A fabulous last weekend in the bank with two superb road wins at Leicester 101 – 80 and Caledonia 99 – 92 have seen Newcastle Eagles soar to a 6-win 3 loss record. It takes them to second place in the Super League Basketball (SLB) Championship standings. Next up for Head Coach Marc Steutel’s side are Bristol Flyers.

The Flyers come into the Vertu Arena on Friday night with a 4-win 4 loss record and are fourth in the league. They have already been to Newcastle this season losing to the Eagles 94 – 68 back in September but Steutel knows they a tough challenge for his players.

“Bristol have a certain identity, and I always respect how hard Coach Kapoulas’ teams really play,” said Steutel.

“They put a lot of stress on defences with the physicality that they have and this team’s no different. They have rebounding ability and defensive ability across the whole roster.

“We have to make sure we are absolutely focused and we apply ourselves. We always have an understanding that our intent is good but it’s our application to achieving what we need to.”

The wins last weekend were excellent reward for the efforts and the circumstances the Eagles faced and in particular the victory at Caledonia was very pleasing for Steutel, his staff and players.

“The guys felt really positive to get out of Caledonia with the win on Sunday. A lot of factors fell into place,” Steutel added.

“Caledonia came out after having had their rest and they looked like they were rested and looked like they were playing at such a high pace and had some energy about them.

“So, we understand that was a good win and I’m confident that Caledonia are going to get some teams at home because it’s a tough place to play. The guys were really proud of each other and how they pulled through with different guys stepping up at different moments.”

After a brutal run of three consecutive double-header weekends the Eagles only have the one game this weekend and there’s no travelling involved for them with Bristol flying north. A chance for all to recharge their batteries.

“After having six games in sixteen days which was crazy scheduling and with four of them on the road as well it’s a tough ask,” the Eagles head coach concluded.

“All of us wanted to try and compete and win every game but to look back and be 4 – 2 in that period and with lessons learned it’s good.

“It’s nice to get back home on Friday and play in front of our home fans. We feel we’re going to need them. We’ve still got some guys beat up and we’ve had to try and manage that this week to try and make sure we can get through the game.

“We need to apply our defensive scout. We need to ensure our individual matchups are taken care of as well as our pick and roll coverages and defensive coverages. If we do that, we can find a way to get stops and get out and run.”

The Eagles can hopefully begin running on Friday night in the Vertu Arena from the first tip-off which commences at the usual time of 7:30pm.

Tickets are still available from the box office.