All seven fixtures in the NBL Division are played on Saturday this weekend, with a battle of first versus 11th, second versus 10th, third versus fourth and fifth versus seventh.
The competition at the top heats up as third-placed Thames Valley Cavaliers host fourth-placed Hemel Storm at Uxbridge College.
Both sides go into the fixture with the record of 4-1, with the hosts only loss coming against Reading Rockets in the opening round, whilst Hemel fell short to Derby Trailblazers.
Current Player of the Week Abdoulaye Sylla helped guide Thames Valley to a 127-115 victory in week four against Leicester Warriors with 22 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Dru Spinks’ Hemel Storm head into the round following a 116-84 success over bottom-placed Essex & Herts Leopards, with Bode Adeluola putting in an impressive performance with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
N B L L I V E. 🏀
We will be live streaming a selection of games this season! Catch the first one tomorrow at 6pm between @SolentKestrels and @DragonsBradford it should be a great game!
More info ➡️ https://t.co/maNOtpnPCI#TogetherWeAreBasketbALL pic.twitter.com/asOcEUrTGC
— NBL (@NBLengland) November 1, 2019
Solent Kestrels (4-0) host 11th-placed Bradford Dragons (1-4) at Solent Sports Context, with the table toppers the only unbeaten team remaining in the league. Matt Guymon’s side recently defeated Westminster Warriors 140-77, Ian Smith the leading scorer with 34 points and six assists, the highest in the game.
Just behind the table toppers, Reading Rockets (4-1) face 10th-placed Liverpool (2-3) at Archbishop Beck Sports College with four points separating the sides in the standings. Reading head into the clash with four consecutive wins, most recently defeating Baking Abbey 99-73, whilst Liverpool picked up their second win of the season against Bradford Dragons.
Derby Trailblazers (4-1) will go into their clash with Loughborough Riders (3-2) hoping that a big victory could see them jump a few places in the table. Their opposition aren’t far behind in seventh but recently suffered a loss to Worthing Thunder with a close 72-79 closeline.
Worthing (3-2) travel to Oaklands College with in-form Cameron Hildreth, who scored 22 points in their recent victory, to face bottom end of the table Essex & Herts Leopards (0-5)
Also still searching for their first win of the season are Nottingham Hoods (0-5) - who lost 109-93 to Derby Trailblazers (4-1) in round four - and they travel to Westminster Warriors whilst Barking Abbey host Leicester Warriors.
4:00pm - Barking Abbey v Leicester Warriors - LIVE STATS
5:00pm - Liverpool v Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
5:30pm - Westminster Warriors v Nottingham McDonald’s Hoods - LIVE STATS
5:45pm - Essex & Herts Leopards v Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS
6:00pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers vs Hemel Storm - LIVE STATS
6:00pm - Solent Kestrels v Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS
7:15pm - Derby Trailblazers v Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS
*Main image credit - Graham Hodges
