READING Rockets (1-1) recorded their first victory of the season when they defeated Worthing Thunder (0-2) 80-61 in the National Trophy to send them into their first league outing on a winning note.

The Rivermead outfit will make the long trip to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon (4pm) to take on the league’s newest outfit in Team Newcastle University (1-1).

The north-east club were promoted as play-off champions from Division Two last term and joined league victors Kent Crusaders in England’s top tier this season.

They have started life splitting their opening two games, having won 73-70 at Bradford Dragons before coming unstuck against Division One holders Team Northumbria 82-66, leaving them with the same record as their visitors on Sunday.

Having watched Rockets come from 16 points down last weekend, head coach Manuel Peña Garcés believes his team showed a lot of resilience during last Saturday’s victory, but knows there is a vast amount of improvement needed if they are to challenge for honours this term.

He said: “We had a difficult start to the game against Worthing, but the team showed great character to come back into the game before the half-time break and then press on and really show the quality we have.

“Our task is to keep being better each time we are together, as well as respect and compete in everything that we are doing. We believe in the squad we have, but know for us to compete with the very best in this league we need to work harder and better.”

He continued: “Sunday’s game against Newcastle will be an interesting one for us. They did very well in Division Two last year and come to Division One with an excellent coach and programme whilst full of confidence. We expect a tough test, and one we will need to embrace and prepare for really well so we can try and set the tone for how we want our season to be.”

Rockets go into Sunday’s game with no injury concerns with under 18 point guard Iñigo Perez Baena – who missed the Thunder game – set to return from a dead leg.