Reading Rockets
| Reading Rockets | |||
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| League | EBL Division 1 | ||
| Established | 1997 | ||
| History |
Reading Rockets (1997–present) |
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| Arena |
Rivermead Leisure Complex (Capacity: 650) |
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| Location | Reading, Berkshire | ||
| Team colours |
Black, White, Red |
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| Head coach | Manuel Pena Garces | ||
| Ownership | Gary Johnson | ||
| Website | reading-rockets.co.uk | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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Black, White, Red
Reading Rockets is a basketball club based in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Currently, Reading Rockets play in the English Basketball League Division 1.
The club has squads ranging from developing Under-12s to the Division 1 senior men's side, and coaching staff regularly visit local schools and run satellite clubs as part of the Community Rockets scheme. The club applied to join the British Basketball League as a member franchise for the 2012–13 season but was unsuccessful.
The Reading Rockets were formed in 1997 by the current owner Gary Johnson and played in Division 3 of the then NBL. They won promotion at the first attempt, and in the reorganisation of 2000 the National Basketball League replaced Division 1 with the eight-team NBL Conference as the second-tier after the BBL. Subsequently, Division 2 became Division 1 where the Rockets found themselves.
The Rockets remained in Division 1 for just one season, finishing second, and beating Oxford in the Championship Final, thus winning promotion to the NBL Conference after four years in the league. In the 2001/02 season they finished seventh in the NBL Conference. In the following season, the Rockets continued their rise, finishing in third place within the NBL Conference.
In 2003, the National Basketball League was rebranded as the English Basketball League, and once again was restructured with a new format, with Rockets finishing in second place in the new EBL Division 1. In the following season they finished third and have been League runners-up to Worthing Thunder in both the 2005/06 & 2006/07 seasons. In 2006/07 the team were sponsored by the Atlantis Group and became known as the Atlantis Reading Rockets.
In 2008 they came close to winning the League title, beating Manchester Magic in the final game of the season, to draw level at the top, but losing out to on points difference in the head-to-head. Rockets are back-to-back National Trophy winners beating Worthing Thunder in the final in Manchester (84–68). Rockets win their final match of the season but were not able to win by the seven-point margin required to give them the illusive League Championship title. Adam Kelly make his last ever home appearance for Rockets. Danny Carter also enjoyed his last home game before a stint in an American College basketball. Rockets were edged out by Manchester Magic who won the Play-off Championship Final at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Following the game Head Coach David Titmuss presented Adam Kelly with the match ball as a mark of respect and gratitude for his contribution to the club. Assistant coach Matt Johnson was full of praise for the departing captain: "Adam epitomises everything about the Rockets ethos. He is a dedicated individual who has shown an unbelievable amount of commitment over the last 10 years. This season has been one of his best and he will be impossible to replace".
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