Old rivals Marshall MK Lions and BiG Storage Cheshire Jets will meet when the BBL season tips off on Friday evening.

The teams met on five occasions last season, with Lions edging the series 3-2, but their loss at Jets' Northgate Arena put paid to their BBL Trophy hopes, and eventually helped send Cheshire into the semi- finals.

Both teams won on their opponent's floor in BBL Championship games, with Jets retuning from Bletchley with an 85-82 victory in October, while Lions gained revenge with an 87-74 success in November before sealing the head-to-head decider with a 92-88 win March.

Lions' coach Vince Macauley is expecting a tough test when his side meet the Jets, but believes his new look side have the extra energy to start the season with a victory: "We obviously know all the players they have and they have several match winners within that. Funnily enough this time I think they have older legs than we do, but we expect James Hamilton and Calvin Davis to be the keys for the Jets as they have a wealth of experience, and know all about successful. It will be a tough encounter but that' what this season will be for all teams.

Jets coach Paul Smith is expecting Lions to prove tough opponents as his side start the new season: "They are a quality, well coached team with some excellent veterans and a couple of good new Americans. I saw them play Guildford and I expect a very hard fought and physical game for 40 minutes."

Smith is pleased with how his team have gelled during the pre-season period: "They have and that is very important for us. We have good veterans in Shawn [Myers], Cal [Davis], James [Hamilton] and Murph [Richard Murphy] and it is important that the new guys are able to blend with that. We know what Alto [Virgil] will bring us and Chuck [Evans], Chez [Marks], Steve and Shuan [Stegall] have come in with a definite 'team first' attitude."

Newcastle Eagles v Guildford Heat
Friday 26th September 2008 (7.30pm) @ Newcastle Arena

The top two in last season's BBL Championship table meet at the MetroRadio Arena on Friday evening as the new season tips-off in style.

t's a repeat of the opening game from last year when Heat shocked the hosts with a 90-83 victory. That result did not prevent Eagles taking Guildford's league championship crown, despite Heat winning two of the three BBL Championship games between the teams. The meeting at the Spectrum in March saw Heat keep up their hunt for back-to-back titles with an 86-79 victory, but when Eagles made the trip again a fortnight later, a stunning comeback saw them win 108-101 in overtime.

agles coach Fabulous Flournoy is expecting another tough encounter when last year's top two go head-to- head: " The Heat will always be tough. They have a very different roster in place with the departure of players, but then so have we. It's going to be a similar clash to our first game out last season - but hopefully with a different result!"

Newcastle have made several changes to their roster, and Flournoy is happy with the way his team is developing: "The new players have fit in well so far. Reggie [Jackson], Trey [Moore] and Jamie [Glen] have all settled in to the Newcastle way of life and looked good in pre-season games. We are still waiting for Tafari Toney to arrive in the country as we are having difficulties with paperwork at this point, which have been ongoing for six weeks now.

Flournoy's team have enjoyed a successful pre- season campaign, beating Team USA 86-70 and Lithuanian side Meresta 99-85 - with Moore leading his new side with 17 points on his debut. The Eagles have worked hard over the summer, and the Newcastle player-coach is pleased with how things have gone for his team: "Pre season has gone well in terms of the players that were already situated in Newcastle. In fact a core of us, with the addition of Andrew Sullivan and the Team Northumbria players have been running since June. In terms of fitness levels we have been working on our strength and conditioning programme with the guys at EIS for six weeks now so I think we are all in good shape."

Heat have also recorded a pair of victories during the pre-season campaign, as a 91-89 home victory and a 66-60 away win against Marshall MK Lions saw them retain the BBL Cup Winners' Cup with a ten point aggregate victory.

Guildford coach Paul James won't read too much into the result on Friday: "You know what you're going get with Newcastle Eagles. They have a good coach in Fab and a well drilled, organised team and I like competing against them because they play a good style of basketball and have consistently been the bench mark for success season after season. They have made some interesting additions and between us we have had some epic battles over the last two seasons, this one will be no different as both teams will want to get off to the best possible start. This is the third time out of four seasons that we have opened up with the Eagles away, history tells me that whichever team wins or loses this game, it's not going to make or break their season! "

James is pleased with how Heat's preparations have gone, and with how his new players have adjusted: "Pre-season has gone really well for us. I don't think you could have much of a more tougher game than playing against MK Lions as they throw a lot at you to deal with both physically and mentally. Add to that the chance of winning a trophy then it becomes more than just a couple of pre season games. My new look team handle themselves very well and the improvement from game one to two was there for me to see, so quit happy with the progress that we have made in such a short space of time.

"The new players are fitting in ok. They obviously have to get use to playing Heat basketball and what I expect of them, but Keonta Howell, Alan Metcalfe and Brad Jones have all impressed. I feel that we have the potential of being pretty competitive again this season with these new guys but how competitive, time will tell."

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders v London Capital

New Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders coach Rob Paternostro can't wait for the season to start as he makes the transition from player to coach.

Riders open with a home game against PAWS London Capital on Saturday, Paternostro is enjoying the experience: "It's been fun, it's a little different to being a player, and it's definitely all-consuming. You think about the game or practice all day long, whereas as a player you tend to only concentrate when you get there. Practice seems to last a lot longer as a coach !"

Paternostro is determined that his new squad will be strong enough that he can concentrate on coaching, rather than putting a players' uniform on: "I've got no plans to play, and I haven't taken a shot in practice. I don't want to play, but obviously if it was an emergency situation, I would think about it"

The new Riders play-caller is happy with how pre- season preparations have gone: "It's been pretty good so far, and I'm really happy with the effort the guys have put in from day one. They work well together as a group , and I'm happy with the way we've played in practice and the four exhibition games. They've shown the ability to move well, and play well as a unit.

"There's a long way to go, but after the first couple of weeks, I'm happy. We won all of our exhibition games, and I'm pleased with how the new players have fitted in.

It's a new-look Riders line-up this season, with Tommy Swanson, Phil Misser, LaTaryl Williams, Matt Martin and Isaac Westbrook joining the club, but it's the signing of veteran Tony Windless that has raised most eyebrows, and Paternostro is excited about his new player: "Tony just fell into place for us. We wanted a veteran and another scorer, he brought a dimension to Milton Keynes that I don't they have with him gone. He can score, and he'll make crucial plays when necessary. It was a no-brainer to grab him when he became available, he's a really good player."

All three games between the two teams last season saw the visiting team go home happy after picking up the BBL Championship points. The sides' first ever meeting came at the Capital City Academy in December, and Riders recorded a 92-81 victory. The other two games both took place at the John Sandford Sports Centre, with London winning 67-58 in February and 82-79 in April.

With Capital still putting their team in place, Paternostro is unsure who his new team will face on Saturday evening: "It's a strange way to approach things, and we haven't had that much information about them. What I do know, is that if they bring back the players they had last season, they'll play hard and make it very tough for us. They'll make us play for the whole 40 minutes, and they won some games last season that no one gave them a chance in by playing that way. I'll make it clear to the guys that if we aren't ready to play we'll in trouble. They'll be aggressive, and we need to match that."

Worthing Thunder v Airwaves Plymouth Raiders
Saturday 27 September 2008 (7.00pm) @ Worthing LC

BBL basketball returns to the Worthing Leisure Centre on Saturday when Thunder face Airwaves Plymouth Raiders in their inaugural BBL Championship campaign.

After years of being one of the top sides in the EBL Division One, Thunder now face a significantly different challenge this season as they look to establish themselves in the top flight. Coach Gary Smith knows that his side face some tough games during the coming seven months: "Realistically, we are just looking to compete this season" said Smith. "The team that has been put together has the possibility of being very competitive and able to take on the best teams in the league on a given night, it is the consistency to do it game after game that is the key. When we sat down and looked at things at the start of the summer and saw the large budgets of some of the teams in this league we thought that making the play-offs would indicate a solid first season, and that is still the aim now."

Thunder have fallen victims of the increasingly difficult process of getting import players into the UK, and Smith admits that the last month has been tough for his club: "Pre-season has been a learning experience! For various reasons our Americans have been delayed in arriving in the UK so we have been relying on a few guest players to help out. The guys that have been here a few years have all been making the effort to be fitter than ever before and are working hard in training. We're one and two in pre-season which is not where we wanted to be but that's done and we have to move on. "

Smith is pleased with how the new signings that have arrived have fitted in: " Ryan Patton knows a few of the guys from when he was at Sheffield [Arrows] so that has been helpful and Jonathan Woods knows most of them too, so should settle in quickly. Dan Wardrope has settled in well and we are pleased he has joined us - his recent BBL experience will be very useful this season."

The Thunder play-caller expects a tough game against a side who finished third in the BBL Championship last season: "Plymouth are old foes from the EBL and we've played them a few times in the BBL Trophy too. Gary Stronach always prepares his team very well and I suppose we are fortunate that for our first game in the BBL we have a team we know a bit about, but on the other hand we're expecting them to be near the top of the table at the season's end so it's a tough start. With the likes of Drew Lasker, Cat Beasley and Gaylon Moore around you know they are going to be very active offensively and look to wear us down. We will need to play at their level for 40 minutes, which will be tough given the pre- season we've had, but the guys will need to do that every game this season."

In contrast to his opposite number, Raiders coach Gary Stronach is pleased with how his side's preparations have gone: "Pre season has gone pretty well on the whole. The guys returned in pretty good shape, we've been in since 1st September and have played three games. We've been up and down in those games but overall I'm reasonably happy with them. It's also great to have DeAntoine back even though he'll only have one week to prepare with us for the season, it's not like he's a new guy to the team. "Patrick [Fitpatrick] and Kwbana [Beckles] have both fitted in really well they seem good guys they work hard in practise and I'm sure both of them will help us this season"

Stronach is looking forward to his side's first game: "I know a little bit about some of their players, we expect a tough game coach Smith will have those guys ready. Also this season they have nothing to lose they are new to the league and we know what that feels like having been in that position back in 2004, expectations from fans, media and other people isn't as high (that's what we found back when we entered the league) so they can go out and play real 'loose'."

Cheshire Jets v Worcester Wolves

Cheshire Jets open their home campaign on Sunday afternoon when they face Worcester Wolves at the Northgate Arena.

It will be Wolves' opening game of the season, while Jets will have one outing under their belts having started their 17th BBL campaign at Milton Keynes on Friday evening.

Wolves' completed a clean sweep of games between the sides last season as they won all three BBL Championship clashes. Skouson Harker's team travelled the Northgate Arena in December and the club won its first ever away game in the BBL with a 115-84 victory. The other two games took place at the University of Worcester, with Wolves winning 117-107 in February and 96-91 in April.

Jets coach Paul Smith admits to having only a limited knowledge of the Wolves side his team will host, on Sunday: "I don't know an awful lot about the Wolves at present. They have a very different line up to last year but I can see they have a lot of size and a quality pass first point guard. Any team coached by Skouson will play hard for the full 40 so I know it will be a battle for us."

The Jets play-caller is pleased with his side's pre- season preparations: "We've had one of our most productive pre seasons for some time. Four weeks is a big pre season for the Jets! We've played four games against increasingly tougher opposition and that has allowed us to build our fitness and sharpness at an appropriate pace."

Wolves coach Harker expect Jets to be a tough match- up for his side's first game of the campaign:" We can expect them to be a heady, crafty team as they have a fair few veterans, this may be our hardest game of the season in regards to continuity as we are so new to each other, but Chester has a lot of new faces as well, so it should be a good game. I hope we have a full squad, but if not we will do well with whatever players we put on the floor."

Harker is guarded when it comes to his team's prospects for the season: "We seem to have a good group of guy. It is too early to tell how good, but hope are high and we think we can continue to progress in the BBL. It's too early to tell about our prospects. I mean we are still waiting on player licenses for some players, and not everyone is even in the country yet, but fingers crossed by next week we can have a proper week to prepare for the Rocks and begin our improvement on last season.

London Capitals v Milton Keynes Lions

PAWS London Capital will look to record their first ever victory against Marshall MK Lions when the two side meet at Capital City Academy on Sunday.