Before tipping off our Junior National League season our Premier League Mens team and Division 1 teams were in action on Friday night. Our premier side travelled to Birmingham Rovers Friday night where they were able to escape with a one point win against their newly promoted opponents. Our division 1 side travelled to Wolverhmapton to take on Team Wolverhampton SLAM. A strong start by the hosts combined with a poor start from our division 1 team saw us trail by 20 plus at half time. A valiant third quarter effort saw us claw back to a seven point deficit but ultimately it was too little to late and the game was lost 88-75.
On Saturday our under 16s played in our first ever National League fixture, hosting Warwickshire Warriors. Warriors dominated to start the game leading by 20 plus points. Some coaching adjustments by Coach Maziko at half time and inspiring play led by Deago Chambers and Aryan Virdi saw a dramatic comeback in the second half for West Brom who were able to steal a two point win 55-53.
Sunday saw five of our teams in action. First up the Mens Premier team travelled to HMP featherstone for their first round game against HMP Featherstone. Led by hot shooting form Skupas Deimantas pouring in 38 points they advanced to the next round following at 117-86 win.
Our under 14s and under 18s were on the road for their first taste of National League action. The u14s travelled to Tamworth Tigers. In a closely contested game the 14s fell just short losing by 8 points but Coach Cameron remains optimistic about the group moving forward. Under 18s travelled to Bedford Thunder. Missing 3 of the teams starting 5 due to FIBA clearance issues the team struggled to find any rhythm and suffered a heavy defeat. Coach Preware and the team look to bounce back and make the necessary adjustments to adapt to National League Basketball.
In YBL action our Women’s development team travelled to Coventry Tornadoes. A competitive first half saw us trail by just 4 at half time. However in the second half Coventry’s experience showed versus our new team as they went on to a 60-41 victory. Also starting their YBL campaign our under 13s hosted Shrewsbury Storm. A dominant display from Coach Lofters team saw them come away with an impressive 82-22 win.
All of our coaches and players will be working hard this week in preparation for next weeks fixtures.