READING Rockets have made their fifth new signing ahead of the 2017-2018 campaign by adding Australian Declan Soukup to their squad.

The 6ft 3in combo guard has just finished playing in his home country with Dandenong Rangers in the Australian SEABL and is due to fly to the UK this week to meet up with his new teammates. Prior to this, the British passport holder played four years in the NCAA in Divisions One and Two for Bryant University and Assumption Greyhounds respectively before returning to his home country.

He averaged 11 points and 3.3 assists per game in his final year of college and will bolster the Rockets backcourt with his ability to play the point guard position and as an excellent shooter.

Rockets head coach Manuel Peña Garcés is delighted to capture the signing of Soukup and feels the Australian will have an immediate impact on his team.

He said: “We are really pleased to bring in Declan to our team and feel he is an excellent fit to the squad we already have.

“He has a very versatile game and is in great shape having only just finished his season back in Australia. We have felt for a while we need to bolster and strengthen the group and by adding Declan to the mix we have taken a great step in doing so.”

Rockets have also been buoyed by the news that American Tim Gill has finally got his visa sorted and will join his teammates early this week. Gill had been waiting for a number of weeks to secure his paperwork for his transfer to the UK and will finally be able to join the Berkshire outfit.

The Reading team has had a busy pre-season with games against Team USA Select, Fyllingen, and Essex Leopards and have undertaken all three match-ups with only four senior players.

Under 19 Alex Drincic has impressed and the rest of the team have been well supported by Under 18s Iñigo Perez Baena and Adrian Nosa Castillo with Ali Sbai sustaining an early season ankle injury and Joel Keeble unavailable for the first few weeks.