Warwickshire Bears 67 

Birmingham Blackcats 37

The Bears finally came out on top of this local derby against Birmingham Blackcats with an impressive performance.  Before today’s game, the Bears had not had a victory against the Blackcats in all their years playing.  The game was of particularly importance for one of the Bears new signings this season, Adrian Taber, who had previously been a player for the Blackcats.  With a host of experienced players in the Blackcats team, this was going to be a test for the Bears

From the tip-off Bears put pressure on the Blackcats playing a tough defence, trying to restrict the Blackcats main player Rob Smith to limited shots at the Bears basket.  At the Blackcats basket, with both Jacob Robinson and Ben Haigh playing an impressive attacking game, the Bears were able to build an early lead in the game, finishing the quarter Bears 23 – 12 Blackcats.

The Blackcats came out in the second quarter with a stronger defence, but were matched by the Bears who limited the Blackcats to only one basket for the quarter whilst slightly edging further away in the score going into halftime with the Bears 34 – 14 Blackcats.

The third quarter saw the Bears really turn the screw, with a tough defence and adding more scores onto their total, to take a healthy lead into the last quarter with the scores Bears 57 – 21 Blackcats.

The last quarter saw both teams using their benches to give all their players a run-out, with the Blackcats making full use of their experienced squad to pull back some of the score and win the last quarter 16 – 10, with the final score being Bears 67 – 37 Blackcats.

After the game, Coach Masterson said “ Really proud of the team today.  The game was tighter than the score reflects, and to win against such a good experienced team like Blackcats is a testament to how well the team is playing now  Have to give a special mention to Adrian Taber today, who was playing against his old teammates and he put in a fantastic performance.”

Third Division South & West

Warwickshire Bears 2: 56

Hampshire Harriers 21

The Bears 2.followed up the earlier victory with another win, keeping their winning streak going facing Hampshire Harriers.  With a strong team available, the Bears were always in control of the game throughout, and used the game to give valuable court time to the whole team.  The win keeps the Bears 2 on top of their league and looking for promotion and qualifying for this year’s play-offs in their sights.

Coach Masterson said after the game “That was another win for the Bears 2 and one step closer to the play-offs for the team.  It was good to see all the team get on the score sheet and get some valuable court time.”