Kings have to joust Knights without injured centre Ali Mackay

Injured City of Edinburgh Kings centre Ali Mackay will not feature in tonight's Scottish Basketball League clash with Stirling Knights at Portobello High, but he is expected to be fit for next weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk Fury.

.

Mackay cut his hand in the early stages of last Saturday’s victory in Dunfermline and required stitches in hospital. There was an outside chance he could play tonight, but doctors and Kings coach Craig Nicol opted not to take any unnecessary risks.

“Ali will unfortunately miss the game, but we’re hoping he’ll be back fine for the cup semi-final next week, “ confirmed Nicol.

Kings beat Dunfermline in Mackay’s absence and will be confident they can manage without him against a Stirling side that last won on October 13. The Capital outfit, by contrast, has racked up five straight victories and defeated Knights at The Peak back in September.

Boroughmuir Blaze are also on court tonight and will look to post another morale-boosting result ahead of next week’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Pleasance BC when they welcome Glasgow University to The Crags Centre. It is the first leg of a weekend double-header as the two teams meet again in Glasgow on Sunday in a match carried over from September.

Blaze blitzed Pleasance in their previous outing nine days ago and will be warm favourites against the students, who have won just once all season.

Edinburgh University ended a four-game losing run when they triumphed in Stirling last week and they will be seeking revenge for their narrow cup quarter-final defeat when they host Pleasance in a local derby on Sunday. Pleasance edged that one by five points also beat them in the league in September.

Defending ladies champions City of Edinburgh Kool Kats are aiming for their eighth win in nine matches when they travel to Dundee on Sunday to play Tayside Musketeers. Kats won by 20 points the last time they met in September.

Edinburgh-based women’s pro team Caledonia Pride face another long journey this weekend when they take on holders Manchester Mystics in Saturday afternoon’s WBBL Cup quarter-finals.

Pride lost heavily to league leaders Sevenoaks Suns in Kent last week and they will once again be the underdogs at The National Performance Centre.