Preview: Plymouth Raiders v Bristol Flyers

Saturday, October 17th 2015

Bristol Flyers look to put their bad run of form in the league aside when they travel to south-west rivals Plymouth Raiders in the first round of the BBL Cup on Saturday night (7.30pm tip-off)

Everything you need to know about Saturday’s BBL Cup opponents can be found below.

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS
One of the oldest teams in the country, Raiders have been competing in the EBL and now the BBL for 33 years. Spending their formative years struggling towards the bottom end of the EBL, a move to the Plymouth Pavilions in 1996 saw the team’s fortune’s dramatically change. At their new home Plymouth consistently finished in the top 4 of the EBL before making the step up to the BBL in 2004. Raiders’ best finish in the BBL came in 2008 when coach Gary Stronach led the team to third in the Championship and to the semi-finals of the Play-Offs.

HEAD COACH
Head coach Jay Marriott is hoping he can make it third time lucky this season after his first two campaigns at the helm saw Raiders miss out on a Play-Off spot. Having previously worked with the club’s academy system, Marriott was appointed Head Coach of the BBL side in the summer of 2013.

ONE TO WATCH
Daryl Corletto – Corletto joined the Raiders as one of Marriott’s many Australian summer signings from the NBL, where he won multiple titles with Melbourne Tigers and New Zealand Breakers. The 34 year old currently averages 19 points per game in his three appearances for the Raiders so far this season.

LAST TIME OUT
Flyers and Raiders met at this stage in the cup last season, a game in which Bristol prevailed 93-92 in double-overtime in front of a sellout crowd at the SGS WISE Arena. Click here to watch the highlights.

OFFICIALS
Taking charge of Saturday’s game will be Haydn Jones, Gavin Williams and Piotr Florecki.

DID YOU KNOW?
Bristol Flyers have never lost to the Plymouth Raiders in the BBL, having won all four meetings between the clubs last season.