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Debutants set to Shine for Heat

02 December 2011

The Guildford Heat are back in competitive action at the Surrey Sports Park for the first time in a month on Sunday with Red Shirt Sunday, taking on the Worcester Wolves in front of the Sky TV cameras in what is looking like a sell out fixture!

This will be the Wolves second visit of the season and the fourth time that the two sides have met this season. Sadly for the Heat, all three results have gone the Wolves' way, but all three games were close affairs and the Heat could have won them all. Of course, since the last time the two sides met, the Heat are sporting a different line-up. Under-performing big men Kandi Mukole and Hermann Opoku have gone, as has point-guard Brandon Shingles. They have been replaced up front by Mike Copeland and Shaun Durant, with Drew Lasker coming in as point-guard. All three are experienced BBL veterans and all expect to make an immediate contribution to the team.

Durant, of course, made his debut a month ago and was an immediate hit with the fans and the team, while Lasker and Copeland made their debuts in the friendly two weeks ago. Anyone who saw that game will have seen a new-look Heat, full of energy and confidence and on Sunday they will take the court with two more weeks of hard training under their belts.

However, they are up against one of the BBL form teams. The Worcester Wolves were undefeated in the BBL Championship until last week when they had their eight game winning streak in all competitions snapped by a last second lay-up from Nate Reinking, who gave his Sheffield Sharks a narrow 76-75 win last weekend. That defeat dropped the Wolves to fourth in the table and worse was to come when, on Tuesday night, the Wolves lost to the Milton Keynes Lions in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

The first live TV game of the season saw a thrilling game in which the two sides were neck-and-neck until the final quarter. The Lions took a narrow 73-72 lead into the last 10 minutes, but outstanding defence held the Wolves to just 10 points as the Lions ran out 99-82 winners.

The Wolves have a chance to get their season back on track when they host the struggling Mersey Tigers on Saturday before making the trip down to Guildford. Worcester Wolves coach, Paul (PJ) James, will be hoping that his side can stop their slide at two games and cement their excellent start to the season, which has seen them progress to the semi-finals of the BBL Cup and narrowly miss out in the BBL Trophy.

Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's game, the Heat will be hoping to put a dent in ex-Heat coach PJ's championship ambitions on Sunday as they look for their first competitive win of the season to kick-start the long climb off the foot of the table.

You can get tickets by calling the Heat Box Office on 01483 689111 or by visiting the Surrey Sports Park website.