunton Tigers other results went against Kent seeing them eliminated on points difference. Had Crusaders beaten Taunton by 2 more points they would have progressed to the next round.

On the other hand Leicester come to Crusaders as defending champions having won their first major trophy in this competition last season. The Warriors overcame Bristol in the final 61-55 which was played at the Newcastle Arena. Leicester also had a solid season in Division 2 finishing mid-table with 11 wins and 11 losses.

This is Crusaders first game against Division 2 opposition this year coach Mads Olsen said ”It will be good to test the new Crusaders squad against Division 2 opposition”. So it is good news that Olsen can name a full strength side with JP Dimandja, Matt Rosenthal and James Harris all returning from injury.

Olesen had this to say about the upcoming game ”The key players are our big men, who will be giving up size against the Warriors, but on the other hand should have the advantage of being quicker”. With this being a rematch of Crusaders 78-57 victory over the Warriors last season it promises to be an exciting game.

The game tips off this Saturday at 7:30PM at the Body and Mind Leisure Centre in Canterbury. Tickets are available on the door.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 10:14 pm and is filed under Calendar, Game Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.