COACH PJ A WORD FROM

Hello, today we host the Newcastle Eagles in this BBL championship matchup.

We have had our struggles in the past few weeks, and I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I was in our BBL trophy ¼ final exit to the Derby Trail Blazers last week.

In Derby, we played a very good team who are having their best season in division one of the National League. I was impressed by the Derby players as they kept their composure in the second half when we came back at them. They continued to share the ball, played tough defence, and executed their plays in the key moments of the game exceptionally well.

We, on the other hand failed to show the same control and composure once we pulled the game back to 4 points. Sloppy turnovers and bad shot selection in period of time allowed Derby to pull away again and we must give credit where credit is due. They were the better team on the day!

Friday evening, we played the Surrey Scorchers in what turned out to be a very entertaining game, helped by our amazing travelling fans who made it a real party atmosphere. This certainly was a must win game for us and everyone played their part, including the Patriot fans.

It was a game where the Scorchers had led for almost 30 minutes, but the key was that we stayed within touching distance for all that time. We managed to claw the lead from the Surrey and from then on it was going to be which team held their nerve and executed the best down the stretch.

We thought we had the game won at the end of regulation only for Surrey to hit a 3 to level the score and into overtime we went. We did a great job in overtime outscoring Surrey by 18 points to 8. This was a hard-fought win and one we so desperately needed.

Today we take on another team in Newcastle Eagles, who have also had their struggles this season too, but seem to be getting things together of late.

This is also probably a must win game for both teams as we fight for an end of season playoff position.

We need to bring the energy, fight, and commitment to our remaining games, stop looking back and start looking forward. We can turn our fortunes around if we all have the same will to do so! I want you the fans to turn up the noise, it really pushes the team on.

We released Jawaun Daniels in the week, because it was the right and best thing to do for the team and club. Never are these decisions taken lightly, but they are always taken with the club’s best interest at heart!

A warm welcome to Coach Steutel, his staff, players, and Newcastle Eagles supporters for this BBL Championship game.