Sayles back for Wolves men

Weekend preview

Oaklands Wolves will be looking to kick start their National League Division Two season when they host Cobham Scorchers on Saturday evening, tip-off 6pm.

Faity Karahan’s side have yet to record a win after eight league games but should welcome back top scorer La’Quarne Sayles to the side after he missed the losses in Cardiff and Solent. Sayles, who also coaches the club’s U-15s, leads Wolves in both points (20ppg) and minutes (32.3) and his return should be a boost for the Wolf Pack.

Scorchers have made a good start to life in Division Two after winning promotion last season, chalking up four wins from seven games to sit in fifth spot in the south section. Formally known as the Cobras, they lost just one league game last season and have now linked up with BBL side Surrey Scorchers.

Meanwhile Wolves’ WBBL side face a crunch game in Manchester as they face the Giants in a game between two sides who are locked in seventh place with 2-3 records. Both sides are looking to cement their place in the play-offs and also move up the table to avoid the big hitters in the post-season.

It’s a weekend on the road for the club’s academy teams who are also playing in the National League at the weekend. The women will look to move back into the Division Two play-off zone when they make the short trip to a Stevenage Rebels team who sit 11th in the table with a 1-6 record. The men will look to improve on their 1-6 record when they travel to Norwich to face University of East Anglia on Saturday evening where they will face a team fifth in the ten-team league.

There’s also plenty of junior action at Oaklands over the weekend, with the U-16 boys hosting Brentwood Fire at 3pm on Saturday. Sunday sees three games at Oaklands with a combined U-12/14 team facing Northampton in the East U-14 Development League at 12.15 before the U-13 boys face a tough game against Bedford Thunder U-14s at 2:15pm. The weekend’s action is wrapped up at 4.15 when the U-16 girls host Reading Rockets.

Several of the Wolves’ junior teams are also in action over the weekend, and the U-12 boys will look to build on last week’s thrilling victory against Bedford Thunder when they travel to Cambridge Cats on Saturday morning.

The U-12 girls face a long trip to Southampton on Saturday morning to face Solent Kestrels while the U-15 boys have a bit less travelling to do when they visit West Herts Warriors U-16 III later in the day. Another team who face an early start is the U-14 boys who travel to Baltic Stars for a 10am tip on Sunday