22 November, 2019

British players to go head-to-head in Spain as European leagues continue

After a great battle between Mideba Extremadura and BSR Amiab Albacete last weekend, more British players will go head-to-head this weekend as the Spanish, Italian and German Leagues continue on Saturday (23 November). 

The top-scorer in Spain, Terry Bywater will face James MacSorley’s Gran Canaria looking to add to the 173 points Bywater has scored in his five games so far this season. 

Scoring an impressive average of 34.6 points per game, Bywater has topped the points charts in the Spanish League for the past three weekends. 

On the other side of the court, MacSorley heads to Madrid high on confidence after helping Gran Canaria to a third successive win last weekend. However, they face a CD Ilunion side who are unbeaten this season. 

Three British players will be in action when Rincon Dental Amivel take on Iberconsa Amfiv. Amivel have secured back-to-back wins, including six points for Thomas Smith last weekend. 

They host Amfiv, who were also victorious last time out, with Lewis Edwards scoring his highest points tally of the season so far, while Sam Mack will also feature for Amfiv. 

Gaz Choudhry, Lee Manning, Harry Brown and Kyle Marsh will all be hoping BSR Amiab Albacete continue their unbeaten start to the season when their side hosts Bidaideak Bilbao. 

Choudhry top-scored for Albacete last weekend, passing 100 points for the season, and the four-time European champion is expecting another tough test. 

Commenting ahead of this weekend’s game, Choudhry said: “We played Mideba Extremadura last weekend and it was a really cagey game, we managed to get the win, but it was a really tough, very defensive game. 

“We play Bilbao this weekend; they are really tough, they played CD Ilunion last weekend, and Terry Bywater’s team got the win. We went back and looked at what worked for them and what tactics we can employ to be successful against them. So that is going to be tough.” 

After defeat to BSR Amiab Albacete last weekend, the five British players playing for Mideba Extremadura are determined to get back to winning ways on Saturday when they travel to Fundacion Vital Zuzenak. 

Phil Pratt impressed against Albacete, securing his second ‘triple-double’ of the season, while George Bates reached 100 points with 17 points last weekend. 

Gregg Warburton, Abdi Jama and Ben Fox are also part of Mideba’s starting five and will be hoping to get the better of Fundacion Vital Zuzenak. 

In Germany, the big game of the weekend features Simon Brown, with his RSV Lahn-Dill side travelling to RSB Thuringia Bulls aiming to cement their position as league leaders. 

Both sides have won all eight of their league games this season and have nearly an identical points record, but which team will come out on top on Saturday? 

Elsewhere in Germany, Jim Palmer’s Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden welcome BG Baskets Hambury to their home arena, aiming to bounce back from their defeat to Hannover United last weekend. 

In Italy, Martin Edwards will be hoping to continue his great start to the season when SSD Santa Lucia travel to Amicacci Giulianova. 

Last weekend, Edwards scored 18 points and contributed 12 assists in the win over Dinamo Lab; a team which fellow British player Ian Sagar takes on this weekend. 

Sagar’s Special Sport Bergamo will be targeting back-to-back wins after securing their first victory of the season last time out. 

Complete fixture list, featuring GB players: 
Germany 
RSB Thuringia Bulls v RSV Lahn-Dill Simon Brown  
Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden v BG Baskets Hamburg Jim Palmer 
Italy 
Dinamo Lab v Special Bergamo SportIan Sagar  
Amicacci Giulianova v SSD Santa LuciaMartin Edwards 
Spain 
 Fundacion Vital Zuzenak v Mideba Extremadura Ben Fox George Bates 
Abdi Jama Phil Pratt 
Gregg Warburton  
BSR Amiab Albacete v Bidaideak Bilbao Kyle Marsh Gaz Choudhry 
Harry Brown Lee Manning 
Rincon Dental Amivel v Iberconsa Amfiv  Thomas Smith (Amivel)

Lewis Edwards (Amfiv) Sam Mack (Amfiv) 
CD Ilunion v Gran Canaria Terry Bywater (CD Ilunion)

James MacSorley (Gran Canaria) 
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