Although over 1,500 miles away, there will be a very British feel when Mideba Extremadura host BSR Amiab Albacete in Spain on Saturday, with nine GB players taking to the court in a clash between their respective clubs.
George Bates is one of five British players playing for Mideba this season, with Phil Pratt, Abdi Jama, Gregg Warburton and Ben Fox also playing for the Badajoz-based team.
On the other side of the court, Gaz Choudhry, Lee Manning, Kyle Marsh and Harry Brown will all line-up for Albacete, who remain unbeaten in the Spanish League this season.
Between the two sides, there will be 32 European medals on court, including 22 golds, plus 7 world champions and five Paralympic medallists.
Commenting ahead of facing four of his GB teammates, Bates said:
“Obviously we [Mideba] haven’t started great; we’ve won two, lost two, but there’s no better way to try and put it right with another big game against Albacete.
“It’s always fun to play your own teammates and, if we are going to start to get on the right track and put it right, I can’t think of a better team to try and beat.”
Elsewhere in Spain, the league’s top-scorer Terry Bywater will be aiming to continue his impressive form, with his 49-point haul from last weekend, taking his tally for the season to 136 points after four games.
Bywater’s unbeaten CD Ilunion face an away trip to Bidaideak Bilbao at 17:30 (UK Time) on Saturday (16 November).
James MacSorley will be hoping he can help Gran Canaria to a third successive win when they take on Fundacion Grupo Norte.
Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack will be the British interest when Iberconsa Amfiv host Fundacion Vital Zuzenack, with Edwards and Mack both featuring for Amfiv this season.
Thomas Smith’s Rincon Dental Amivel travel to CB Las Rozas off the back of their first victory of the season.
Ian Sagar and Martin Edwards will both be hoping to build on their impressive league starts in Italy.
During the opening weekend of Italian League action, Edwards and Sagar scored 32 and 23 points, respectively, for their clubs.
Sagar’s Special Sport Bergamo will be targeting their first win of the season when they play Padova Millennium Basket after their opening day defeat last weekend.
Edwards, meanwhile, will be looking for back-to-back wins after his SSD Santa Lucia team was victorious last weekend. This weekend they host Dinamo Lab.
After cup success last weekend, Simon Brown and Jim Palmer will both return to German League action this weekend.
Brown’s RSV Lahn-Dill will be targeting an eighth successive league win when they host Roller Bulls Ostbelgien, while Palmer’s Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden travel to Hannover United.
All games will be played on Saturday, 16 November.
Complete fixture list, featuring GB players:
Germany
| RSV Lahn-Dill v Roller Bulls Ostbelgien | Simon Brown |
| Hannover United v Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden | Jim Palmer |
Italy
| Special Bergamo Sport v Padova Millennium Basket | Ian Sagar |
| SSD Santa Lucia v Dinamo Lab | Martin Edwards |
Spain
| Mideba Extremadura v BSR Amiab Albacete | Ben Fox (Mideba) George Bates (Mideba) Abdi Jama (Mideba) Phil Pratt (Mideba) Gregg Warburton (Mideba) Kyle Marsh (Albacete) Gaz Choudhry (Albacete) Harry Brown (Albacete) Lee Manning (Albacete) |
| Bidaideak Bilbao v CD Ilunion | Terry Bywater |
| Iberconsa Amfiv v Fundacion Vital Zuzenak | Lewis Edwards Sam Mack |
| Gran Canaria v Fundacion Grupo Norte | James MacSorley |
| CB Las Rozas v Rincon Dental Amivel | Thomas Smith |
