Manuel Pena Garces’ men began the defence of the National Trophy in disappointing fashion with a 75-64 defeat to Kent Crusaders on Saturday.

That was followed by a 71-59 defeat against fellow BBL side Plymouth Raiders on Sunday afternoon in the Rockets’ final pre-season outing.

Pena Garces tried numerous permutations of players throughout the game - making the most of the final run out before the serious business begins.

Despite the loss, the Rockets head coach would’ve been pleased at aspects of his team’s performance, with captain Danny Carter in excellent form as he contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

Raiders were a strong outfit though and raced into a 10-0 lead before the Rockets fought back to trail by just three points at 20-17.

Emmanuel Campi Garcia and Josh Wilcher were in imperious form throughout and combined numerous times to ensure the second period ended with Rockets only trailing by 12 points.

The lead was extended in the third period as Raiders found their rhythm to lead 56-39, though the Rockets did fight back to win the final period 20-15.

Alex Zurn drew huge cheers from the Rockets crowd for his treble and huge block, whilst Carter added a buzzer beating drive which ensured there was a feelgood factor around the Rivermead ahead of the Rockets kicking off their campaign this weekend.

The defeat was the second in two nights for the Rockets, who had lost their first National Trophy game the previous evening at a talented and sharp shooting Kent Crusaders.

It was the first game of six pool matches for the Rockets, who will have plenty of time to recover as they seek qualification to the quarter final.

The opening exchanges saw Crusaders sink three trebles to Rockets’ one, a statistic that was to play a significant part in the result as Kent hit ten in the game which was a big difference between the sides.

Rockets were behind from early on and struggled to cope with the attacking threat of their opponents who led 41-26 at the intervial.

Carter and point guard Adria Baiget Marco had 18 of Rockets points by the interval but the intensity and pressure defence from Crusaders troubled Rockets throughout.

A trio of trebles by Crusaders early in the third period extended their lead and showed they were still very hot shooters whilst defensively they were solid as the Rockets failed to make a serious impact on the scoreboard.

By the end of a difficult third period for the Rocket they trailed 59-39, but a superb performance that showed what Pena Garces’ men are capable of in the fourth quarter saw them take the quarter 25-16, with Alex Zurn and Guillermo Sanchez Daza hitting their only trebles of the game.

At one point the Rockets had cut the deficit to just nine points with over two minutes remaining.

But an unlikely victory was thwarted as the hosts scored eight from ten free throws in the final period to secured the win by eleven points.

Carter again top scored for the Rockets with 26 points, whilst Adria Baiget Marco and Zurn also contributed with 18 points and 10 points respectively.

Rockets’ next game is against Swindon Sonics on Sunday (4pm) at the Rivermead Leisure Complex in the knockout National Cup as they seek to defend the trophy that they won last season.

READING Rockets will be looking to avoid a potential upset when they welcome EBL Division Four outfit Swindon Shock to the Rivermead on Sunday (4pm).

It should be a comfortable win for the Rockets, who will be looking to put on a show as they continue their defence of the National Cup.

This will be Swindon Shock’s first visit to the Rivermead in their history, although they did win one and lose one against Rockets’ second team last season.

Ahead of the game, head coach Manuel Pena Garces insists he is taking nothing for granted and says his side will have to make sure they work hard to avoid an upset.

“This weekend’s National Cup game against Swindon will be an interesting test for us,” he said. “We don’t know too much about the team but what we do know is we are expected to win and they are the underdogs.

They will come to Reading with everything to play for and nothing to lose. I think it is the perfect game for us to prepare for and we will be working hard this week to ensure there is no cup upset especially as we are the defending champions of this competition.”

The Rockets suffered back-to-back defeats last weekend - one in a competitive game in the National Trophy whilst the other was in a final pre-season workout.

But Pena Garces accepts that it’ll take a bit of time for his squad to gel and is looking forward to seeing it happen over the coming weeks.

He added: “We have brought in a lot of new players this season and I think we are still working hard to find our way of playing but I am sure with more practice and work this will happen.

“We still have two players to bring in and I think both games last weekend were really competitive tests for us that I am sure we will be more ready for later on in the season.

“For now, we just keep working hard on the things that we have been trying to do.”