U13s Match Report (below) Want to start by saying a huge congratulations to Coach Charlie Ford and his lovely wife Abby, who got married a few days ago. Here are a few photos of the day (thanks Abby ~ Lee). Nice photo of our Andy Josephs too (o: Blazers dig deep to beat the Bears Following the start to the season where the young Blazers have beaten all of their opposition by 60+ points they were bought down to earth immediately in Worcester as the Bears raced out to a 2-8 lead. At this early stage in the game it was evident that the referees were not going to allow any contact as both teams made early changes due to foul trouble. Despite the change in playing conditions which rattled the Blazers they fought their way back into the game with scores for Kerian & Neve and when Blake made a three point play the Blazers took the lead for the first time in the game. Both teams then traded baskets before a 0-5 run for the Blazers ensured that they took a slim 18-23 lead into the 1st quarter break. As the second quarter started the Bears were still noticeably tired from the end to end battle of the 1st quarter and the Blazers took full advantage as they reeled off 12 unanswered points from Stuart & Robert. Blazers starters Stuart & Rueben however were called for touch fouls and had to return to the bench which gave extended time for Blake, Neve, Harvey & Jacob who didn’t disappoint as they all helped to maintain the lead into the half time break as the Blazers led 29-45. The break in play seemed to favour the Blazers as the third quarter started with scores from Robert, Seth & Rueben and the lead pushed out to 20 points. What followed this can only be described as a combination of shots not quite dropping on the offensive end and timid defence which wasn’t helped by the fact that the referees wouldn’t allow any kind of contact which is normally allowed. These factors resulted in a 0-13 run for the Bears who fought valiantly back into the game to reduce their arrears to just 7 points. With less than 90 seconds on the clock in the third quarter Stuart & Jacob combined for a 0-6 run for the Blazers to stop the Bears momentum and ensure that the Blazers would take a 59-48 lead into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter started in a similar fashion to the third with scores from Harvey & Robert to extend the Blazers lead to 13 points before another Bears fight back saw them score 6 unanswered points to reduce the lead again. The game was now at a pivotal stage and could seemingly go either way, on their next offensive play the Blazers found Blake in the post who drew the 5th foul out of the Bears big man whilst also making the basket which momentarily quietened the home crowd and when Stuart scored on the next play a double digit lead was re-established and the game effectively won. The Blazers won the game 65-75 but will need to regroup and learn the lessons from this reality check as in two weeks they have a double header against Northamptonshire Titans & City of Birmingham who are two the top teams in the division. Coaches comments: ‘This was a reality check for the team, today we were not at our best and we were tested by a well coached Worcester team’ ‘I am however happy that the players were able to adjust their playing style to the conditions the game was played under. Myself and Coach Marvill have taught the team to play aggressive & intense defence but the referees didn’t allow us to play our normal game today. This happens sometimes and its a good learning experience for the team’. ‘Having said this the next four training sessions are going to be the most important of the whole season and we must get back to basics on the defensive end, we allowed to many uncontested layups today which just isn’t good enough. Our next four games are against tough opposition and we will need to be at our very best to compete’. Derby Scorers: Matimba 32, Bowman 17, Reed 10, Jackson 16, Powell 3, Goold 2, Marvill 2, Woodruff-Bird 2, Annable 2, Pope 1.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 11:19:20 +0000
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