23/9/2018

Third Division Central

Derby Wheelblazers: 25

Bears 3: 27

Bears 3 came away a narrow win after travelling to Derby to play Wheelblazers on Sunday, getting their season off to a fantastic start with two wins from two games played so far!  With a weakened team, Bears were always going to find it a hard game to play. However, with the experience of Adrian Taber and Brian Stone to call on, the Bears battled out a to a victory.

From the tip-off, both teams found it hard to score, with mutual pressure keeping the ball away from either basket. However, a skillful performance from the Bears pushed them to lead into the second quarter Wheelblazers 2 – 7 Bears 3.

The second quarter was again a scrappy game, with neither team taking any dominance, but the Bears relied on their communication to push further ahead with the scores at the half time buzzer Wheelblazers 6 – 13 Bears 3.

The half time break did not bring a change to the game play as once again it turned out to be a quarter of missed chances and turn over possessions by both teams.  The Bears struggled on, chipping away at a larger point advantage with the help of their junior player Ellan Fraser. The Bears emerged into a nail biting final quarter with the scores Wheelblazers 11 – 19 Bears 3.

Wheelblazers took to the court in the last quarter with a renewed determination to overturn the lead that Bears 3 had already built throughout the game. Fortunately for Bears, the clock was against them, and Bears were resilient enough to hold the narrowest of leads to the final buzzer and take the victory.  Wheelblazers 25 – 27 Bears 3.

After the game Bears 3 coach Dan Smith said “A fantastic performance from a minimal squad today. The effort given was not represented in the score. A lot to build on for the rest of the season”