LEOPARDS are now joint leaders at the top of the English Basketball League after tasting two more triumphs over the weekend.

The Big Cats beat fellow high flyers Derby Trailblazers 91-79 on Saturday night and then followed that up by hammering Reading Rockets 91-65 in front of a big crowd at the Brentwood Centre.

That made it 12 league victories in a row for Leopards and delighted their general manager Dave Ryan.

“The win at Derby in particular was a massive one for us,” said Ryan.

“We’ve got a really tough schedule at the moment, but the guys just find a way to keep winning.

“There’s still a long way to go but if we keep on playing like this then we have a real chance of winning the title.”

At Derby on Saturday, Vernon Teel recorded his third straight triple-double, taking over the game in the fourth period with 14 points as he finished with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Ousman Krubally added a 21 point, 16 rebound double-double before being harshly fouled out in the closing stages, while David Buchberger and Zak Wells finished with 16 and 12 points respectively.

A tight first half saw Derby lead for much of the time, taking a 25-21 lead into the first break and maintain that four point lead at half-time.

Buchberger hit a three-pointer with just over three second half minutes gone to give the Leopards the lead again, and a pair of Krubally free-throws sent Leopards into the final break with a 61-60 lead.

Rishi Kakad restored Derby’s lead with the first score of the fourth period. But the hosts were then held scoreless for more than four minutes as Leopards poured in 14 unanswered points to take control of the game.

However, it was Krubally’s turn to star on Sunday as he finished with a massive 34 point, 21 rebound double-double in 31 minutes of action.

Teel added 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, with Buchberger finishing with 13 points, six assists and five boards.

In contrast to the previous day, Leopards were in complete control from the tip-off, rushing into a 10-2 lead after three minutes and going into the first break with a 27-10 advantage.

That lead grew to 54-29 at half-time and 73-46 at the end of the third period.

The advantage peaked at 31 with two minutes remaining as Leopards, who also play some of their home games in Basildon, recorded their biggest ever win against old rivals Rockets.

The Big Cats are back in action on Saturday when they travel to basement side Westminster Warriors before they host Derby in a huge game at the Brentwood Centre the following day.