Yabsley prepared for stiffest test

THE best team in the British Basketball League and a crowd of more than 7,000 await Martin Yabsley this weekend. The 6ft 9in. Guernsey star made his league debut for the Birmingham Bullets on Sunday as they got their campaign under way with a 88-102 defeat away to the Thames Valley Tigers.

Now he and his teammates face the daunting task of visiting last season's cup winners and championship runners-up the Brighton Bears on Saturday evening.

Yabsley believes that it will be a truer test of his new side, more so than the opening game was.

'Thames Valley were not really as impressive as last year; it is just we are a relatively young team and we were simply outsized and out-muscled,' said Yabsley.

'We will be able to tell more about ourselves in the next game when we have to travel to Brighton and play probably the best team in the league in front of 7,000 fans.

'I love those sorts of matches; that is why we play basketball.'

Yabsley, who joined the Bullets from the Essex Leopards, is not yet a starter for his new club but he got good court time coming on from the bench as power forward against the Tigers. He chipped in with some useful points and rebounds even though a recent touch of flu has prevented him from being 100%.

Generally, though, he is feeling fit after a demanding pre-season where head coach Steve Tucker worked the players hard.

'We trained from nine to 12, then, normally, we would lift weights. Obviously, now that the season has started that has been cut down because we are playing once or twice at the weekends and normally a midweek game as well,' said Yabsley.

The Guernseyman has fitted into his new midlands surroundings well.

He said that the Birmingham squad has already established an excellent camaraderie - a much better one than he ever enjoyed during his time with the Leopards.

But he emphasised that it will take time for them to come together as a team on the court.

'We have picked up some new players so we are still gelling.

'If we can have the majority of our games before Christmas to do that, getting to know each other's game better and build an understanding, then we could go into the New Year as a good side and concentrate on winning games.'

The overall set-up at the Bullets has also impressed Yabsley greatly with the club employing various specialists to assist the players' progression.

'I have a dietician and a conditioning coach - there are people they to look after different areas rather than just having a coach.

'The whole thing is much more professional than what I had been used to,' he said.

The Bullets have a run of away games to start their season because their new home venue of the Birmingham Sports Centre is unavailable before next month.

The BBL Championship consists of 10 teams who play each other four times in the regular season, which finishes in mid-April. The top eight teams then progress through to the play-off quarter-finals.

There are also the BBL Trophy and BBL Cup competitions. The former begins with a regional group stage before the knockout stages while the latter is a straight knockout.

With so many high quality fixtures coming his way, can Guernsey basketball benefit from Yabsley's experiences in the BBL?

He acknowledged that local players can improve by playing with or against professionals like him but, in his typically modest fashion, he added that he does not seem himself as superior to his island teammates in any way - he is basically still 'one of the boys'.

'But I would be quite willing to teach them things, if they wanted me to, when I come back and play the odd game,' Yabsley said.