Premier Division

Bears : 40

GLL & Aspire Titans : 69

The Bears played their first triple header home fixture on Sunday, when they hosted GLL & Aspire Titans Premier team, Titans 3 and Wolverhampton WSC. This weekend’s fixture also saw the debut of Tom Docherty for the Bears after undergoing major surgery during the off season.

Titans took control early on, with a strong defence that the Bears found at times hard to break down. The seasoned premiership team made their experience and speed count to build a convincing, early lead with the scores at the end of the first quarter Bears 7 – 22 Titans.

The Bears regrouped at the break and came out with a more solid defence. Despite ramping up the defensive pressure, the experience of premiership level players such as Matt Sealey saw the Bears fail to combat the effectiveness of talented individuals on the opposing team. Titans maintained their lead. The scores at the end of the first half  Bears 17 – 34 Titans .

The second half saw the Bears battle their nerves and overcome their inexperience to mount a still tighter and well thought through defence. Whilst limiting Titans’ score through the powerful defensive techniques of Jacob Robinson and Dan Gill, the Bears were also able to break through to the opposing defensive line. Both teams matched the opposing pace to score basket for basket, a gameplay that left the Titans’ commanding lead almost impossible to break down. The scores going into the last quarter Bears 27 – 48 Titans.

With the game virtually won by the visitors, both teams played out the last quarter, to the final buzzer with the scores : Bears 40 –69 Titans.

After the game Coach Masterson said  “ Although disappointed with today’s loss, I can’t fault the effort of the team today.  I do have to come to terms with the fact that in this division we are playing against professional players with years of experience and it is a learning experience for most of us. We will get better and learn from these games and it will make us stronger in the long run.  Biggest plus today was seeing Tom Docherty play his first game after major surgery and he is going to be a massive help this season when fully fit.”

Second Division South

Bears 2: 62

GLL & Aspire Titans: 37

The day saw Bears 2 take to the court also, taking on Titans 3. A tough game was met with rigor and determination by all. The Bears were able to build on the success of earlier games this season to come out on top in a hard fought game.  With the help of Bears 3 team player Harry Draper, playing up in support of his team mates, the Bears played out the game with the final score: Bears 2 62– 37 Titans 3. After the game Coach Peasley said, “I think that has to be our best performance so far.  We are starting to gel as a team and play some great basketball.”

Third Division Central

Bears 3 52

Wolverhampton WSC:34

Bears 3 started the busy day off with a great win against a strong Wolverhampton team.  With a strong well organised game played by the Bears against a determined opposition, the Bears were able to come away  with the first win of the day.  Harry Draper and Brian Stone led Bears 3 to their third victory of the season.  Coach Dan Smith said after the game, “A fantastic game today by Bears 3 which saw them take their 3rd win of the season so far. A great performance from all players. Very pleased for the team and look forward for the next game”