Basketball: Phoenix aim to rock Glasgow as women’s league kicks off

The Scottish Senior Women’s league, now down to five clubs, cranks into gear this weekend with Capital outfit Polonia Phoenix hosting Glasgow Rocks at Wester Hailes on Sunday (3pm), preceded by a cadette women’s game between the two clubs at 1pm.

St Mirren host Falkirk Fury tomorrow (1.45pm) and champions Edinburgh Kool Kats have to wait until a week tomorrow to get off the mark when they are at home to St Mirren at Portobello.

The news that former Kool Kat Rose Anderson is joining Welsh aces UWIC after completing a basketball scholarship at Central Oklahoma only emphasises the state of the league. Even if there were money enough to bring Anderson back to play full-time in the Capital there is no way she could bring her game up to scratch and clinch a place in the GB team for next year’s 2012 Olympics given the lack of competitive intensity in the current Scottish League.

Anderson made the GB team for Eurobasket in Poland last June but was warned by coach Tom Maher that she needed to find a club where she could improve her competitive edge.

With a proper British women’s professional league no nearer it appears Scotland will have to get used to its best players remaining in exile.