January was a strong month for the Rockets, particularly in the later gameweeks, as we recorded some important wins across the club.
It was a slow start to the month for our Under-16 Conference side, who played just once in January, as they suffered a 75-44 defeat to Coventry Elite.
Saturday 15th January proved to be a key date in the Rockets calendar, as the Under-12 Mixed, Under-14 Boys Conference and Under-14 Boys Premier sides all took to the court.
Rockets’ Under-12 Mixed team earned a convincing win over Team Birmingham Elite as they managed to control the first three quarters and win the game 80-59 despite a late surge from our cross-city rivals.
The Under-14 Conference side played three games across the month, the highlight of these came in a win against Stourport Spartans, with the team winning by a 16 point margin, winning 59-43.
The Under-14 Boys Premier team played one game in January – falling to a strong Manchester Magic side 86-52.
Coach Peter Mintoft’s Women’s First Team travelled to Derbyshire Diamonds midway through the month in search of their first win of the season.
A tense and tightly fought contest ensued with Rockets holding firm to etch out a stubborn away day performance which ultimately saw us run out 62-58 victors on a memorable afternoon.
Our Under-18 Women’s side continued their streak of strong form in January as they went unbeaten across their three fixtures.
The most impressive was a win against Northamptonshire Titans which saw us race away to a 89-24 away in Northampton. The game saw Coach Marcellus Elfrey’s side limit the Titans to under 10 points in each quarter, whilst maintaining a constant scoring threat at the other end.
We would then go on to beat the same opposition 72-33 at Nechells Wellbeing Centre just one week later.
January was also a good month for the Under-16 Boys Premier team. The team played three games across the month – winning two of them. The highlight was their final game of the month, an impressive win over City of Edinburgh with a decisive score line of 89-53.
Rockets Under-18 Men’s side also went unbeaten across January in their two games. A tight 76-71 win against Reading Rockets Academy was the highlight of their month. In a game that swung back and forth, Rockets recovered in the fourth quarter to secure a close victory.
Our Men’s First Team rounded off the month with a critical home game at Utilita Arena, facing off against the unbeaten league leaders, Northamptonshire Titans.
A back-and-forth contest ensued with Rockets eventually managing to open up their biggest lead of the night after a strong third-quarter showing.
A tense final quarter saw us break our visitors’ unbeaten run as we ran out 75-68 winners; seeing us return to winning ways ahead of what proved to be a tightly contested run-in.
Overall, January saw us record some impressive results across the club as we got 2022 underway…
By Joe Boon