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Cheshire Jets 106 v Pride 65
This week the under 16s faced possibly the toughest challenge of their season. They would face Premier Division side Cheshire Jets in the second round of the SureShot Cup. Upon arrival it became evident that Cheshire had an overall advantage in height and size despite Fisher and Stanley standing few inches taller for Pride. The first quarter started brightly with Preston scoring the first basket after several misses from Jets. However, it was not long before Jets showed their class from range with a series of 3-point shots to open up an early lead. Pride continued to work hard at both ends of the court but had little to show for their efforts early on. A quick time out saw Pride come back to the floor looking focused and it wasn't long before they put some points up on the scoreboard by breaking through Cheshire's presses and finishing well on the break. The second quarter continued in similar trends, with Jets continuing to shoot well from the outside despite Pride's best efforts to contest shots. Midway through the quarter Stanley stepped up scoring a series of consecutive baskets to keep Pride in the game, with Green doing a solid job from the point to settle the side into their offences. Great hustle was shown on the defensive end also with Scarborough and Elamin diving on every loose ball in sight. Despite these efforts the half time score was 60 to 36. After the break Preston came out with renewed fight, despite the knowledge that the game was probably beyond them by now the team continued to work hard and moved the ball well creating a number of open shots from deep for Green, Fitzpatrick and Heafield in particular who stepped up with consistent shooting and constant energy, running the floor well. Jets continued to score well but at a noticeably slower pace than in the first half. The final quarter saw Jets run some of their bench. This gave Pride the chance to play on a more even level with their opponent and both teams traded baskets throughout the quarter. Morgan moved the ball well and showed the decision making of a player far older than his 13-years of age finding Lewis-Chambers and Fisher on the inside for some easy scores late on. The final quarter ended with Jets outscoring Pride by one and a final score of 105-65. Despite the score line there were a lot of positives to be taken from this game for Pride. Every player showed improvement and contributed to a well rounded team performance.
Man of the Match: Sam Heafield For a solid performance throughout.