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15 July 2010 All change in the Trophy IT'S all change in the Men’s National Trophy following the withdrawal of Taunton Tigers and holders London Mets. Both sides have dropped out of Division One, though Tigers will maintain their Division Four team, due to financial problems – leaving the top flight with 11 teams. Pool Three of the Trophy – which is for Division One sides – was left containing only two teams (Reading Rockets and Bristol Academy Flyers) with both sides due to qualify for the quarter-finals. Therefore that group has been merged with Pool Two - which consisted of Leopards along with London Capital and Brixton Topcats – and teams will now play each once. The top team will go straight into the semi-finals, the second placed team gets a home game in the quarter-finals, the third placed team gets an away game in the last eight and the remaining two teams are eliminated. As a result, Leopards’ first game of the season will now take place at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 26 when we will host old rivals Reading Rockets, tip-off 4pm. The Big Cats will travel to Bristol on Saturday October 9 and Capital seven days later. They wrap up their Trophy campaign by hosting Brixton Topcapts on Sunday December 19 in a repeat of last season’s National Cup quarter-final. Leopards’ league fixtures will be announced shortly. 14
July 2010 WHILE Leopards’ senior team continue the recruiting process for the 2010/11 season, many of the clubs’ younger players are preparing to represent Great Britain and England in the European Championships. The club’s ladies team, Barking Abbey Leopards, will having four players in the Great Britain under-20 women’s team, with Ella Clark, Josephine Salmon, Mary Durojaye and Kashmere Joseph. They start the tournament on Friday, and go into the competition on the back of a 3-0 series sweep against Bulgaria last weekend. Forward Ryan Martin will be representing Great Britain under-20 men as they look to gain promotion from Division B in their 11-day tournament which starts in Austria on Wednesday. Teddy Okereafor and Jesse Chuku will travel to Tel Aviv to play for England under-18s having contributed well in a series of warm-up games in south London last weekend. The tournament starts on July 22, with England facing a tough group which includes hosts Israel. David Akibo and Dominic Norton are included in the England under-16 squad who continue their preparations with a three-game series against Belgium in Kent this weekend. They have to wait until early August to travel to Estonia for their tournament. Tyrell Isaacs, who has already stared for England under-15s this summer is one of two reserves named in the squad. Rosie Hynes, Maisie Elston, Christina Gaskin and Jamilla Thompson are all in the England under-18 women’s squad who warmed up for their tournament with two victories in Hungary over the weekend. There are also two Leopards in the England under-16 team, with Chantel Charles and Shequila Joseph travelling to Macedonia in mid-August. To complete the set, former Leopards Joe Ikhinmwin is currently in France with the England senior team, while Dan Clark is expected to be a key part of the Great Britain squad who are looking to qualify for EuroBasket 2011 as they face eight qualifiers this summer. 5
July 2010 LEOPARDS’ fixtures at Brentwood have been thrown into confusion following the withdrawal of Taunton Tigers and London Mets from Division One. Mets had already dropped out of the National Cup and Trophy, and both teams quit due to financial problems. As a result, the top flight of the England Basketball League is left with only 11 teams, and there are now several gaps in the Big Cats’ fixture list. “It’s frustrating that we thought we’d got the maximum number of games at Brentwood and had arranged double headers with the women’s and B team, but now we’ve effectively got to start again” said General Manager Dave Ryan. “I think seven teams have done this in as many seasons since we joined the EBL. They pay their deposit in March, but when it comes to paying the full fees in June, they pull out. “A lot of time has been wasted, and instead of promoting next season’s games, we’re now having to reorganise our fixture list.” 29
June 2010 FOUR members of the Leopards’ ladies squad have been called up for England Under-18s European Championship team. Point guard Rosie Hynes will be joined by shooting guard Maisie Elston, forward Christina Gaskin and centre Jamilla Thompson in Michael Ball’s squad who will look to become the first England junior team to win promotion from Division B. The tournament is in Timisoara, Romania and starts on July 29. Their opponents in the opening group stage will be Bulgaria, Finland, Scotland and Estonia. The England team travelled to Luxembourg a fortnight ago, winning all three games against their hosts, and also had a four training camp in Harpenden where they placed practice games against under-16 boys team Solent and Ipswich. Fellow Leopards player Ella Clark has been left out of the squad, and looks likely to be named in the Great Britain under-20 team instead. 26
June 2010 LUKAS Volskis and Bradley Wilkinson have both signed to play at Junior Colleges, where they will look to impress the NCAA scouts, while Ella Clark will be going to Long Beach State. Volskis, who joined Leopards in 2008 and made over 80 appearances for the Big Cats, will play for Murray State College. Wilkinson played only a handful of games for the Big Cats last season, spending most of the campaign with Barking Abbey (now Leopards “B”), but was a regular in 2008/9, and is joining Seminole State College. He will be the second former Leopard to play for Seminole with Joe Ikhinmwin having spent three years there after a successful 2006/7 season with the Big Cats. The talented forward has now signed for NCAA Division One side South Carolina State Bulldogs where he will spend the next two years in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Both Colleges play in Region Two of NJCAA, so the two former Leopards will come up against each other during the 2010/11 season, and we’ll be keeping an eye on their progress here on the Leopards’ website. Meanwhile Clark – daughter of Leopards’ director of coaching Mark – will be signing for one of the best programmes in US college basketball when she joins Long Beach. The 49rs play in the Big West Conference, and can boast two appearances in the Final Four, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and 21 conference titles. A regular in the England junior teams over the last few years, she is expected to be named in the Great Britain under-20 squad for this summer’s European Championship – despite still being eligible to play at under-18 level. The 6’3” forward was England Junior Player of the Year for 2009 and also represented England at the Under 21 World Netball Championships in 2008 and 2009. 49rs coach Jody Wynn is delighted to have signed her: "We are very excited Ella has decided to study and play here at The Beach," she said.. "She comes to us with a wealth of experience playing at the highest national team levels in England. She is a very versatile player that shoots the three and uses her 6-foot-8 wingspan to be a great shot blocker and rebounder." 18
June 2010 FORMER Leopards Dan Clark and Joe Ikhinmwin are included in the 17-man England squad for their 11-game summer programme. Clark was water-boy for the Leopards when they won back-to-back BBL titles in 1997 and 1998 and he went on to play for Ware Rebels’ senior team as a 13-year-old before the clubs combined six years ago. He now plays for Estudiantes in Spain, and was part of the Great Britain squad for last summers EuroBasket finals in Poland and is seen as a key part of the team that hopes to represent the country in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Joe played for the Big Cats as a 19-year-old 2006/7 season before going to college in the States. He sat out his first year with a back injury, but some impressive performances for Seminole State College in the last two seasons has seen the talented forward sign for NCAA Division One side South Carolina State Bulldogs where he will spend the next two years in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The 11-game England summer programme begins on June 26/27 at the University of Worcester when England host Scotland for two games. They then take on basketball powerhouses Lithuania B for back-to-back games the following weekend and then travel to tournaments in France and Northern Ireland later this summer. 16
June 2010 FOUR Leopards players helped the England under-15 development squad win the Copenhagen Invitational Tournament for the first time over the weekend. Dwayne Orija, George Jarvis, Jefferson Davis and Tyrell Isaacs helped the team return home with the trophy following an 86-77 victory against Iceland in Sunday’s final. Orija was a regular in the club’s Division Four team last season, and a series of impressive displays saw him named in the Tournament All-Star team alongside England team-mate Kingsley Okoroh. Jarvis is the brother of former Leopards’ point guard Mike, who is now at college in the States, and all four players are expected to play in at least some of the Barking Abbey Leopards EBL Division Four games next season. Isaacs poured in 16 points in the final as a strong first half paved the way for England who went into the locker room 46-28 ahead. Two wins on the opening day of the competition ensured a place in the final four as they hammered Norway 76-24 before 14 points from Isaacs helped them beat Denmark White 62-39 in the second to wrap up a place in the semi-finals. The following morning saw England complete a perfect group stage record with a 57-37 victory against Berlin as Isaacs led the England scoring with 17 points. The semi-final saw England face old foes Scotland, with the Scots allowed to field an under-16 team after a dismal time in the 2009 competition, but it was England who progressed to the title game with a 63-56 victory. Kapoulas’ team were tied at half-time, and fell behind by six in the third period. But some good defensive play saw them take control of the game to win comfortably in the end. Isaacs again led the England scoring with 18 points. 10
June 2010 FOUR Barking Abbey players have been picked for the England under-15 development squad which will compete in a three-day tournament in Denmark this weekend. Dwayne Orija, George Jarvis, Jefferson Davis and Tyrell Isaacs will fly to Copenhagen on Thursday, and they will play five games in the eight-team tournament. George is the brother of former Leopards’ point guard Mike, who is now at college in the States, and all four players are expected to play in at least some of the Barking Abbey Leopards EBL Division Four games next season. England will face Norway East at 9am on Friday morning before playing Denmark White in mid-afternoon. They wrap up the group stage on Saturday morning with a game against Berlin before playing in either the semi-final or a classification game later in the day. The final is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with classification games earlier that day. England finished third in the competition last season, winning three of their four group games before beating Slovakia 63-61 in the bronze medal play-off. 9
June 2010 LEOPARDS’ ladies team will make the short trip to Hertfordshire when they open their Women’s National Cup campaign. The Big Cats reached the Final Fours at Manchester in April, going desperately close to beating league champions City of Sheffield Hatters, and will look to continue that form when they travel to Oaklands College – Hertfordshire Warriors. The Warriors finished bottom of Division Two South in 2008/9 with an 0-14 record, and dropped out for a year. However, after linking up with Oaklands College’s basketball academy, they return to the EBL. Leopards will go into the game as favourites, and they are successful they will host Division Two opposition in the second round, with either London Westside or Newham (NASSA) Stars visiting Brentwood on Sunday October 31. Victory in that game would see Leopards on the road in the quarter-finals, probably in Sheffield against the Hatters. 7
June 2010 LEOPARDS will start their hunt for a second National Cup success on the road following the announcement of the draw for the 2010/11 season. The Big Cats won the competition in 2006, beating Reading in the final, and have a good record in the competition. They lost to Manchester Magic in the semi-finals last season, and reached the last eight in the previous two seasons. All of last season’s quarter-finalists have received a first round bye, with the Big Cats facing a trip to either league newcomers Ealing Phoenicians or Division Three side Hackney White Heat in the second round on Sunday October 10. Leopards hosted White Heat in the second round last season, winning 76-57 thanks mainly to a strong final period. Leigh Greenan finished with an 18 point, 12 rebound double-double and Marlan Henry added 13 points and six assists for the home side. The teams also met at Wodson Park in the same stage in 2007, with Leopards winning 102-91. Ealing, who will face Barking Abbey Leopards (the Big Cats’ B team) in Division Four South East during the season, are an unknown quantity, but Director of Basketball Mark Clark plans to have them watched when they face White Heat in the first round. Success against either Ealing or Hackney will see Leopards in action at Brentwood in the last 16 when they will host the winner of the second round tie between Canary Wharf Staff, Westminster Warriors, Edmonton Storm and Essex Pirates II. The third round is scheduled for October 31, and a victory would see Leopards at home again in the quarter-finals, with league champions Derby Trailblazers or old rivals Sheffield Arrows their most likely opponents. 2
June 2010 LEOPARDS will not have to travel far when they open their National Trophy campaign in the group stage in September and October. The Big Cats have been drawn in a three-team with PAWS London Capital and Brixton Topcats, and will face the pair in home and away games. The top two in each group qualify for the last eight, with the group winner getting home court advantage in the quarter-finals. It is a direct contrast to the 2008/9 season when Leopards faced trips to Taunton, Bristol, Cardiff, Reading and Manchester as they reached the semi-finals of the competition. One noticeable absence from this season’s competition are holders London Mets, who split their games against the Leopards on the way to lifting the Trophy. They have not entered for financial reasons, but they do, however, remain in the newly enlarged Division One. Capital drop down from the BBL after three seasons in the competition, and the last time they competed in the Trophy they reached the semi-final. They will provide Leopards’ opponents for our first home game of the season on Sunday September 26 at the Brentwood Centre. While we have not met them in competitive action since the 2006/7 season, The Big Cats travelled to Capital’s Neasdon venue during the 2009 pre-season, and lost a tight game 78-75. Another side to return to the competition, this time after an 11-year absence – is Brixton Topcats who gained promotion as Division Two runners-up last season. We also met them last season, as Leigh Greenan poured in 24 points to help up comfortably progress to the National Cup semi-finals with a 95-73 victory. 30
May 2010 LEOPARDS are close to announcing their new coach for the 2010/11 season. Following the link-up between the Big Cats and Barking Abbey Academy, Jon Burnell stepped down after six years in the job, as he was unable to commit to the new-look Leopards as they were now practicing on a daily basis. “We’re down to the final two names,” said general manager Dave Ryan “and we hope to announce something within the next ten days. “Obviously it would be good to have the coach in place, but we need to ensure that we get the right man and sometimes to do something takes a little longer than you’d ideally like. “Together with Mark [Clark] and Lloyd [Gardener] at Barking Abbey, will are still looking at players for next season and we are building up other areas of the club. “There’s still three full months before we start practising at the start of September, and I’m confident that we’ll be ready when the season starts on September 18th. “We’re also strengthening the club off the court, and we’re hopeful that we will have some exciting news by the end of June.” Leopards will face an additional two league games next season following the relegation from the BBL of London Capital. They finished bottom of the table in each of the last two seasons having won just five of their 69 league games and losing all seven games in the two knockout competitions. The Big Cats travelled to Capital’s Neasdon venue during the 2009 pre-season, and lost a tight game 78-75. 17
May 2010 LEOPARDS’ Natalie Stafford has been named England Basketball Women’s Division One Most Valuable Playerer for 2009/10 after a fine debut season for the club. Australian guard Stafford led the division in scoring with 25.67 points per game, more than three clear of second placed Sabra Wrice of Nottingham Wildcats. She also finished fifth in assists with 3.08 per game, and had the second best two-point shooting percentage (58.76%), was eighth best from three-point land with 40 percent and the seventh best free-throw shooter with 77.33 percent. Head coach Mark Clark was delighted that the 5’8” guard had collected the award: “"Natalie has been a superb addition to our program this year” he said. “The stats never lie, she led the league in scoring, was high up in assists and is a fantastic rebounding guard. I think that Natalie absolutely deserved to be voted MVP of the league by the other coaches. “”However, it’s not just about her being the best player in the league, which she is, it’s the way that she has made the rest of the team better. She has brought a professionals attitude to young, impressionable but talented players that I’m sure they will benefit from for the rest of their careers." Stafford joined Barking Abbey Leopards in the summer after moving to the area to teach in a primary school. Stafford wasn’t the only Leopard to feature in the women’s Division One leaders at the end of the season. England junior Ella Clark was the third best rebounder with an average of 9.38 boards per game and she was also the fourth most accurate three-point shooter hitting an average of 44.12 percent of her long range shots. Harriet Yea’s 2.33 assists per game put her seventh in the final standings, while Christina Gaskin was ninth in the two-point field goal leaders with 51.9 percent. 14
May 2010 LEOPARDS MVP Carl Latham-Henry finished as fifth highest scorer in the EBL Division One in 2009/10. The London-born guard scored an average of 23.53 points per game, and was one of four British players in the top ten. Part of Latham-Henry’s success was down to his three-point shooting, and he finished second in the final standings with an average of 46.48 of his shots from beyond the arc being converted. He also found time to dish out 3.47 assists per game, playing him sixth in league. Centre Leigh Greenan also had some success, finishing as the fifth leading rebounds as he pulled down 10.19 boards per game, again being one of only four players in the top ten, and had the eighth best shooting percentage from two-point land with 59.33 percent. Marlan Henry was the only other Leopard to finish in the top ten of a category, finishing tenth in the assists charts with 3.11 per game. 12
May 2010 LEOPARDS' new ladies team will face a tougher Division One campaign following the announcement of the EBL structures for next season. The top flight has been slimmed down from 11 to eight clubs, with teams now playing each other three times to give a 21-game schedule for the newly named Barking Abbey Leopards. The top eight from last season’s final table remain in the competition, but London Mets and Wellingborough Phoenix drop into Division Two South, and Birmingham A’s will compete in Division Two Midlands after all three sides had disappointing campaigns. Mets four wins from 20 games came in their fixtures against Phoenix and A’s, but defaulted their final three games of the season, while A’s and Phoenix each only recorded a single victory against each other. The move will strengthen the division, and hopefully remove the problem of teams failing to turn up. A’s cancelled what would have been the lady Leopards’ debut at Brentwood while Mets turned up with only four players for the game at Barking Abbey and also defaulted in their home game the following week. Barking Abbey finished fifth in Division One in 2009/10, and reached the Final Four by winning at Leeds Carnegie. They made league champions City of Sheffield Hatters fight all the way in the semi-final before eventually going down 62-59. 9
May 2010 THE Big Cats’ new B team, the Barking Abbey Leopards, will certainly know the meaning of a derby game by the end of the 2010/11 season. Division Four South-East has grown from eight to 12 teams, and all but two of their opponents come from inner London. The odd two out are Southend pair Scorpions, who are newcomers to the league, and Essex Pirates II, who Barking beat twice by seven points on their way to the league title. With the Barking Abbey team now operating as Leopards’ B team, they turned down promotion to Division Three, and will look to retain their league title. Sevenoaks Suns, who finished second to Barking last season, have been promoted, but with five new teams joining the division and large increase in fixtures, the new campaign should be a tough one of the young Leopards. 8
May 2010 LEOPARDS will face new opponents Durham Wildcats when the EBL Division One season starts in late September. Coached by Dave Elderkin, who had a spell as general manager of the original Leopards, the north-east side completed a Division Two treble by winning the league, play-offs and Patron’s Cup. They lost only two of their 29 games against second division teams, and also reached the National Cup quarter-finals before bowing out against eventual runners-up Manchester Magic. Joining them in Division One will be Brixton Topcats who finished runners-up in the final table. It’s been a long journey back to the top flight for the London club who were relegated in 1999 after back-to-back finishes at the bottom of the table. After four years in the second division, Topcats fell into the third tier in 2003, and were fortunate not to be relegated again in 2008. However, with Andy Powsland at the helm, Topcats have now won back-to-back promotions, and also reached the quarter-finals of the National Cup last season before losing at cross-town rivals Leopards. The Big Cats and Brixton met in National Cup quarter-final last season and Leigh Greenan led the way as Leopards powered their way into the last four with a comfortable 95-73 home win. Greenan [pictured dunking on two Brixton players] scored 24 points and pulled down 18 rebounds as a Leopards side missing leading scorer Carl Latham-Henry due to a back injury reached the semi-final for the second time in their history. The two sides also held several joint practices last season, and Brixton will provide the Big Cats with another London derby. Although the line-up for the National Trophy has yet to be announced, it’s likely that Topcats and London Mets will join the Leopards in a three-team London group. With Division One remaining at 12 clubs, the bottom two are relegated for the first time since 2007, with Tees Valley Mohawks and Sheffield Arrows dropping down. Having gone down in 2007, Mohawks will look to repeat their trick of bouncing back at the first attempt, while Arrows will be in the second tier for the first time since 2003 when they completed the second of back-to-back titles. Leopards’ fixtures are expected to be announced by the end of May. 26
April 2010 City
of Sheffield Hatters 62 (20,37,51) LEOPARDS’ new women’s team went agonisingly close to causing the biggest upset of the season before narrowly losing to the all-conquering Sheffield Hatters in the play-off semi-final. Londoner Mason took over in the fourth period, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds as Hatters reached the title game for the 19th straight season. Barking Abbey’s Natalie Stafford led all scorers with 24 points while Ella Clark finished with 13 points and as many rebounds, and Harriett Yea was a point shy of also getting a double-double having scored ten points. The Big Cats won the tip, but it was the Hatters who went into the first break with a 20-15 lead as Naomi Campbell scored the last five points of the quarter. Clark opened the second period scoring with the game’s first trey off Stafford’s assist, but despite Stafford scoring 14 in the first half, Abbey trailed 37-28 at half-time. Thompson picked up her fourth foul within 42 seconds of the start of the third period, and Mason opened the scoring with a long two to take her tally to 13. Clark replied with a trey to keep Leopards in the game, but Naylor trey took the lead out to 13 and forced a timeout from Barking coach Mark Clark with 7:10 on the clock. Clark again struck from long range as the shot clock expired but Crowley replied from similar distance to make it 54-47 at the mid-point stage of the period. A Stafford floater made it an eight point game with two third quarter minutes remaining, only to see Hutchinson drain a three – but it was Yea who had the final word of the stanza as she hit a three-pointer to cut Hatters’ lead to 51-47 going into the fourth period. Stafford halved that lead with a 40 seconds of the final period gone and Rosie Hynes levelled the score with a lay-up. GB international Mason put the Hatters four ahead as she hit six straight points to put her side 57-53 ahead as Mark Clark called a time-out with 3:10 remaining. A steal and basket from Naylor put Sheffield four up before Thompson made it a two point game with 71 seconds left. Stafford’s shot on 35 seconds rimmed out but Thompson blocked Mason’s shot, and Yea was called for a foul as she went for a rebound having missed her shot with 4.4 seconds remaining. Hutchinson was sent to the line with 3.8 seconds left, and after missing the first she hit the second, and Clark’s trey hit the backboard to send Hatters to the final again. Barking coach Mark Clark was positive despite his team losing their first ever semi-final: “We played really well, and if you take Rose out of their team, I think we could have won. There’s a lot of little things that we could have done better, but we’re a young team and they’re bound to make mistakes. “To come that close to beating the best team in the country is very pleasing, but also a little bit frustrating.” 23
April 2010 WHILE Leopards failed to repeat last season’s trip to the EBL Final Fours, Barking Abbey women – who will become Barking Abbey Leopards from next season – will make their first trip to Manchester this weekend. Mark Clark’s young team finished a highly creditable fifth in their second season in the top flight of English basketball, and then won 84-67 at Leeds Carnegie in the play-offs to qualify for a semi-final against reigning champions City of Sheffield Hatters. Clark knows that his team face a huge task when they face the most successful side in the history of British Basketball on Saturday. “Simply they are the best team in the league. Their record tells everyone that!” said the former GB women’s coach. “The tradition that Betty Codona started and now Vanessa [Ellis] has carried on is unique in terms of titles won and the number of years they have been the number one team. This year they are the number one team coming into this weekend again. “Can we beat them ? Well, we are focusing on our performance, and we’ll see if that is good enough.” Clark is delighted to be taking his team to the season’s final weekend: “Our expectations are the same as every game we want to perform as well as we should. Obviously this is the biggest weekend in the year so there is added excitement and pressure but we will always look at our performance to assess whether we have met our expectations. “I do expect that the spirit as a group that we have developed to come through and the belief in each other to be evident, it will need to be given our semi final opponent The Abbey team is built around pupils at the successful Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, with Great Britain international Harriett Yeah (a former Abbey schoolgirl) and Australian schoolteacher Natalie Stafford providing valuable senior leadership. Clark acknowledges the importance of reaching the Final Four: “In terms of what it means to our organisation; it means that the foresight and commitment to young people that our school showed five years ago has been rewarded. We are still a unique programme in terms of investment in time and money so for our Head, Director of Sport and coaching staff it gives us a real buzz that we have started something that is sustainable at an elite level.” With Hatters having lost one game in each of the last two seasons, Abbey have never beaten them since entering the league in 2008. If they do upset the formbook, they will face either UWIC Archers or Team Northumbria in Sunday’s championship game. Don't forget to check on www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk to see how our new team get on in Manchester. 19
April 2010 LEOPARDS Basketball Club and Barking Abbey Academy have announced an exciting new partnership which will start in the summer of 2010. The two organisations will effectively merge their EBL teams and operate under one banner. The men’s Division One team will be known as BA London Leopards, with the women’s team and the men’s second team called Barking Abbey Leopards. The majority of Leopards’ Division One games will continue to be played at the Brentwood Centre – widely considered to be the best venue in the league – and the women’s team and second team will play double-headers at Brentwood wherever possible with the rest of the games being staged at Barking Abbey. Leopards and Barking Abbey have worked in partnership since the start of the 2007/8 season, but the move will see Abbey responsible for all basketball activities at the club, while Leopards current management team will be responsible for developing the club as a whole and taking them forwards. “It’s a fantastic move for both organisations” said Leopards general manager Dave Ryan. “We get to see some of the best young players in the country playing for us, and the Barking Abbey players get to play at a really good level of basketball. “I watched all of Abbey games when they competed in the EuroLeague tournament in February, and they were very impressive. The idea of seeing them in action for Leopards, alongside a handful of senior players, is very exciting for us.” With Leopards currently setting up a new community programme that will see them able to bolster the Barking Abbey squad with three or four senior players, they are looking to move on from the problems which saw them struggle with only a seven man squad during the final two months of the season. “Our senior players will be full-time, and able to train during the day with the Abbey players” explained Ryan. “The players who finished the season with us deserve a lot of credit, but it had become increasingly obvious that we couldn’t continue the way we were. It’s a massive ask to expect people to travel from all over London to train twice a week, and then give up a whole weekend when we have a double-header.” Ryan revealed that Leopards are still looking to step up to Britain’s professional league, the BBL: “Being able to train four or five times per week means we will be as professional as the biggest clubs in the country, and our ambition continues to be to join the BBL, it’s just a mid-term aim now rather than a long-term one.” Barking Abbey director of basketball Mark Clark is also delighted with the merger between the clubs: “This is an exciting opportunity for Barking Abbey and our basketball programme. This is a move that we have had in our development plan, but doing it now ahead of that schedule demonstrates how far our programme has developed. “The key objective for us is to increase opportunities for players, this step definitely does that as we can offer the right level of playing exposure to all our academy students. “We also share the aspirations of the Leopards organisation in playing at the top level in the UK and in Europe and like many clubs in Europe these aspirations can be met by basing your programme on home grown players and adding players where they are needed.” Leopards chairman Fred Dicker is excited that the new club will have three teams playing EBL basketball: “It’s great to have a women’s team and a B team to ensure that we don’t have the problems we suffered last season. “The women have shown this season that they deserve to be one of the top teams in the country this season, while having a second team full of young players who are looking to gain experience in the top flight can only help us.” With Jon Burnell stepping down from the position as he was unable to commit to their new full-tie programme, the Big Cats plan to announce their new head coach within the next few weeks. 17
May 2010 LEOPARDS’ Natalie Stafford has been named England Basketball Women’s Division One Most Valuable Playerer for 2009/10 after a fine debut season for the club. Australian guard Stafford led the division in scoring with 25.67 points per game, more than three clear of second placed Sabra Wrice of Nottingham Wildcats. She also finished fifth in assists with 3.08 per game, and had the second best two-point shooting percentage (58.76%), was eighth best from three-point land with 40 percent and the seventh best free-throw shooter with 77.33 percent. Head coach Mark Clark was delighted that the 5’8” guard had collected the award: “"Natalie has been a superb addition to our program this year” he said. “The stats never lie, she led the league in scoring, was high up in assists and is a fantastic rebounding guard. I think that Natalie absolutely deserved to be voted MVP of the league by the other coaches. “”However, it’s not just about her being the best player in the league, which she is, it’s the way that she has made the rest of the team better. She has brought a professionals attitude to young, impressionable but talented players that I’m sure they will benefit from for the rest of their careers." Stafford joined Barking Abbey Leopards in the summer after moving to the area to teach in a primary school. Stafford wasn’t the only Leopard to feature in the women’s Division One leaders at the end of the season. England junior Ella Clark was the third best rebounder with an average of 9.38 boards per game and she was also the fourth most accurate three-point shooter hitting an average of 44.12 percent of her long range shots. Harriet Yea’s 2.33 assists per game put her seventh in the final standings, while Christina Gaskin was ninth in the two-point field goal leaders with 51.9 percent. 14
May 2010 LEOPARDS MVP Carl Latham-Henry finished as fifth highest scorer in the EBL Division One in 2009/10. The London-born guard scored an average of 23.53 points per game, and was one of four British players in the top ten. Part of Latham-Henry’s success was down to his three-point shooting, and he finished second in the final standings with an average of 46.48 of his shots from beyond the arc being converted. He also found time to dish out 3.47 assists per game, playing him sixth in league. Centre Leigh Greenan also had some success, finishing as the fifth leading rebounds as he pulled down 10.19 boards per game, again being one of only four players in the top ten, and had the eighth best shooting percentage from two-point land with 59.33 percent. Marlan Henry was the only other Leopard to finish in the top ten of a category, finishing tenth in the assists charts with 3.11 per game. 12
May 2010 LEOPARDS' new ladies team will face a tougher Division One campaign following the announcement of the EBL structures for next season. The top flight has been slimmed down from 11 to eight clubs, with teams now playing each other three times to give a 21-game schedule for the newly named Barking Abbey Leopards. The top eight from last season’s final table remain in the competition, but London Mets and Wellingborough Phoenix drop into Division Two South, and Birmingham A’s will compete in Division Two Midlands after all three sides had disappointing campaigns. Mets four wins from 20 games came in their fixtures against Phoenix and A’s, but defaulted their final three games of the season, while A’s and Phoenix each only recorded a single victory against each other. The move will strengthen the division, and hopefully remove the problem of teams failing to turn up. A’s cancelled what would have been the lady Leopards’ debut at Brentwood while Mets turned up with only four players for the game at Barking Abbey and also defaulted in their home game the following week. Barking Abbey finished fifth in Division One in 2009/10, and reached the Final Four by winning at Leeds Carnegie. They made league champions City of Sheffield Hatters fight all the way in the semi-final before eventually going down 62-59. 9
May 2010 THE Big Cats’ new B team, the Barking Abbey Leopards, will certainly know the meaning of a derby game by the end of the 2010/11 season. Division Four South-East has grown from eight to 12 teams, and all but two of their opponents come from inner London. The odd two out are Southend pair Scorpions, who are newcomers to the league, and Essex Pirates II, who Barking beat twice by seven points on their way to the league title. With the Barking Abbey team now operating as Leopards’ B team, they turned down promotion to Division Three, and will look to retain their league title. Sevenoaks Suns, who finished second to Barking last season, have been promoted, but with five new teams joining the division and large increase in fixtures, the new campaign should be a tough one of the young Leopards. 8
May 2010 LEOPARDS will face new opponents Durham Wildcats when the EBL Division One season starts in late September. Coached by Dave Elderkin, who had a spell as general manager of the original Leopards, the north-east side completed a Division Two treble by winning the league, play-offs and Patron’s Cup. They lost only two of their 29 games against second division teams, and also reached the National Cup quarter-finals before bowing out against eventual runners-up Manchester Magic. Joining them in Division One will be Brixton Topcats who finished runners-up in the final table. It’s been a long journey back to the top flight for the London club who were relegated in 1999 after back-to-back finishes at the bottom of the table. After four years in the second division, Topcats fell into the third tier in 2003, and were fortunate not to be relegated again in 2008. However, with Andy Powsland at the helm, Topcats have now won back-to-back promotions, and also reached the quarter-finals of the National Cup last season before losing at cross-town rivals Leopards. The Big Cats and Brixton met in National Cup quarter-final last season and Leigh Greenan led the way as Leopards powered their way into the last four with a comfortable 95-73 home win. Greenan [pictured dunking on two Brixton players] scored 24 points and pulled down 18 rebounds as a Leopards side missing leading scorer Carl Latham-Henry due to a back injury reached the semi-final for the second time in their history. The two sides also held several joint practices last season, and Brixton will provide the Big Cats with another London derby. Although the line-up for the National Trophy has yet to be announced, it’s likely that Topcats and London Mets will join the Leopards in a three-team London group. With Division One remaining at 12 clubs, the bottom two are relegated for the first time since 2007, with Tees Valley Mohawks and Sheffield Arrows dropping down. Having gone down in 2007, Mohawks will look to repeat their trick of bouncing back at the first attempt, while Arrows will be in the second tier for the first time since 2003 when they completed the second of back-to-back titles. Leopards’ fixtures are expected to be announced by the end of May. 26
April 2010 City
of Sheffield Hatters 62 (20,37,51) LEOPARDS’ new women’s team went agonisingly close to causing the biggest upset of the season before narrowly losing to the all-conquering Sheffield Hatters in the play-off semi-final. Londoner Mason took over in the fourth period, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds as Hatters reached the title game for the 19th straight season. Barking Abbey’s Natalie Stafford led all scorers with 24 points while Ella Clark finished with 13 points and as many rebounds, and Harriett Yea was a point shy of also getting a double-double having scored ten points. The Big Cats won the tip, but it was the Hatters who went into the first break with a 20-15 lead as Naomi Campbell scored the last five points of the quarter. Clark opened the second period scoring with the game’s first trey off Stafford’s assist, but despite Stafford scoring 14 in the first half, Abbey trailed 37-28 at half-time. Thompson picked up her fourth foul within 42 seconds of the start of the third period, and Mason opened the scoring with a long two to take her tally to 13. Clark replied with a trey to keep Leopards in the game, but Naylor trey took the lead out to 13 and forced a timeout from Barking coach Mark Clark with 7:10 on the clock. Clark again struck from long range as the shot clock expired but Crowley replied from similar distance to make it 54-47 at the mid-point stage of the period. A Stafford floater made it an eight point game with two third quarter minutes remaining, only to see Hutchinson drain a three – but it was Yea who had the final word of the stanza as she hit a three-pointer to cut Hatters’ lead to 51-47 going into the fourth period. Stafford halved that lead with a 40 seconds of the final period gone and Rosie Hynes levelled the score with a lay-up. GB international Mason put the Hatters four ahead as she hit six straight points to put her side 57-53 ahead as Mark Clark called a time-out with 3:10 remaining. A steal and basket from Naylor put Sheffield four up before Thompson made it a two point game with 71 seconds left. Stafford’s shot on 35 seconds rimmed out but Thompson blocked Mason’s shot, and Yea was called for a foul as she went for a rebound having missed her shot with 4.4 seconds remaining. Hutchinson was sent to the line with 3.8 seconds left, and after missing the first she hit the second, and Clark’s trey hit the backboard to send Hatters to the final again. Barking coach Mark Clark was positive despite his team losing their first ever semi-final: “We played really well, and if you take Rose out of their team, I think we could have won. There’s a lot of little things that we could have done better, but we’re a young team and they’re bound to make mistakes. “To come that close to beating the best team in the country is very pleasing, but also a little bit frustrating.” 23
April 2010 WHILE Leopards failed to repeat last season’s trip to the EBL Final Fours, Barking Abbey women – who will become Barking Abbey Leopards from next season – will make their first trip to Manchester this weekend. Mark Clark’s young team finished a highly creditable fifth in their second season in the top flight of English basketball, and then won 84-67 at Leeds Carnegie in the play-offs to qualify for a semi-final against reigning champions City of Sheffield Hatters. Clark knows that his team face a huge task when they face the most successful side in the history of British Basketball on Saturday. “Simply they are the best team in the league. Their record tells everyone that!” said the former GB women’s coach. “The tradition that Betty Codona started and now Vanessa [Ellis] has carried on is unique in terms of titles won and the number of years they have been the number one team. This year they are the number one team coming into this weekend again. “Can we beat them ? Well, we are focusing on our performance, and we’ll see if that is good enough.” Clark is delighted to be taking his team to the season’s final weekend: “Our expectations are the same as every game we want to perform as well as we should. Obviously this is the biggest weekend in the year so there is added excitement and pressure but we will always look at our performance to assess whether we have met our expectations. “I do expect that the spirit as a group that we have developed to come through and the belief in each other to be evident, it will need to be given our semi final opponent The Abbey team is built around pupils at the successful Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, with Great Britain international Harriett Yeah (a former Abbey schoolgirl) and Australian schoolteacher Natalie Stafford providing valuable senior leadership. Clark acknowledges the importance of reaching the Final Four: “In terms of what it means to our organisation; it means that the foresight and commitment to young people that our school showed five years ago has been rewarded. We are still a unique programme in terms of investment in time and money so for our Head, Director of Sport and coaching staff it gives us a real buzz that we have started something that is sustainable at an elite level.” With Hatters having lost one game in each of the last two seasons, Abbey have never beaten them since entering the league in 2008. If they do upset the formbook, they will face either UWIC Archers or Team Northumbria in Sunday’s championship game. Don't forget to check on www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk to see how our new team get on in Manchester. 19
April 2010 LEOPARDS Basketball Club and Barking Abbey Academy have announced an exciting new partnership which will start in the summer of 2010. The two organisations will effectively merge their EBL teams and operate under one banner. The men’s Division One team will be known as BA London Leopards, with the women’s team and the men’s second team called Barking Abbey Leopards. The majority of Leopards’ Division One games will continue to be played at the Brentwood Centre – widely considered to be the best venue in the league – and the women’s team and second team will play double-headers at Brentwood wherever possible with the rest of the games being staged at Barking Abbey. Leopards and Barking Abbey have worked in partnership since the start of the 2007/8 season, but the move will see Abbey responsible for all basketball activities at the club, while Leopards current management team will be responsible for developing the club as a whole and taking them forwards. “It’s a fantastic move for both organisations” said Leopards general manager Dave Ryan. “We get to see some of the best young players in the country playing for us, and the Barking Abbey players get to play at a really good level of basketball. “I watched all of Abbey games when they competed in the EuroLeague tournament in February, and they were very impressive. The idea of seeing them in action for Leopards, alongside a handful of senior players, is very exciting for us.” With Leopards currently setting up a new community programme that will see them able to bolster the Barking Abbey squad with three or four senior players, they are looking to move on from the problems which saw them struggle with only a seven man squad during the final two months of the season. “Our senior players will be full-time, and able to train during the day with the Abbey players” explained Ryan. “The players who finished the season with us deserve a lot of credit, but it had become increasingly obvious that we couldn’t continue the way we were. It’s a massive ask to expect people to travel from all over London to train twice a week, and then give up a whole weekend when we have a double-header.” Ryan revealed that Leopards are still looking to step up to Britain’s professional league, the BBL: “Being able to train four or five times per week means we will be as professional as the biggest clubs in the country, and our ambition continues to be to join the BBL, it’s just a mid-term aim now rather than a long-term one.” Barking Abbey director of basketball Mark Clark is also delighted with the merger between the clubs: “This is an exciting opportunity for Barking Abbey and our basketball programme. This is a move that we have had in our development plan, but doing it now ahead of that schedule demonstrates how far our programme has developed. “The key objective for us is to increase opportunities for players, this step definitely does that as we can offer the right level of playing exposure to all our academy students. “We also share the aspirations of the Leopards organisation in playing at the top level in the UK and in Europe and like many clubs in Europe these aspirations can be met by basing your programme on home grown players and adding players where they are needed.” Leopards chairman Fred Dicker is excited that the new club will have three teams playing EBL basketball: “It’s great to have a women’s team and a B team to ensure that we don’t have the problems we suffered last season. “The women have shown this season that they deserve to be one of the top teams in the country this season, while having a second team full of young players who are looking to gain experience in the top flight can only help us.” With Jon Burnell stepping down from the position as he was unable to commit to their new full-tie programme, the Big Cats plan to announce their new head coach within the next few weeks. 11
April 2010 THERE was disappointment for the former Leopards playing in the lower division cup finals at Edmonton on Saturday. Roger Lloyd led Kingston Wildcats with a 19 point, ten rebound double-double, but he couldn’t prevent them going down to a 61-60 loss against London Lithuanians in the Founders’ Cup. He played for 37 minutes before fouling out 106 seconds from time, and he was joined in the Wildcats team by Brian Moore who had a poor shooting afternoon, converting just one of his ten field goal attempts. Errol Seaman also had a quiet game as Division Three South champions Eastside Eagles missed out in the play-off final. Errol finished with six points and as many rebounds in 35 minutes of action before fouling out, and Eagles went down 63-53 against London United – Richmond College. There was better news for Barking Abbey women’s team, who work in partnership with Leopards, who won 84-67 at Leeds Carnegie to reach the Final Fours at Manchester in a fortnight’s time. Picture: Roger Lloyd in action for Kingston – courtesy and copyright essexsportsagency.com 9
April 2010 WHILE Leopards wrap up their season by facing Essex Pirates in the Essex Challenge Cup at Brentwood on Sunday, three members of the Big Cats 2005/6 National Cup wining side will be in action in the lower division cup finals at Edmonton Leisure Centre, on Saturday. The action starts at 11am when Kingston Wildcats will be looking to retain the National Founders Cup when they face London Lithuanians. Former Leopard Roger Lloyd was the Most Valuable player in last year’s final as the Wildcats defeated Kings Lynn Ironwolf 77-65, and he is joined in the Kingston side by Brian Moore who helped us lift the Cup in December 2005. The competition is open to local league teams, and Wildcats will be playing in their third straight final having lost to the Lithuanians in 2008.. The final game of a long day sees the Division Three Play-off final as London United – Richmond College meet Eastside Eagles London. The game pits the top two sides in the southern section of the third division, with Eagles having won the title with an 18-2 record while United finished runners-up with 16 wins from 20 games. The former Leopard in this game is Errol Seaman who spent two years with the Big Cats, although another former Leopard, Steve Ogunjimi looks set to miss out on the final due to a knee injury. 6
April 2010 LEOPARDS will round off the 2009/10 season at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday April 11 when they host Essex Pirates in the Essex Challenge Cup. The Big Cats will face a team who occupy 12th place in the 13-team BBL, having won seven of their 33 games in their debut season in the competition. There will be a couple of familiar faces in the Pirates line-up, with Walid Mumuni having been part of Reading Rockets’ all-conquering team last year and Taner Adu having regularly played against Leopards when he was with Manchester Magic. The last time Leopards faced a BBL team at Brentwood, they had an exciting game against Milton Keynes Lions before eventually losing, and Jon Burnell’s side will be looking to go one better this time. Tip-off at Brentwood is 4 pm, with all the usual game-day excitement, and the Big Cats look to wrap up the season with a victory. Coach Jon Burnell is hoping for a good game in what will be his last match in charge of the Leopards: “Hopefully it’ll be fun, and they’ll be a big crowd for our last game of the season” he said. “We’ll be taking it seriously, and hope to finish with a win” 3
April 2010 LEOPARDS will round off the 2009/10 season at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday April 11 when they host Essex Pirates in the Essex Challenge Cup. The Big Cats will face a team who go into Easter in 12th place in the 13-team BBL, having won seven of their 31 games in their debut season in the competition. There will be a couple of familiar faces in the Pirates line-up, with Walid Mumuni having been part of Reading Rockets’ all-conquering team last year and Taner Adu having regularly played against Leopards when he was with Manchester Magic. The last time Leopards faced a BBL team at Brentwood, they had an exciting game against Milton Keynes Lions before eventually losing, and Jon Burnell’s side will be looking to go one better this time. Tip-off at Brentwood is 4 pm, with all the usual game-day excitement, and the Big Cats look to wrap up the season with a victory. 29
March 2010 LEOPARDS have announced that head coach Jon Burnell will step down from the job at the end of the season. Burnell will coach the Big Cats for their remaining league game, at Sheffield on Easter Saturday, and the home Essex Cup game against Essex Pirates on Sunday April 11 before leaving the job after six seasons. “We’d like to thank Jon for everything he’s done for Leopards” said chairman Fred Dicker. “However, it’s become clear that we need to take Leopards in a new direction, and due to Jon having a full-time job, it’s not possible for him to continue as coach.” Burnell had coached the Ware Rebels club that was taken over by Leopards in the summer of 2004 during their final season, and has led the Big Cats throughout their six year existence. He led them to the National Cup title in 2005/6, and three semi-finals in 2009 as well as third spot in the EBL Division One. However, this season has seen the Big Cats struggle, and although they are now comfortably clear of the relegation zone, the club’s board of directors have decided that major changes have to be made. “It was a tough decision for us to replace Jon” admitted general manager Dave Ryan. “He’s been our coach for six years, and we’re all friends. “But it’s become increasingly clear that the way the club is currently recruiting players isn’t working and we have to make changes. “There will be some announcements over the next couple of weeks, and there’s a good chance that Jon will still be involved with the club. It will be an exciting time for the Leopards, and the work that Jon has put in over the years had helped us get to the point that we’re now ready to take a major step forward.” 31
March 2010 Saturday
April 3 – tip-off 6.15 pm LEOPARDS will round off their EBL Division One season with a trip to basement side Sheffield Arrows, on Saturday. Arrows go into the game bottom of the table with a 2-18 record knowing that they need to win at least one of the two home games over the weekend if they are to avoid finishing with the wooden spoon. Meanwhile, Leopards’ most disappointing season since joining Division One six years ago sees them go into the game in ninth spot with a 6-15 record, and they need to win to assure themselves of remaining in ninth. When the teams met in Brentwood in January, Leopards made hard work of it, finally picked up their fourth Division One victory of the campaign with a 76-70 victory. In front of a big crowd at Brentwood, Leopards only trailed for 34 seconds but it took until the final two minutes for them to wrap up the victory. Carl Latham-Henry again led the Big Cats' scoring, finishing with 21 points in 37 minutes, while Leigh Greenan added 17 points and six rebounds with Lukas Volskis and Ignazio De Ferrari each scoring ten points. Sebastian Chitagu led the way for Sheffield with a game-high 26 points, while Mason finished with 14 points and six boards, while Semi Eboigbe had a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double. Leopards fans can watch the action via the live stats feed. Just visit http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk/LiveGames/ 24
March 2010 Sunday
March 28 – 3.30 pm MANCHESTER Magic will look to keep their slim hopes of lifting the Division One title alive when they travel to Barking Abbey to face Leopards on Sunday afternoon. With Jeff Jones’ side currently fourth in the table with a 14-6 record, it would take collapses from all of the top three for them to capture the title they won in 2008, but Magic still need a victory to assure themselves of a top four finish and home court advantage in the play-offs. Meanwhile, Leopards are now safe from finishing in a relegation place, and go into the game occupying ninth place with a 6-14 record. They can still be pushed down to tenth spot by Coventry Crusaders, so Jon Burnell’s team will still be looking for a victory. Last week’s home loss at Brentwood saw guard Marlan Henry suffer a sprained ankle, but he is expected to be fit for their final home league game of the campaign. The Big Cats will be looking to avenge their 92-67 hammering at the Amaechi Centre – their biggest league loss of the season. It was depleted Leopards teams, even by this season’s standards, as they were forced to kit up coach Jon Burnell and assistant Graham Hiscock to reach the league minimum of eight players – and only Leigh Greenan of their regular starting line-up was in action. Laurent Irish led the Big Cats scoring with 19 points as he played all 40 minutes, with Greenan adding 18 points and ten rebounds, and Francesco Rinaldi finished with 14 points despite struggling with foul trouble. The teams also met in three semi-finals during 2009, with Magic coming out on top on each occasion. In the National Trophy, Leopards went down 89-81 in the north west, while in the play-offs they lost 92-76 on the same court. The most recent defeat in a cup game against the Magic came in December when the teams met at the Brentwood Centre in the National Cup and the visitors went home with a 77-69 victory. Latham-Henry led the Big Cats with 19 points on his return from injury, while Leigh Greenan finished with 15 points but was restricted to 24 minutes of action due to foul trouble, but the rest of the hosts' line-up failed to deliver as Jon Burnell's team lost a semi-final against Magic for the third time in 2009. With American guard Brandon Kimbrough missing a torn ACL, teenage guard Josh Houghton stepped up to lead the Magic with 19 points, including five from eight three-points. David Watts finished with a 16 point, ten rebound double-double while Stefan Gill also scored 16 points. In a game that saw nine lead changes and seven ties, the Big Cats never used their height advantage as they were out-rebounded 43-34 by a Magic team who now play in the final for the fourth straight season. The home side led 21-8 at the first break, but Magic levelled the score at 37 going into the locker room and wrapped up the win with a 26-16 final period. While Leopards lost three times in Manchester last season, the league game at Brentwood produced a thrilling 85-83 overtime win for the Big Cats. The Big Cats were 29 points clear at the midway stage of the third period, only to see Magic score 22 unanswered points, and with Manchester’s Stefan Gill scoring his side’s final seven points of regulation time, the game went into an extra period. However, five points from Hrvoje Pervan eventually proved crucial for the Leopards as they inflicted Magic’s only defeat against anyone other than all conquering champions Reading Rockets last season. 17
March 2010 Sunday
March 21 – tip-off 5.00 pm LEOPARDS will look to banish any lingering fears of relegation when they host Reading Rockets at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon. The game tips off at the slightly later time of 5pm. The Big Cats’ 86-78 victory against Coventry Crusaders at Brentwood on Sunday, together with a pair of defeats for Tees Valley Mohawks over the weekend means that Jon Burnell’s team need just one victory from their final three games to ensure a seventh straight season in the top flight of English basketball. Even if they failed to win another game it’s highly unlikely that relegation threatened Mohawks and Sheffield Arrows, will win all their remaining games, but Burnell is determined to end any doubt this weekend: “We could have won down in Reading a couple of weeks ago, but although we’ve got a small squad now, we’re gelling nicely and we’d like to end any doubts on Sunday” he said. “It’s our last league game of the season at Brentwood, and we’d like to finish with a win” Rockets Team Analyst Ben Fisher is looking forward to matching up with long-term rivals Leopards again: “They have had many personnel changes this season but now seem to have a settled core of seven players. Despite some of their recent results they are causing teams a lot of problems and are a team fighting for their lives. “In my opinion they possess one of the best guards in the league in Carl Latham-Henry and we know he will be at the forefront of their attack when game time comes on Sunday. Having beaten them last month I feel gives us a slight edge but I know coach (Jon) Burnell will have them fired up to play us!” When the sides met in Maidenhead at the end of February, a good performance could not prevent Leopards slipping to a 97-91 defeat. Carl Latham-Henry again led Leopards with 26 points, five assists and three steals, and all five of the visitors’ starters finished in double figures. Lukas Volskis finished with 17 points, Leigh Greenan 14 despite fouling out in the fourth period, Marlan Henry 13 and Sam Richardson 12. The game was won on the boards, with Reading out-rebounding the visitors 45-22. Kenny Saunders was the top scorer in the game with 30 points, with Ryan Lohfink adding 19, Robbie Parker 16 and Jon May 13. A 9-2 run from the visitors put them 79-78 up going into the final four minutes. That Greenan basket proved to be his penultimate play of the game as he fouled out and coach Jon Burnell also collected a technical foul straight afterwards. Rockets hit only one of the four foul shots to level the game at 79 and Henry hit a jumper to put Leopards back up by two. An 8-2 Reading run saw them regain the initiative, and with back-up centre Mike Holbrook joining Greenan, Leopards never led again as the home side wrapped up the win from the foul line. The teams also met twice in the National Trophy this season, with the home side winning on each occasion. Twenty-one Latham-Henry points helped the Big Cats win 56-45 in October, but an 80-66 loss at Rivermead three weeks later proved key as Leopards failed to make it through to the knockout stage. In the first game, a defensive slog saw Leopards take an 11-10 lead through a Ronnie Baker free-throw with 2:39 remaining in the first period and never trailed again. They reached the first period 18-14 ahead and extended that lead to 35-25 at half-time. That lead was trimmed to 46-37 at the final break and with Rockets held to eight fourth period points, Leopards held on for only their win against Reading in 19 attempts. The return proved to be the Ryan Lohfink show as the Reading big-man poured in 37 points in a win which proved crucial as holders Rockets went on to win the group and get home court advantage in the quarter-finals. Leopards led 24-17 at the first break, but that was as good as it got for the visitors as Rockets narrowed the lead to 37-34 at half-time before taking control with a 21-7 third period. Rockets wrapped up the win with a 25-22 final quarter and their 25-point victory against Mets in the final group game saw them top the qualifying table. 13
March 2010 SUNDAY’s Barking Abbey v Birmingham A’s Women’s Division One game at Brentwood has been cancelled after the visitors conceded the match. Leopards had put a considerable amount of work into promoting what would have been the first senior women’s game at Brentwood, and it’s disappointing that for the second weekend theA’s have pulled out of an away fixture – noticeably they managed to play a home game between those two away matches. The Big Cats’ vital game against Coventry Crusaders tips off at 4 pm on Sunday. 10
March 2010 Sunday
March 14 – tip-off 4.00 pm LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell has described the Big Cats home game against Coventry Crusaders as the most important of the season. Burnell’s team host Crusaders at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon (4pm) knowing that a victory will massively improve their chances of avoiding relegation from EBL Division One. Crusaders’ win against basement side Sheffield Arrows on Saturday saw them move level with Leopards in ninth place, with both teams having won five of their 17 games, and Burnell knows the importance of this week’s game: “It’s vital we get the win” he said. “We’ve struggled to close games out in the last couple of weeks – we could have won any of those three games, but we’ve come up just short. “We short on numbers, and that clearly showed on Sunday, but there’s no point looking for excuses, we need to get the victory – it’s our most important game of the season.” When the teams met in the midlands just before Christmas found overtime a step too far as they went down 101-92, having let a late lead slip away. Carl Latham-Henry poured in 36 points for the seven-man Big Cats who were forced to kit up assistant coach Graham Hiscock on his 47th birthday, with Leigh Greenan adding 17 and Sam Richardson 11. Crusaders scored the first 15 points of the game, but the visitors got going after that, fighting back to only trail 23-20 at the first break and going into half-time 47-44 ahead. An 8-0 run, which saw Marlan Henry hit six points to put the Leopards 59-50 ahead, but Crusaders battled back, and the teams went into the final 23 seconds tied at 83. Crusaders looked likely to have the final shot, but a good stop saw Leopards have the ball with 12 seconds on the clock - however a disjointed play saw them fail to get the shot off on time and the game entered the extra period. Greenan scored his first field goal since midway through the third period to open overtime, but the theory that the first team to score in added time wins the game proved to be false as Ryann Samuel and Edden helped Crusaders to a 92-87 lead with two minutes left. Richardson gave the Big Cats hope, but Olinger hit a pair of free-throws and Taylor hit a jump shot to make it a seven point game, before Latham-Henry it his 35th and 36th points from the foul line. His effort proved in vain, though, and Coventry sealed their second league victory of the season win from the charity stripe. Edden led Coventry with 23 points, with Stephen Danso hitting 21 and John Olinger 17. A double-digit victory for Leopards this weekend would give them the head-to-head decider between the two teams, but regardless of the margin a win would see them put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three. The Big Cats will hope that leading scorer Carl Latham-Henry is fit to return for the weekend’s action having missed last week’s defeat against Bristol due to illness. 3
March 2010 LEOPARDS will be looking to put their relegation fears behind them when they entertain Bristol Academy Flyers at Barking Abbey on Sunday. It will be the fourth home game that the Big Cats have staged at the east London venue this season, and they have a perfect record so far. Once again the Leopards are offering free admission to the game. Flyers go into the game in fifth place with a 10-5 record, and are one of four sides locked on five defeats in an extremely tight Division One table. Meanwhile Leopards’ fears of the drop intensified with a pair of defeats over the weekend, and they remain in ninth spot with a five wins from 14 games. But there were signs that Jon Burnell’s team have turned the corner.The Big Cats went down 96-91 at fellow strugglers Tees Valley Mohawks on Saturday and 97-91 at Reading the following day, but had chances to win both games and now appear to be pulling together as a team. “I think we’re playing better together than in recent weeks” said Burnell. “We’re desperately short of numbers, but there’s nothing we can do about that, and we have to buckle down and get on with it. With a little bit more luck, or a couple of different decisions down the stretch, we could have won both games over the weekend. If we continue to play like that, we’ll be okay.” Burnell’s team will look to repeat their 90-85 win when the sides met at Filton College in December. It was big men Leigh Greenan and Ignazio De Ferrari who did most of the damage for a short-handed Leopards, finishing with 28 and 27 points respectively, while Ronnie Baker led the team superbly and finished with 17 points. The Big Cats were 29-24 ahead at the first break, but Flyers narrowly won the next two period to trail only 68-66 going into the fourth quarter. It was a fine point game in Leopards’ favour going into the final two minutes and Chris Michaelides stayed cool at the line to hit three of four foul shots as Leopards’ lead grew to eight in the final minute, but McLaughlin-Williams – who led the Flyers with 27 points - drained a three before Greenan was harshly called for a foul after an apparently clean block to send the big American to the line for three foul shots. He missed the first, but hit the second two to make it a three point game with 21 seconds remaining. Baker was called for a travel as Leopards inbounded the ball after a time-out, but Leopards got a stop, and England’s most capped player iced the win from the line to give the Big Cats what remains their only away league win of the campaign. Greg Streete added 18 points for Flyers with Arek Makowski finishing on 11. When the sides met at Leopards' Brentwood Centre home last season, the game made history as the game started in 2008, but finished in Bristol the following year! With the visitors leading 92-86 and 24 second remaining, the game was delayed for 30 minutes after the home point guard Carl Latham-Henry collided with Flyers guard Greg Streete and suffered a neck injury. With the player unable to be moved and the ambulance taking over 25 minutes to arrive, the referees called a halt to proceedings. Latham-Henry was taken to a Romford hospital and was released after treatment for damaged ligaments in his neck. Leopards agreed to play the remaining 24 seconds when the sides met at Bristol in the National Trophy in January. With Flyers leading by six points and in possession of the ball at the re-start, it was always going to be hard for Leopards to win. A quick foul sent Streete to the line and one point added to the score. Gareth Laws hit back with a three-pointer, and the Big Cats again sent the Flyers to the line with captain Gareth Till sinking one of two free-throws. A Lukas Volskis three rimmed out and Rob Loftman also scored one of two free-throws to seal the win for the Flyers. In the original game, Flyers had looked to be heading for a comfortable win as they led 90-77 with 80 seconds remaining, but a pair of three pointers from Gareth Laws and one from Hrvoje Pervan took the score to 92-86 before the game came to a premature end. Pervan and Latham-Henry had led the scoring for the Big Cats with 26 points apiece, while Laws added 14. After a quick break, the teams returned to the court for a decisive Trophy game and it was Leopards who progressed to the quarter-finals with a 73-63 victory, thanks mainly to a 27 point haul from Croatian forward Hrvoje Pervan. Russell Jordan added 17 and Carl Latham-Henry 12 for the visitors, while Flyers were led by 20 from Tyrone Treasure, 15 from Gareth Till and 13 from Greg Streete. When Leopards and Flyers met in the Trophy at Brentwood earlier that season, things were considerably calmer than the subsequent league game. Thirty-five Pervan points helped Leopards record a comfortable 96-81 victory in a game that they never looked back in after going into the first break with a 29-16 lead. Brody Bishop led the Flyers with 24 points. 24
February 2010 SUNDAY'S game is being played at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, and the directions are as follows: Leave M4 at Junction 8 / 9. Take the exit A 308M towards Maidenhead. At the roundabout in approx half a mile, turn left on A 308 towards Town Centre. Straight under the railway bridge , pass the “3”' building and after two sets of lights stay in the right hand lane and take the A4 signposted Slough and Leisure Complex. In 400m straight on at next roundabout and immediately into the Magnet Leisure Centre. The postcode is SL6 8AW 24
February 2010 LEOPARDS will aim for a quick-fire double when they travel to Tees Valley Mohawks for a key EBL Division One game on Saturday. Mohawks went down 101-94 at Barking Abbey against the Big Cats on Sunday, and although the north east side won at London Mets the previous day, they are still deep in the relegation dogfight. Paul Douglas’ team are now joint bottom with Sheffield Arrows. Both teams have a 2-12 record, but Arrows have the head-to-head decider if the teams finish level. That Leopards victory improved their record to 5-19 and eased their relegation fears, but coach Jon Burnell in still looking for a win in Middlesbrough on Saturday: “It’s a important game for us” he said. “A victory up there would put us four wins ahead of the Mohawks, and we’d have the head-to-head decider – that should be enough to finish above them. “We’re not out of the play-off race, but at the moment we’re concentrating on staying in this division.” In that game last Sunday, Carl Latham-Henry led the Big Cats’ scoring for the 17th time this season, finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals before fouling out late in the game. Marlan Henry added 21 points and Lukas Volskis 20 as Leopards’ back-court did most of the damage, and the hosts’ three-point shooting proved key as they hit 12 of their 22 attempts from downtown. Mohawks’ new American Nathan Connolly led the Middlesbrough side with 37 points, including 15 of his free-throws, while Great Britain international Steve Leven hit 20 before missing most of the second half with an ankle injury. The Big Cats led for almost all of the game, but didn’t manage to seal the win until the final minute. Connolly marked his first weekend in the Mohawks’ vest with a total of 62 points, but they will be waiting anxiously on the fitness of Leven, who could barely walk after the game. “The big guy [Leopards’ Leigh Greenan] landed on it as we both came down” said Leven after the game. “I think it’s going to need an MRI on it tomorrow.” Leopards led 33-21 at the first break, but were pegged back to 56-49 at half-time before the teams shared 52 third period points. Jon Burnell’s team have struggled to kill off teams this season, and they again allowed Mohawks back into the game as the visitors – even without the impressive Leven – hit the first five points of the period before Volskis broke a three minute scoring drought with a three-pointer. 24
February 2010 DIVISION One basketball comes to Maidenhead for the first time on Sunday when Reading Rockets host Leopards. It will be the second attempt at playing the game as the original game was postponed due to heavy snow. Reading’s win against Taunton on Sunday saw them move up to six spot in the table with an 8-6 record, while the Big Cats eased their relegation worries with a home victory against Tees Valley Mohawks and go into the weekend with five wins from 14 games. Rockets’ coach Matt Johnson is pleased with his team’s current form, which has seen them steadily move up the table: “'These past few weeks have certainly been a challenge for our team and I am certain that we are beginning to see ourselves as a genuine contender for late season honours. Last weekend's 'home' game was a real measure for us at Taunton. The last time we played them we were trailing 24-8 at the end of the first quarter and only just managed to eek out a win! This time we began to see our team expect to be better and becoming frustrated at some poor play. That’s a good sign that we are starting to turn the corner towards a team that plays every play at last!!” Team Analyst Ben Fisher is looking forward to facing the Big Cats: “It will be an interesting match-up against our old rivals the London Leopards. They have had a tough campaign so far and have had quite a few personnel changes so we are expecting a difficult game from them. “The additions of Lukas Volskis and Laurent Irish seem to have added a bit of balance to their team but we will still be fully aware of the threat Carl Latham-Henry will possess for us having led the Leopards 17 times this year. They will be coming to us off the back of a tough road trip to Middlesbrough but it is in times of adversity teams are at their most dangerous - something we will need to guard against as we continue our push up the table.” The teams have already met twice in the National Trophy this season, with the home side winning on each occasion. Twenty-one Carl Latham-Henry points helped the Big Cats win 56-45 in October, but an 80-66 loss at Rivermead three weeks later proved key as Leopards failed to make it through to the knockout stage. In the first game, a defensive slog saw Leopards take an 11-10 lead through a Ronnie Baker free-throw with 2:39 remaining in the first period, and never trailed again. They reached the first period 18-14 ahead, and extended that lead to 35-25 at half-time. That lead was trimmed to 46-37 at the final break, and with Rockets held to eight fourth period points, Leopards held on for only their win against Reading in 19 attempts. The return proved to be the Ryan Lohfink show as the Reading big-man poured in 37 points in a win which proved crucial as holders Rockets went on to win the group and get home court advantage in the quarter-finals. Leopards led 24-17 at the first break, but that was as good as it got for the visitors as Rockets narrowed the lead to 37-34 at half-time before taking control with a 21-7 third period. Rockets wrapped up the win with a 25-22 final quarter and their 25-point victory against Mets in the final group game saw them top the qualifying table. The teams have met 20 times since Leopards joined Division One, with Rockets having won 17 of those games. Sunday’s game at Maidenhead will be the sixth different venue that those games have been played at. 17
February 2010 TWO teams badly in need of a league victory meet at Barking Abbey on Sunday afternoon as Leopards host Tees Valley Mohawks. The Big Cats are ninth in the table with a 4-9 record, while Mohawks are bottom with one win from 12 games. With Leopards playing at their second venue, the Big Cats are offering free admission as they look for a large crowd at Barking Abbey. “It’s a vital game for us” said general manager Ryan, “and we need a lot of support. We hope our fans at Brentwood will come down and help us gain the win we need.” Ryan knows the importance of the game to the Big Cats: “We’re in a relegation battle, there’s no pretending otherwise. We’re not playing well, and the next two games against Mohawks are absolutely crucial. “Our destiny is in our hands as four of our remaining nine games are against the bottom three, if we can win them and pick up a couple of other victories, we could look at a play-off spot again, but at the moment the only thing that matters is staying up.” Leopards coach Jon Burnell known that, despite their league position, Tees Valley will pose a tough test for his side: “They’ve got Steve Leven lighting things up for them at the moment, and you only have to look at his numbers against Sheffield last week to see just how dangerous he is. Ike Attah and Lijah Perkins are both good British players, as well. We badly need a win, we won’t be taking them lightly, but this really is a game that we have to take something from.” As his team prepare for the second part of a weekend double in the capital, Mohawks coach Paul Douglas is ready for a tough battle on Sunday: “Even though they are on a bit of a downward slide at the moment they have players that can hurt you. I have coached Carl Latham-Henry before so I know what he is capable of and it is great seeing him develop into a player I new he was capable of being. Chris Michaeledis, and Marlan Henry are also capable of lighting up if left open. They have some great leadership with Ronnie [Baker] and this will not be an easy game by any means for either team but we feel that we can make a push for the last play off spot and I’m sure they are thinking the same so it should be an entertaining game for the fans. It will be the first time that the teams have met this season, but the Big Cats did the double over Mohawks last season, winning 87-78 on the road in November and 95-90 at home. In the north east, a strong third period performance paved the way for Leopards to continue their unbeaten start to the EBL Division One season. The visitors upped their defensive intensity in the second half, and held the home side to 11 points in third period – adding 21 of their own – and once they took the lead with two minutes of third quarter remaining they never trailed again. Hrvoje Pervan led the Leopards’ scoring for the fifth time this season with 26 points while Carl Latham-Henry and Gareth Laws each added 15. American Matt Morley led Mohawks, with Ike Attah adding 13. The Mohawks again made Leopards fight all of the way in the return at Brentwood before they wrapped up the win. Pervan led the scoring for the 12th time that season with 26 points, while Carl Latham-Henry added 21 and Russell Jordan 12. To complete a balanced afternoon’s scoring for the home side, Leigh Greenan, Lee McCarthy and Robert Gilchrist each scored ten points. Such a victory had looked unlikely in the opening stages as it took three minutes and 22 seconds for the Big Cats to get on the scoresheet, with Mohawks scoring the first seven points of the game, and the teams were level at 80 going into the final three minutes when Leopards – finally – made a run. McCarthy scored from close range before Pervan drained his sixth three-pointer of the game. Nicholson took his tally to 12, but scores from Jordan and Latham-Henry followed by a single Laws free-throw put Leopards 90-82 ahead. A pair of threes from the impressive Roberts kept Tees Valley in the game, but with the visitors having to foul to stop the clock, Leopards wrapped up their seventh league win of the season from the charity stripe. Pervan led the hosts’ scoring with 26 points, while Carl Latham-Henry added 21 and Russell Jordan 12. To complete a balanced afternoon’s scoring for the home side, Leigh Greenan, Lee McCarthy and Robert Gilchrist each scored ten points. Kenny Roberts top scored for Mohawks with 29, with Roberts finishing on 20 and former Leopard James Nicholson 14. The sides didn’t meet in the 2007/8 season, but the Big Cats did the double over Mohawks the previous year, helping send them into Division Two with a 90-71 home win and a 99-82 road victory. Mohawks’ only win against the Big Cats came in 2004/5 when they win 74-62 in the north east. Leopards gained revenge with a 75-62 home win that year, and completed the double over them the next season, winning 92-85 at home and 92-70 away. 17
February 2010 THERE'S more basketball than you can shake a stick in east London this week as Barking Abbey will become the first British club to stage a qualifying round of the Nike International Junior Tournament, starting on Thursday. The tournament will be held at Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, between February 18th and the 20th, with the winner progressing to the play in the Nike International Junior Tournament held at the same time as the Euroleague Final Four in Paris in early May. The Euroleague Junior Tournament has been running since 2003 when it was formed to provide an undisputed European champion and the finals are run alongside the prestigious Euroleague Final Four, which is the top club competition outside the NBA. The Barking Abbey event will feature eight teams, divided into two groups of four. The top two teams in each group will go into the semi-finals on the morning of Saturday February 20th, with the final later the same day. Classification games for fifth and seventh place will also take place in the final day of the tournament. Oh, and if you haven’t had enough basketball after that, Leopards host Tees Valley Mohawks at Barking Abbey on Sunday afternoon – and it’s free ! Barking are joined by Israel's most famous club Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, with the Israeli team expected to have a lot of support that the tournament. BC Khimki from Moscow along with ZZ Zadar of Croatia complete the group, with teams playing twice on the Thursday and once on the Friday. Czech Republic club, USK Future Stars Prague, along with while Union Olimpija of Slovenia - who reached last year's final round in Berlin – are in Group B and are joined by Italians Banca Sella Biella and Spanish club Gran Canaria with teams playing once on Thursday and twice the following day. The Spaniards were late entrants after Ukrainian club BC Kyiv were forced to pull out due to visa problems. Abbey Academy Director Mark Clark is excited about the tournament: "Barking Abbey is delighted to be working with the Euroleague and its partners to bring the highest level of European junior club basketball to England. Our long term ambitions have always been, and continue to be, the ability to compete with the best teams in Europe. We see this tournament as a fantastic opportunity to expose our organisation to the highest level of European basketball, in the belief that it will enable us to raise the expectations of our program from top to bottom. "We see this as a major opportunity for both Great Britain and England Basketball as we implement the Game On strategy to measure ourselves against some of Europe's best." Abbey have plenty of experience in staging international competitions, with their Interperformances Cup having started in 2005. During that period the tournament has seen a transition from an U18 boys section with just four teams to competitions in three different categories: U18 men and women, and U16 Boys. Fans at the Barking Abbey School Leisure Centre have been lucky enough to see club teams from Poland, Serbia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bosnia and England, as well as national teams from England and Bulgaria compete in competition. The full tournament schedule and details are available on the competition’s website - www.euroleaguelondon.com, and if I have time after writing reports for each game, there will be a round-up of each day’s action on gbbasketball.net. Dave Ryan. 12
February 2010 LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell is looking for a big improvement when his team host Leicester Warriors on Sunday afternoon. Burnell saw his side go down 72-68 at home against Taunton Tigers last Sunday after a first period which saw them score just two field goals, and he is looking for more consistency on Sunday: “Apart from Carl [Latham-Henry] we just aren’t consistent. We have some good players, but the problem is we just never know what they are going to bring on any given night. We’ve beaten the top two in the league at home, and also won against the National Cup winners, but we just don’t play well on a regular basis. “To give Taunton credit, they were tough and their American [Chris Page] played really well. It shows the difference one import player can make. But we are what we are, and we need to buckle down and get the wins that will take us into the play-offs.” When the teams met in November, Leopards were unable to build on a good start at Leicester as they went down to a narrow 92-85 defeat. The Big Cats held a double digit lead with three first half minutes remaining, but eventually found the hosts’ strength-in-depth too much to handle. Latham-Henry again led Leopards, finishing with 27 points, while Leigh Greenan hit 18 despite suffering from foul trouble and Ignazio De Ferrari added 15. Warriors’ overseas trio of Tyler Kathan (21), MD Janiska (20) and Joe Reynoso (15) led the home side. 12
February 2010 LEOPARDS will look to complete their first league double of the season when they make the long trip to Leeds on Saturday. The meeting at Brentwood in November saw the home team outscore Carnegie 28-12 in a strong fourth period to set up for their first league victory of the season. Carl Latham-Henry led the Leopards' scoring for the seventh time this season with 22 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Ignazio De Ferrari added 13 points and an impressive seven blocks, while Marlan Henry finished with 11 points and Leigh Greenan had a ten point, 15 rebound double-double. Leeds' Adrian Fenyn led all scorers with 24 points and 14 rebounds, but fellow American Mike Medved was the only other Carnegie player in double figures with 19. The Big Cats took advantage of some poor free-throw shooting from the visitors, hitting 13 of their 14 foul shots in comparison to Leeds' 10 from 28, while Carnegie also failed to hit a three pointer, missing on all 14 occasions. Despite that win for Jon Burnell’s team, the clubs are at opposite ends of the table. Leeds’ heavy loss at London Mets last week saw them drop down to second with a 10-3 record, while Leopards’ home defeat against Taunton Tigers means they are ninth with four wins from 11 games. Leeds coach Matt Newby commenting on the Leopards was not short of compliments for the opposition “We have to recognise that as full compliment they are one of the biggest challenges in this division, they are capable of matching up with all the front runners. We need to respect this fact and deliver our own brand of basketball at our own tempo, the several losses we have picked up could have been avoided if we had showed greater maturity and discipline. “The Leopards line up brings us tough match ups with Leigh Greenan the one true 7’0” presence in the league and the versatile 6’10” Ignazio de Ferrari who has an excellent out shooting touch and with Baker and Latham Henry in the back court as well as Laurent Irish signing from London Mets this will be a titanic battle.” 1
February 2010 LEOPARDS will be looking for revenge when Taunton Tigers are the visitors to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon. Jon Burnell’s team travelled to the West Country in early November, and went down to a heavy 91-69 defeat. It wasn’t the margin of defeat which upset the visitors, it was seeing guard Carl Latham-Henry finish with the unwanted, and virtually unheard of record of fouling out with four offensive and one technical foul. “It was hard to know what to think” admitted coach Burnell. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and neither have we seen any referee since repeatedly call him for offensive fouls. “But we have to forget about that game, and concentrate on moving up the table.” Having lost at Derby last week, Tigers dropped to sixth in the table with five wins from 11 games, while Leopards remained in eighth place despite being without a league game. The Big Cats will welcome back Marlan Henry to the team after he missed the trip to Cheshire Jets at the weekend, and will also hope that player-assistant coach Ronnie Baker and forward Francesco Rinaldi are fit enough to play some part in the game. A specialist has confirmed that Sam Richardson will not need surgery on his broken thumb, but he is still expected to be out of action until late February. Leopards found full-time professionals Cheshire Jets too strong on Sunday as they went out of the BBL Trophy with a 99-57 defeat. With only seven fit players, the visitors never got going – and Jets were always in control after scoring the first nine points of the game. The hosts led 27-17 at the first break, and dominated the second period as they outscored Leopards 28-9 and take an almost unassailable 54-26 half-time lead. With Carl Latham-Henry leading the way with 15 points, three assists and as many steals in 38 minutes of action, Leopards did a good limitation job in the third period as they stopped the home side’s scoring. But having trailed 75-43 at the final break, the short-handed visitors noticeably tired in the fourth period and were outscored 24-14. Laurent Irish and Ignazio De Ferrari each scored 11 points for the Big Cats, while Leigh Greenan added ten points and eight rebounds as he played for all of the game bar the final 15 seconds. 25
January 2010 LEOPARDS face arguably their biggest test of the season on Sunday when they travel to Chester to face the Cheshire Jets in the BBL Trophy. The game was originally scheduled to take place at Brentwood a fortnight ago, but with Jets reaching the BBL Cup final it was rescheduled, and with no available dates at the Brentwood Centre it was switched to the Northgate Arena. Leopards’ coach Jon Burnell admits that he’s disappointed with the change of venue: “It would have been nice to get them down to Brentwood, and would definitely have improved our chance of springing a surprise. But if we have to go up there, so be it. We’ll still be up for the game and try to put in a decent performance." “We need to go after Jets, and try to press them. They have a lot of very experienced players, but we need to make use of our energy and depth. I’ll be looking at some tape of them this week, and I’ll be speaking to a couple of coaches, as well. It’s still a big ask for us to win up there, though.” Burnell is excited about the game: “I’m looking forward to it, though having spent last weekend either in bed or in the toilet, I’m just looking forward to a game of basketball” he joked about missing last week’s win against Sheffield Arrows due to illness. “It’s always nice to go up against a top team, and we still have aspirations to join the BBL at some point. They’re doing well in the league, and without a doubt they are one of the best teams in the country.” Jets go into the game occupying fifth spot in the BBL after Sunday’s 97-74 home hammering of Guildford Heat. The current Leopards are still looking for their first ever BBL Trophy victory, with Sunday’s game due to be their eighth game in the competition since reforming in 2004. The winner of the tie faces a midweek trip to Guildford Heat in the quarter-final. The old Leopards last met Jets in the 2002/3 season, with the Jets running out winners in all four BBL Championship games. The sides also met in the 2001/2 BBL Trophy, with Jets winning 98-87 in the pool stage before the teams met again in the semi-final stage with Leopards again going down, 92-83 at Coventry. However, probably the most important game between the old Leopards and Jets came at Wembley in the 1997 play-off semi-finals as the Big Cats won a 102-101 overtime thriller. 19
January 2010 LEOPARDS have strengthened their squad ahead of the January 31 signing deadline by adding Lukas Volskis to their team. The 20-year-old Lithuanian is a product of the Barking Abbey academy and has lived in England for over ten years now, and was an important part of the Big Cats’ squad in both 2007/08 and 2008/09. He looked set to go to high school in USA after Christmas so Leopards decided not to sign him this season (EU players cost 10 times the cost of British players to register), so he spent the first half of the season playing with Barking Abbey’s team in Division Four. However, with his move to the States falling through, he has now returned to the Leopards. He played in last Friday’s defeat against Milton Keynes Lions, and virtually sealed a place in the Big Cats squad by hitting four straight three-pointers on the way to a 17 point haul. “It’s good to have Lukas back” said general manager Dave Ryan. “We would have signed him at the start of the season if we’d known he’d be in England for the whole season, but with the prohibitive cost of signing EU players we decided against it. “However we are a bit light at the point guard spot; Ronnie Baker is still struggling with a virus, and Carl Latham-Henry is doing really well as a shooting guard. So getting Lukas back will really help us as we push for a good play-off spot.” With the recent acquisition of Laurent Irish and Mike Holbrook, the Leopards roster is back up to 12 men, with no further signings planned. 18
January 2010 “The season starts here!”. That’s the message from Leopards Jon Burnell coach as the Big Cats prepare to host Sheffield Arrows on Sunday afternoon. The action at the Brentwood Centre starts at 4 pm on Sunday, and Burnell is looking for his team to put a run together and move up the EBL Division One table. “We’ve got eight home games left, and I expect us to win at least six of them” he said. “We’ve already beaten two of the top three at home, so that’s a realistic target, and I’m hopeful that we can pick up at least a couple of wins on the road. “It would take a lot to get home court advantage in the play-offs, but a top half finish is a realistic aim – and given the injury and availability problems we’ve had this season, that would be a genuine achievement.” Leopards will face an Arrows team who are still second from bottom in the table despite beating London Mets on Sunday. In common with the Big Cats, they have seen major roster changes this season, and are fielding an all-EU line-up. Burnell will be hoping to welcome back the five players who missed Saturday’s trip to Manchester, and the Leopards are hoping to add point guard Lukas Volskis to their squad this week. Leopards have won only four of their 14 meetings with the Arrows since joining Division One in 2004, although nine of those games have taken place in Sheffield. Last season followed a similar pattern, with an 89-84 home win but a 86-81 away defeat for the Big Cats. The Big Cats survived a second half fight-back from Sheffield to remain unbeaten in EBL Division One when they defeated them 89-84 at Wodson Park 13 months ago. Jon Burnell’s team were ahead by 14 at half-time, but only scored 12 points in the third period as fourth placed Arrows held them scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter. Carl McNally marked his home debut by leading the Big Cats’ scoring with 27, with Gareth Laws (17), Carl Latham-Henry (13) and Lukas Volskis all finished in double figures. Sheffield’s American duo dominated their scoring against a Leopards team still missing Hrvoje Pervan and Robert Gilchrist, with Doug McLaughlin-Williams scoring 30 and Tyler Ousley 22. Ousley scored five points to help Arrows to their first lead since the opening quarter, 81-80 with two minutes remaining but a time-out from Burnell stopped the rot, and after NcNally had missed a pair of free-throws, he grabbed the rebound and scored from close range to make the score 82-81. McLaughlin-Williams levelled the score going into the final minute with a single free-throw before Laws restored Leopards lead with a jump shot. As Arrows were forced to foul to stop the close, Latham-Henry scored three from foul free-throws, before Laws iced the win with another pair from the charity stripe to give Leopards the win. In the return, Leopards’ nine game winning streak in Division One came to an end as they were made to pay for a poor second period, going down 86-81. A Leopards team missing point guard Carl Latham-Henry with an ankle injury were outscored 28-17 by the Arrows in the second quarter, and despite a balanced scoring effort with five players in double figures, the never managed to lead after the first period. Hrvoje Pervan led the scoring for the visitors with 18 points, while Gareth Laws added 16 and Ronnie Baker 15. Lee McCarthy and Russell Jordan both finished with double-doubles, with the former hitting 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, while Jordan had ten in each category. Carl Pearson, who is now with Division One rivals Leicester Warriors, led the home side with 24 point while Ousley added 23. 16
January 2010 IT will be a depleted Leopards side that travels to Division One leaders Manchester Magic on Saturday evening. The Big Cats look set to be without four of their regular starters, with Ronnie Baker and Iggy De Ferrari both ill, Carl Latham-Henry suspended and Marlan Henry unavailable. While Magic go into the game with seven wins from their opening eight games, Leopards are currently outside the play-off zone – occupying ninth place with a 3-5 record. The two sides met in the semi-finals of all three knockout competitions in 2009, with Magic completing a sweep of victories. The most recent meeting came in December with Magic reaching the National Cup final with a 77-69 away victory. With American guard Brandon Kimbrough missing a torn ACL, teenage guard Josh Houghton stepped up to lead the Magic with 19 points, including five from eight three-points. David Watts finished with a 16 point, ten rebound double-double while Stefan Gill also scored 16 points. Latham-Henry led the Big Cats with 19 points on his return from injury, while Leigh Greenan finished with 15 points but was restricted to 24 minutes of action due to foul trouble, but the rest of the hosts' line-up failed to deliver as Jon Burnell's team lost a semi-final against Magic for the third time in 2009. In a game that saw nine lead changes and seven ties, the Big Cats never used their height advantage as they were out-rebounded 43-34 by a Magic team who now play in the final for the fourth straight season. The home side led 21-8 at the first break, but Magic levelled the score at 37 going into the locker room and wrapped up the win with a 26-16 final period. Leopards coach Jon Burnell is keen to make amends for that loss against Manchester in the Cup: “We’re still disappointed that we lost that game, as we know we can compete with them. They are probably the best team in the league, and although having [Brandon] Kimbrough out hurts them, they’re always tough wherever you play them. “They don’t appear to have changed their side over Christmas, and we need to get our league campaign back on track.” 14
January 2010 LEOPARDS will launch their new teal kit when they face Marshall MK Lions at the Brentwood Centre on Friday evening. The kit has been supplied by Kukri Sports, who also supply Scottish Rocks, London Capital and the recent celebrity basketball held in association with the Big Cats at The Brentwood Centre where pop stars JLS wowed the fans who came in their hundreds to the fantastic event. “I have been a fan of Leopards for more years than I care to remember and during these years, Kukri Sports have provided bespoke kit in over 55 sports across the Globe” said Kukri director Carl Bailey. “From International rugby union, netball (England and Australia are just two of the national teams that wear Kukri), football, cricket, hockey, lacrosse just to name a selection. “I'm personally very proud of what Kukri has achieved in the World of sportswear and proud that I can now do my small bit for our team, Leopards, by providing the teams kit. “Leopards are a fantastic team, a growing part in the Essex community, let's all do our bit and support our team. “Kukri Sports wish the best of luck to the players and staff of London Leopards for the remainder of the season and for the seasons to follow.” The original Leopards played in teal throughout their nine-year existence and club chairman Fred Dicker is pleased to see the new Big Cats restarting the tradition: “It’ll be great to see us out there in teal again, and we’d like to thank Kukri for making it possible.” Friday’s game at Brentwood tips off at 8 pm, and Leopards are also in action at Brentwood on Sunday, January 24 when Sheffield Arrows are the visitors, tip-off 4 pm. 14
January 2010 LEOPARDS have added to their squad with the signing of English forward Laurent Irish ahead of Friday’s home game against Marshall MK Lions. It will be 31-year-old’s second spell with the Leopards having joined them in November 2004 before leaving 12 months later. The 6’ 7” east London-based player subsequently played for London United in their single season in the BBL as well as having spells in Italy with Maccabi Ripalimosani and with Division Two side Hackney White Heat. This season has seen him playing for Division One rivals London Mets where he has been player-assistant coach, helping the Mets win three of their four meetings with the Leopards. Coach Jon Burnell is delighted with his new signing: “It’s the spot we’ve been looking to fill, and we thought we’d have to sign an American to strengthen our squad there. So to sign Laurent is a real boost. “He can play at either forward position, and he’s been a good addition as he’s athletic and can play on the outside. He’s played for us before, so we know what we’re getting, and I’m pleased that we’ve signed him.” Irish will make his second Leopards debut in Friday’s game against Lions – who he played for prior to joining Leopards - and he will be joined by another new signing, 19-year-old Mike Holbrook. The former Barking Abbey forward joins the Big Cats after graduating from the east London school, and will give further depth to Burnell’s squad as they look to move up the Division One table. 12
January 2010 LEOPARDS will look to open their 2010 campaign with victories in two key games over the weekend. The Big Cats saw their trip to Reading Rockets postponed on Saturday due to road conditions, and Jon Burnell’s team will now host Marshall MK Lions at the Brentwood Centre in the Kerland Pitman Cup on Friday evening before visiting Manchester Magic in Division One on Saturday. Lions will arrive at the Brentwood Centre as one of the top teams in the BBL – the country’s professional league. They are third in the table with 11 wins from 16 games, and also reached the semi-finals of the BBL Cup. It will be the third meeting between the teams since Leopards reformed six years ago – with Lions having won both BBL Trophy encounters. They followed up a 107-80 win at Wodson Park in the 2005/6 season with an 88-73 success at the same venue in 2006/07. Lions also defeated the Big Cats in a pre-season game in 2007, but Leopards did gain a measure of revenge in this season’s National Cup when they won 70-53 against Lions’ second team. The action at Brentwood starts at 8 pm, and coach Burnell is looking forward to the challenge: “It’s always nice to go up against a top team, and we still have aspirations to join the BBL at some point. They’re doing well in the league, and without a doubt they are one of the best teams in the country. It’ll be a good challenge for us. Size-wise we can compete with the BBL teams when we have our strongest unit out, and in EJ Harrison they have a player that we have faced on many occasions.” As well as Harrison, there will be two other players that Leopards’ fans are very familiar with. Robert Youngblood captained the original Leopards to the BBL title in 1997 and 1998 as well as the National Cup in 1997, while Yorick Williams played for the Big Cats in their final season in the BBL. 9
January 2010 We'd like to thank Gary Johnson at Rockets for his help with the matter. The Big Cats return to Brentwood on Friday evening when Marshall MK Lions are the visitors, tip-off 8 pm. 6
January 2010 LEOPARDS will look to move up the EBL Division One table when they travel to champions Reading Rockets on Saturday evening. The pre-Christmas defeat at Coventry Crusaders means that the Big Cats go into the New Year in ninth place with three wins from eight games. Rockets have also made a quiet start to the season, and are one spot ahead of the Leopards with three wins and as many defeats. The teams have already met twice in the National Trophy this season, with the home side winning on each occasion. Twenty-one Carl Latham-Henry points helped the Big Cats win 56-45 in October, but an 80-66 loss at Rivermead three weeks later proved key as Leopards failed to make it through to the knockout stage. The visitors will be without Latham-Henry for the trip to Reading after their top scorer was hit with a one-match ban for comments made to the referee after the National Cup semi-final exit against Manchester Magic. The English point guard was reported to England Basketball for his comments, but general manager Dave Ryan was disappointed with the ban: “I think it’s harsh, especially as Carl’s never had any dealings with the disciplinary board before, but we have to get on with it. I think the referee needs to be more consistent. She also refereed us in quarter-final, and far worse went on in that game without any action being taken.” Leopards return to Brentwood on Friday January 15 when BBL side Marshall MK Lions are the visitors, tip-off 8 pm. 20
December 2009 LEOPARDS' home game against Cheshire Jets on Friday January 15 has now been replaced by an EBL/BBL challenge game against Marshall MK Lions, due to the Jets' involvement in the BBL Cup final that weekend. Tip-off remains at 8pm, and there will be some extra special events during the evening. The Big Cats will now visit Jets on Sunday January 31. 7
December 2009 LEOPARDS will be hoping it’s third time lucky when they host Manchester Magic in the National Cup semi-final on Sunday. The Big Cats travelled to Manchester in both play-off and National Trophy semi-finals last season, and lost on each occasion – but with home court advantage this time, Jon Burnell’s team will aim to move into their second Cup final in five years. The action at the Brentwood Centre starts at 4 pm, and Leopards will face a team who are top of Division One and have won their first 13 games in all competitions. Leopards coach Jon Burnell knows the size of the task facing his team: “It’s a different scenario to when we travelled to Bristol on Saturday, but once again we are going to need to work hard and stick together as a team.” “They’re the best team in the league, but we know where their threats come from. They’ve added last season’s MVP in David Watts and he’ll be a tough match-up for us. We know all about [Stefan] Gill, he can easily score 30 or 40 on any given night, while [Brandon] Kimbrough is probably the best American in the league. “They are deep, and well coached, with lots of different options to go it. It will be tough, but we’re going in with the belief that we can win it.” Burnell isn’t thinking ahead to the final, which takes place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on January 31: “I’m trying not to think about the final for my own sanity. But we’ve been there before, and as that was the highlight of my coaching career, I’d love to do it again. But at the moment, our final is on Sunday against Manchester. “If we have everyone fit we’re a good unit, with great team spirit.” While Leopards lost three times in Manchester last season, the league game at Brentwood produced a thrilling 85-83 overtime win for the Big Cats. The Big Cats were 29 points clear at the midway stage of the third period, only to see Magic score 22 unanswered points, and with Manchester’s Stefan Gill scoring his side’s final seven points of regulation time, the game went into an extra period. However, five points from Hrvoje Pervan eventually proved crucial for the Leopards as they inflicted Magic’s only defeat against anyone other than all conquering champions Reading Rockets last season. 6
December 2009 LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell classed the 90-85 victory at second placed Bristol Academy Flyers as one of the best results since the club was formed in 2004. “Bearing in mind the problems we had with two starters missing, and losing Marlan with an injury, that’s possibly the best road win we’ve had since I’ve been coaching” he said. The Big Cats were without Carl Latham-Henry and Francesco Rinaldi as well as losing guard Marlan Henry through injury midway through the third period, and Burnell was delighted with the win: “We were up against it with only seven players, and I think anyone from outside the team who knew the situation would’ve expected us to lose. Bristol are a deep team with plenty of players, and they’re well organised and coached. But we knew from early in the week that we’d be going down there short-handed, and we did a first class job. “We stuck to our game plan, we went hard on the inside and then stretched them by going outside. The big guys won it with 55 points between them, but the whole team played hard and were focused. They all did what they were supposed to and we shot the ball well. “Chris’ [Michaelides] defence was exceptional, but the whole team worked hard and executed well.” 3
December 2009 Saturday
5 December – Tip-off 7.00 pm TWO sides who reached the National Cup semi-final last week meet in the West Country on Saturday when Bristol Academy Flyers host Leopards in Division One action. The home side had made the better start to the season, winning their National Trophy group and currently sharing second place in the league with Leeds Carnegie after four wins in their first five games. Meanwhile Leopards have struggled on the road, losing all five of their away games against top flight opposition. They are currently ninth in the table with a 2-4 record, but are still in with a chance of qualifying for the Trophy quarter-finals. Flyers completed a weekend double last week with a come-from-behind victory at London Mets in the league and a four point success at Reading Rockets which saw the National Cup holders knocked out of the competition. The Big Cats also progressed to the semi-finals of the Cup, hammering high-flying second division side Brixton Topcats 95-73. Bristol coach Andrea Kapoulas was a happy man after those victories: “We talked a lot this past week about toughness and execution. The team responded really well to both games. Even though things did not always go well, the guys stuck together and kept on playing. “I was really pleased with our fourth period performances in both games. Both oppositions played really well against us however we remained concentrated and stepped up at the right moment. “It’s a great achievement for our club and Bristol basketball to reach the National Cup semi and now we have a great opportunity to get to the final as the draw has given us a home game versus Derby on the 13th December. We look forward to the game but we still need to remain concentrated to the two league games ahead. This week our focus will be on the home game versus London Leopards." Kapoulas is ready for the test that Leopards will pose: “Leopards have not had the best of starts but under the guidance of Jon Burnell and Ronnie Baker they have been improving every game. They are coming from two consecutive wins so they will definitely be more confident playing together. I think the tempo of the game will be really important and the team that controls that best will have a good chance to secure a valuable win.” With Leopards still likely to be without guard Carl Latham-Henry who injured himself in the win against Derby a fortnight ago, coach Jon Burnell is expecting a tough game in Bristol: “They’ve got a good programme, everything they do is professional and they’ve got two Americans – which is more than most teams in this league.” Burnell singles out American forward Douglas McLaughlan-Williams for attention: “He put up some good numbers for a final four team last season, and was one of the top players in the league last year. I’d be more than happy to have him on our team at the moment.” 1
December 2009 LEOPARDS' EBL Division One fixture at Derby Trailblazers on Saturday December 12 has been postponed. Both sides are in National Cup semi-final action the following day, with the Big Cats hosting Manchester Magic at Brentwood and Trailblazers travelling to Bristol Academy Flyers, and under England Basketball rules Leopards have asked for a postponement. Jon Burnell's team will now travel to Derby on a date to be arranged after Christmas. 30
November 2009 LEOPARDS will be looking for revenge after being paired with Manchester Magic in the National Cup semi-final. The Big Cats lost to Jeff Jones’ team in the final four of both the National Trophy and play-off final last season, but with home court advantage this time, they’ll be looking to reach the final for the second time since reforming in 2004 and the fourth time over all. Magic have reached the final in each of the last three seasons, beating Worthing Thunder in 2007 and 2008 before losing to Reading Rockets last season. The semi-final will take place at Brentwood on Sunday December 13, tip-off 4 pm. 30
November 2009 BRIXTON Topcats coach Andy Powlesland had praise for Leopards’ veteran point guard Ronnie Baker after the Big Cats knocked his side out of the National Cup, on Sunday. “Today we totally lost the battle of the boards, and I thought Ronnie Baker was magnificent for the Leopards” he said after the 95-73 Leopards victory. “ We only shot 36% from the field which is just not good enough to compete at this level. “We dropped one in the league on Saturday and we are now out of the cup. We have not played at all well this weekend, and I think both the coaching staff and the players as individuals will need to analyse what went so wrong in these two games. “ 30
November 2009 LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell was a happy man after his team reached the National Cup semi-final with a 95-73 victory against Brixton Topcats. “They’re a league below us, but they’re a good team and very athletic” he said. “They set out their stall, and aimed to intimidate us – and perhaps they over concentrated on the physical side. But we were very professional, we took the whacks and pointed at the scoreboard. On the day we were the better team, and deserved the win. We hit the big shots, and when they put a run together, we nailed them down and responded well.” The Big Cats coach had praise for his players: “For all the times I’ve criticised Chris [Michaelides] he was good yesterday. He did what we need him to do, he knocked some shots down and finished with 12 points in under 19 minutes. “Iggy [De Ferrari] had a good game, and Leigh [Greenan] was exceptional again, we simply destroyed them on the boards. We have a nice group of players. They played well and they played for each other. Even having Carl [Latham-Henry] on the bench cheering them on was important.” Burnell is looking forward to the semi-final at Brentwood on Sunday December 13, when the Big Cats will host Manchester Magic: “We wanted a home draw, and you can’t be choosy after that. They’ll be tough, and I think it’ll be a great game. Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd at Brentwood, because the support we get really does give us a boost.” 23
November 2009 THERE is a London derby at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon as the Big Cats and the Topcats lock claws. Both clubs have impressive Cup records, with Brixton having reached the semi-final last season as a third division side before bowing out at Manchester Magic. Meanwhile, Leopards won the competition in 2005 and will be playing in their third straight quarter-final. Having reached the last four in 2008/9, Topcats received a bye in the first round of this season’s competition before hammering Southgate Academical Lions 147-36 in round two in a game where they led 69-6 at half-time. The third round saw Brixton face another capital derby when they hosted London Mets, and 24 points from point guard Paul Mundy-Castle helped them to a 90-77 victory against the Division One side. Leopards’ progress to the last eight has been relatively straightforward with three double-digit wins against lower division opposition. A 24-12 second period proved to be key as Milton Keynes Lions II were beaten 70-53 in the first round at Barking Abbey, and Leopards returned to the same court in round two and 23 points from Carl Latham-Henry helped them to a 76-57 victory against Hackney White Heat. Latham-Henry was again in top form with 36 points as Leopards won 94-74 at Brunel University against third division London Westside. The teams have never met in a competitive game before, but did play a couple of scrimmages during the final weeks of last season. Leopards’ coach Jon Burnell is expecting a tough game: “They’re clearly a good side, and I imagine they’ll get promoted. We played them in a couple of training games last season, and they are a tough team to play against. “I know Andy [Powlsland] well, and his team are well coached and able to cope with different situation. One of the reasons they’re a good team is because they have a lot of players who also play for South Bank Uni. There’s a genuine link there, and they have lots of time to get things right. “They have experience in Cherry [Mundy-Castle] and reading the scouting report we have, they’re strong inside with the eastern European, and they always good at the guard spots. “They’ll be in our faces and very athletic, but we’ve shown in the last couple of home games that when we play well, we can beat anyone, we just have to make sure we maintain that level.” Brixton coach Andy Powlesland is looking forward to Sunday’s game at Brentwood: “I am very pleased with the way the season has started and we have done well to put ourselves in a position to repeat last year’s cup run and reach the semi-final. As last year we have beaten higher league opponents and I sure nobody left in the competition will take us lightly and we are striving to go one better and reach the final this time around. “Our opponents are well known to us and I have no doubt will provide a stern test of our ability on the big stage if we are to win through to the semi-final. The key men to identify in my opinion are both veteran points guards, for us it’s Paul Mundy-Castle and its essential if we are to do well that he is firing on all cylinders, he brings us leadership, defensive intensity and a very real scoring threat. “For the Leopards its former Brixton legend Ronnie Baker, who appears to have lost none of his court savvy and control over the game and from what people tell me he still pushes the fast break pretty well. “I see from statistics Carl Latham-Henry is usually amongst the scorers and will provide us with a tough defensive assignment, and from the roster that Leopards have some size which will be a good test for Brixton’s big men Laurie Lewis and Tom Adorian. I think this draw provides us with a real chance to test ourselves against top quality opposition and I think the game will be a close and competitive occasion that will be decided on defensive match ups and who shoots the ball better on the day.” While Baker is a product of the Topcats junior programme, Mundy-Castle is a former member of the old Leopards, winning the BBL Championship with them in 1997 and 1998. 21 November 2009 Sunday November 22 –
Tip-off 5.00 pm BROTHERS Ronnie and Stedroy Baker go head-to-head at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon when Leopards host Derby Trailblazers. The 40-year-olds are triplets, with their sister completing the set, and they both bring a wealth of experience to their respective teams. Older brother Ronnie joined the Leopards in January and holds a record 149 England caps, while Stedroy is now in his third season with the Trailblazers and was capped 14 times by England. Both players also played for the original Leopards club, with Ronnie picking up BBL league and National Cup winners medals. The Bakers brothers aren’t the only players facing their former clubs. Derby’s Dave Attewell played under Bob Donewald, Chris Pullem and Mike Taylor for the old Leopards in the BBL, while fellow forward Sam Richardson joined Leopards from Trailblazers in the summer and looks set to start against his old club. Leopards coach Jon Burnell is hoping to build on last week’s victory against Leeds Carnegie: “We showed we are capable of against Leeds. We just need to do it on a consistent basis.” Both sides are also in action on Saturday, with Leopards travelling to be in Braunstone on Saturday afternoon to face Leicester Warriors, and Derby coach Clarence Wiggins says at least that makes things a little fairer. He admits to not knowing quite what to expect from the Londoners: “Leopards have been up and down a lot in the early part of the season, but they’re a very good basketball team, particularly at home. I know we have a good record down there, but this year the difficulty for us will be to combat their size. Hopefully if we can get a win on Saturday we can take the momentum down there and maybe complete a great weekend,” he said. Sunday’s game will be the conclusion of a long day for everyone involved with the Big Cats as they are staging a four-hour celebrity tournament prior to the game. Acts such as JLS, Diversity and Miss Frank are due to appear at the Brentwood Centre, and Leopards are hoping for their first ever 1,000+ crowd. 20 November 2009 Saturday November 21 –
Tip-off 3.45 pm LEICESTER Warriors and Leopards meet for the first time ever on Saturday as both teams look to build on victories last week. Warriors’ 92-89 victory at London Mets lifted them up to joint third in Division One, while the Big Cats defeated Leeds Carnegie 71-58 at the Brentwood Centre. While the two clubs have never met before, Warriors coach Karl Brown will be a familiar face for long-term fans of the Leopards. Brown played for the original Big Cats in their first two seasons, lining up alongside current Leopards assistant player-coach Ronnie Baker. Brown also played in the same England junior team as Leopards coach Jon Burnell, and coached Leicester Riders against the Big Cats in the BBL Trophy in 2006 and 2007, with the Riders winning both games. The game will see three of Division One’s leading rebounders in action. Leopards’ GB under-20 prospect Leigh Greenan is averaging 9.75 rebounds per game while Warriors’ Tyler Kathan and Joe Reynoso are each pulling down 9.6 boards each game. 11 November 2009 LEOPARDS and Leeds Carnegie meet for the first time ever on Sunday as both teams look to improve on mixed starts to the season. The game tips off at 4 pm at the Brentwood Centre, with tickets available on the day. The Big Cats have lost their opening three league games to find themselves in unfamiliar territory at the foot of the Division One table, but have progressed to the quarter-finals of the National Cup still have an interest in the National Trophy. In contrast, Carnegie have picked up victories in both of their opening Division One games and are through to the last eight of the Trophy, but suffered a surprise loss in the National Cup second round when they went out of the competition against Durham Wildcats. Having seen his depleted team lose at Taunton Tigers last week, Leopards coach Jon Burnell is looking to strengthen his roster: “You’ll always have a game each season where you travel shorthanded, but I think we’re still at least one starter away from being at the level we need to be, and we probably need another body on the bench. “We hope to get an American in sooner rather than later, but in the meantime the players we have need to step up. It’s difficult to get hold of British based players at this stage of the season, most of the ones worth having are already signed. This is the only weekend in a run of five where we have just the one game, so it’s hard to get out and look at potential signings.” The Big Cats will be hoping that big man Iggy De Ferrari will be fit to return after missing last weekend’s games in Taunton and London Westside with an ankle injury. 6 November 2009 LEOPARDS face their second game in just 18 hours when they travel to Brunel University to face London Westside in the National Cup quarter-final on Sunday. The winner will host either London Mets or Brixton Topcats in the quarter-final at either Westside or Leopards. Westside reached this stage of the competition with a 63-53 home win against Lambeth Lakers in the first round before shocking Division Two side Westminster Warriors 50-45 on their own court. Meanwhile Leopards have made heavy work of defeating Milton Keynes Lion II 70-53 in the first round and Hackney White Heat 76-57 in the second stage. Both teams suffered defeats at the hands of Reading Rockets last weekend, with Leopards losing 80-66 in Berkshire in the National Trophy, while Westside lost 66-57 at home against Rockets second team in the National Shield. Westside are currently third in Division Three South with a 4-1 record. Leopards coach Jon Burnell is expecting a tough game at Brunel: “They’ll definitely make it difficult for us, and they’re clearly a good side as they defeated Westminster in the last round. They haven’t got a game the day before, whereas we have a tough trip to Taunton, but we just have to get on with it and do a professional job.” As Burnell says, the Big Cats certainly face a tough weekend, with a trip to the West Country on Saturday evening before facing Westside at 1 pm the following day. If you can't make it to Brunel on Sunday you can follow the game via England Basketball's live stats service: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk/LiveGames/ 6 November 2009 TWO teams looking for their first league victory of the campaign meet at Wellsprings on Saturday when Taunton Tigers host London Leopards in a battle of the big cats. While Leopards have already lost home and away league games against London rivals Mets, Tigers went down in a close game against Derby Trailblazers last Sunday. However, both teams have reached the National Cup third round, and Leopards still have a chance of joining Tigers in the National Trophy quarter-finals. Leopards coach Jon Burnell is expecting a difficult game in the West Country: “It’s always tough down there” he said. “They have a lot of depth, and you can’t key-in on any particular player as others will step up and beat you.” The three meetings between the teams last season finished in home victories. On the opening night of the National Trophy season at Brentwood, the game ended in a thrilling finale which saw Tigers’ Joe Saunders level the score at 89 with under two seconds remaining, only to see 19-year-old point guard Lukas Volskis coolly drain a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 0.7 seconds remaining to give the hosts victory. The teams also opened their league campaign against each other at the Brentwood Centre which saw a more comfortable win for the Leopards as Pervan poured in 38 points in a 103-90 victory. Most of the damage for the home side was done during the second period as Tigers were outscored 31-10 – indeed it was the only quarter that the Leopards actually won, with both second half periods finishing level. A week later Tigers hosted Leopards in a Trophy tie and the home side came out 93-78 winners. A 32-10 second period proved key for the Tigers, who also held Leopards’ high-scoring Croatian Hrvoje Pervan to a season low ten points. Adam Rickwood led the Tigers with 22 points, with brothers Richard and Kevin Anderson each scoring 15. Carl Latham-Henry top scored from Leopards with 20 points, while Gareth Laws added 17. The return league game in the West Country never took place following the sudden death of a Taunton club member on the day of the game, and with no time to get the game rearranged the home side conceded the league points. 1 November 2009 LEOPARDS go into today’s home game against London Mets knowing they must win if they are to stand a chance of progressing in the National Trophy. The Big Cats host the Mets at Brentwood at 4pm looking to bounce back from an 80-66 loss at Reading Rockets on Saturday evening. Jon Burnell’s team led 24-17 at the first break, but that was as good as it got for the Leopards. They were still ahead, 37-34, at half-time but a dismal third period saw them outscored 21-7 and the home team closed out the victory in the final period. Carl Latham-Henry returned to the side and led the scoring with 18 points, while Iggy De Ferrari added 15 and Leigh Greenan 14. A 16-point win against a Mets side likely to be without player-coach Solomon Ayinla would seal a place in the last eight, while a victory by a smaller margin would leave them waiting on the result of the group’s final game which sees Rockets host Mets. 29 October 2009 Sunday November 1 - Tip-off
4.00 pm LEOPARDS will look to end their hoodoo against London Mets when the teams meet at the Brentwood Centre again on Sunday. The Big Cats have lost three close games against their London rivals this season – including two last weekend – but coach Jon Burnell should have a full squad to pick from this week, and is hopeful of adding another starting-quality player to his roster before the game. Burnell was without Carl Latham-Henry for both games over the weekend, with Marlan Henry missing Saturday’s fixture and Steve Campbell not available for Sunday. Leopards visit holders Reading Rockets in the National Trophy on Saturday, and realistically one victory over the weekend should be enough to take them through to the quarter-finals. However, wins in both games will give the Big Cats a good chance of sealing top spot in the group, and home court advantage in the last eight. This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two sides, two of which were last week, and all of the previous three games have gone the way of Division One newcomers Mets, who have started the season with six straight wins. Understandably, Leopards coach Burnell is full of praise for the Mets: “Solomon’s done a really good job there” he said. “They’ve got no stars, but loads of depth, and they are able to press for the whole 40 minutes if they want. They’ve got a few players with BBL experience, and their only problem will be if someone comes in and starts offering them money.” When they met last week Solomon Ayinla's Mets team won a thriller 72-69 at home on Saturday before winning 74-63 at the Brentwood Centre the following day as they opened the Division One season in style. 29 October 2009 LEOPARDS travel to Rivermead on Saturday evening to meet the Reading Rockets for the second time this season as both teams search for a place in the National Trophy quarter-finals. With both teams having already lost at London Mets, and Leopards having won the meeting between the two, a victory is a must for the Rockets. The sides met at Brentwood three weeks ago, and 23 points from Carl Latham-Henry helped the home side to a 56-45 victory. The Big Cats took the lead with three minutes of the first period remaining, and never looked back as they recorded only their third victory in 19 attempts against the Rockets. Peruvian forward Ignazio De Ferrari marked his debut with 11 points and five rebounds, while Ronnie Baker and Marlan Henry each chipped in with eight points as the Big Cats recorded their biggest-ever win against the Rockets. Ryan Lohfink led the Rockets with 12 points, with Simon Kearney and Robbie Parker each adding eight. A Leopards win would see holders Rockets eliminated from the competition, and would set them up with the chance to win the group by winning by 11 or more points when they host London Mets on Sunday. Victory for Rockets would see them move level with Leopards, with both sides having yet to host the unbeaten Mets, and both sides will be aware of the points difference issue in Saturday’s game should Reading be winning down the stretch. The visitors will be hoping that Carl Latham-Henry and Steve Campbell are fit to return after missing last Sunday’s home loss against Mets in Division One. Rockets have been boosted going into this weekend with the signing of Belgian point guard Fenny Falmagne who is looking to make his debut for the Berkshire outfit. The 5'8” playmaker joins the Rockets after spells in the United States and his home country. Coach Sasa Punosevac was an excited man when the papers were signed and believes Falmagne's addition to the squad will make all the difference: “We are still one or two players short, and are still having to rely heavily on our under-age players, however, the addition of Fenny is excellent news and I'm sure as a senior player, he will make a good contribution to our team.” Tip-off at Rivermead is at 6.30pm, but if you cannot make it to the game you can follow live updates at http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk/LiveGames/ 25 October 2009 If you cannot make it to any of Leopards’ home games, you can now follow the game via our live stats feature. The Big Cats are one of the clubs who, in conjunction with England Basketball, are carrying live feeds of the games, and you can follow the progress of Jon and the team by clicking at http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk/LiveGames/ The Big Cats National Trophy game at Reading will also be available next week. 22nd October 2009 LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell is expecting two tough games as the Big Cats face London Mets twice over the weekend. The teams meet at London Metropolitan University on Saturday afternoon before playing the return at the Brentwood Centre 24 hours later. Both games tip off at 4.00pm, and tickets for the Brentwood match-up are available on the day. “They’re an athletic, strong and in-your-face team that play up-tempo basketball" said Burnell. "They’ll get after us, and make it difficult, but we knew that last time, and still fell short, so we simply have to play better this time around.” Burnell admits that he isn’t happy to be playing Mets twice over the same weekend – a situation caused by the unavailability of the Brentwood Centre in late January: “It’s a bit much to see the same team twice in two days, and it’s strange to have your home and away league games over one weekend. We’re playing against a tough team, and it takes away the chance to make major changes between the games. You make adjustments, but not make any real changes.” The Leopards play-caller is still looking for improvement from his side who go into the game with three straight wins under their belts: “I think we are not far off being good, and we still hope to bring in the two Americans. It’s frustrating not having all the players we want, but there are positive signs. I expect Iggy [Ignazio De Ferarri] to get better as he gets fitter, missing pre-season really didn’t help him, when Gareth [Laws] is fully fit again and shooting the ball well, we’ll look better and Marlan Henry gives us something we didn’t have last year.” Mets’ player-coach Solomon Ayinla is expecting a tough weekend despite his side’s good start to the season which has seen his side record home wins against both Leopards and Reading Rockets in the National Trophy and also progress in the National Cup with a pair of wins: “It has been a tough schedule but good start for us in Division One, being grouped in the Trophy with last year Champion and third place finisher” he said. “We’ve managed to get a good start but it’s not only how you start a race but how you run and finish the race. Next two weekends will tell a tale in how our season will shape up. We’ve got Leopards this coming Saturday and Sunday and again in the Trophy next weekend. As if that is not enough, if we both managed to clear that hurdle on November 8th in the National Cup, we’ll be playing each other in the next round of the Cup. “But first thing first, we have to take a game at a time, Leopards are loaded with some good guards, it would be nice if we could contain them, they would be hard to stop, so the word is to contain. I’m expecting them to be stronger than our last encounter, they’ve added a 6ft. 10in Italian [Ignazio De Ferrari] and they’re still looking to bring in their Americans.” When the sides met in their opening Trophy game, Ayinla rolled back the years to lead Mets team to victory in their first game in the top flight of English basketball, winning 88-76. The Mets coach drained 20 points – including four three pointers – leaving Carl Latham-Henry’s game-high 23 points to be in vain. 19 October 2009 SATURDAY'S EBL Division One game at London Mets will tip-off at 4.00 pm. Leopards return to Brentwood the following day when they again play Mets. Tip-off is also 4.00 pm on Sunday, and tickets are available on the day. The Big Cats' National Trophy game at Reading Rockets has now been fixed for Saturday October 31, tip-off 6.30 pm. 15 October 2009 LEOPARDS basketball returns to Barking Abbey School Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon when the Big Cats host Hackney White Heat in the National Cup second round – please note tip-off is at 3 p.m. While Leopards were defeating MK Lions II at Barking in the first round, Hackney were making short work of London Feltham Warriors – winning 90-42 away from home. White Heat were ten up at half-time, but a 20-10 third period followed by a 35-7 final quarter wrapped things up for the visitors. The north London side also won on the road in their opening two league games, returning from London Westside with the Division Three South points following a 91-81 victory before winning 80-70 at Glamorgan Gladiators. The teams met at the same stage of the competition two years ago, and six three pointers in a 28 point haul for Gareth Laws helped the Big Cats to a 102-91 victory. The visitors refused to lie down, and it wasn’t until Laws drained his sixth three-pointer of the night with two minutes remaining that the win was finally sealed. The winner of the game faces another London derby, travelling to either Westminster Warriors or London Westside on November 8. 8 October 2009 LEOPARDS have been given a double boost ahead of Sunday’s game against Reading Rockets at Brentwood with the news that two of the new signings have been cleared to play. Peruvian forward Ignazio De Ferrari and Italian Francesco Rinaldi have both received international clearance, and will make their competitive debuts for the Big Cats. “It’s great news for us” said a clearly delighted head coach Jon Burnell. “Both Iggy and Francesco are going to be important members of the team, and we’ll need them against the Rockets.” The Big Cats are still waiting on work permits for American pair Sean Burton and Elijah Smith, but they will take comfort from the fact that Reading have been dealt a double blow as they look to bounce back from opening game defeat at London Mets. Last season’s all conquering Rockets have reluctantly given up on re-signing American point guard Terrell Smith – who won the MVP award in the play-off final win against Manchester Magic – and have seen recent signing Jon May ruled out for several weeks with a broken cheek bone. Smith will not be making a return to the UK for his second season with the Berkshire outfit due to the refusal of a visa and the knowledge that any appeal made by the club will take between six and nine months. Rockets’ chairman Gary Johnson has been left a disappointed man at the non-arrival of his star player but is already in the process of looking for a replacement. He said "I am bitterly disappointed about the outcome of Terrell's situation but at this time there is nothing we can do." 5 October 2009 LEOPARDS coach Jon Burnell has admitted his frustration at how long it is taking the club to get their foreign players signed for the new season. As the Big Cats prepare to host Reading Rockets in the National Trophy at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon, they are still waiting for clearance to play four new players. Explosive American point guard Sean Burton in still in the States waiting for a work permit after the procedure was changed ten months ago, while his compatriot Elijah Smith is in the same situation having played for Leopards in four of their six pre-season games. Burnell’s team are also waiting for international clearance for Italian forward Francesco Rinaldi and Peruvian forward Ignazio De Ferrari. “It’s very frustrating” said Burnell, “we’re not short of players, and we have a decent team without them, but if everyone was available we’d be a lot stronger.” “Francesco’s former club in Rome have been reported to FIBA [world basketball’s governing body]” confirmed general manager Dave Ryan. “We’re hopeful that both he and ‘Iggy’ will be available for Sunday’s game – there’s really no reason why they shouldn’t be – but the situation with the Americans is unclear. The UK Border cleared our cheque a month ago, and appear to have done nothing else since.” One positive for Burnell is that guard/forward Gareth Laws will be available again after injuring his knee just two minutes into Leopards’ last appearance at Brentwood. Rockets proved to be the dominant force in Division One last season, completing a perfect season with 36 straight wins on the way to winning all four pieces of silverware. Five of those wins came against the Leopards, but the 75-52 loss against them in the National Cup quarter final, and the 89-84 defeat in the Trophy proved to be two of their closest games of the season. Since then Reading have undergone major changes, with coach Dave Titmuss joining Worthing Thunder to be replaced by Serbian Sasa Punosevac, who was previously in charge at the Irish national women’s team. Division One player-of-the-year David Watts has joined league rivals Manchester and key Englishman Walid Mumuni has also left, while American point guard Terrell Smith is in the same situation as Burton and Elijah Smith. Those chances certainly showed as Reading saw their winning run end when they opened their campaign with an 85-69 loss at London Mets in the Trophy. Sunday’s action starts at 4pm at the Brentwood Centre, and the winner of the game will move into second place in the National Trophy Group Four. The top two qualify for the quarter-finals, with the group winner getting the advantage of home advantage in the last eight. 25
September 2009 THE Big Cats open their National Trophy campaign on Saturday afternoon when they travel to EBL Division One newcomers London Mets for a group game. With Reading Rockets the other team in the group, and the top two going through to the quarter-finals, Jon Burnell’s team will want to make a good start against a side they have never played before. Burnell is looking forward to Saturday's derby game: "It's going to be tough down there, but it's a great game to start the season. I've talked to a couple of people, and I expect them to be quick and aggressive. I don't know too much about them individually, but Jeff Danchie is a decent player and it's a shame we couldn't fit him in, but we're guard heavy. "At this stage of the season it's not about being pretty or polished, it's about getting the win by playing hard, boxing out and playing tough defence. If we do that we're in with a shout." Mets had a successful time at last week's pre-season LSBU Brixton Topcats Invitational Tournament, winning all three games. Leopards head into the new season sweating on the fitness of several key players after an exhausting final weekend of friendly games. The Big Cats played four three-quarter length games in the space of 28 hours, and although coach Jon Burnell was pleased to have a final look at the players available to him, the loss of three probable starters has thrown his plans into turmoil. Player-assistant coach Ronnie Baker injured his ankle in the closing stages of the 77-70 loss against Guildford Heat in the Thunder Cup on Saturday, and point guard Carl Latham-Henry injured his knee just before half-time in the 64-55 victory against Killester later the same day. Both players sat out the following day’s Leopards Cup competition, and things went from bad to worse when Gareth Laws fell badly on his ankle. Baker and Latham-Henry are doubtful for Leopards’ opening two games this weekend, while Laws seems certain to be out for several weeks. 25
September 2009 LONDON Leopards make their debut at Barking Abbey on Sunday afternoon when they host MK Lions II in the National Cup first round. PLEASE NOTE: THIS GAME WILL NOW TIP-OFF AT 3 PM The Big Cats have a partnership with Barking Abbey Basketball Academy – arguably the top such programme in the country and the only one with England Basketball & British Basketball accreditation as a Regional Institute of Basketball. The Leopards will play at least four home games at Barking this season as part of the link-up, and they will look to make a winning start on Sunday. The Lions are newcomers to Division Four and are an unknown quantity for the Big Cats. However, one person they will be familiar with is coach Nigel Lloyd who regularly proved to be a thorn in the side of the old Leopards when he played for Birmingham Bullets and the Lions, and was also a former team-mate of coach Jon Burnell at Hemel Hempstead. Burnell admits that pre-season practice hasn’t got as well as he would have liked: “It’s not quite as we’d have plan it, we have plenty of fixtures with six games, but the trouble is there isn’t much consistency in our squad. It feels like we’re forever starting again as seven of our 12 guys are new to the team. Ideally we needed a longer pre-season, but players won’t commit in time and it wasn’t possible to get any more games. This week is the first time that we’ve been able to train with nine or ten of the squad, and we’re still looking to get the permit guys in.” Despite that, Burnell is happy with his new players, which include former Lion Steve Campbell and ex Trailblazer Sam Richardson: “We have some new faces who will be helpful, and some players we know from London basketball scene and have played in this league before. They’ll all have to prove themselves.” Despite Lions being new to the EBL, Burnell is expecting a difficult game when his team step on to the floor at Barking Abbey for the first time: “It’s the sane scenario as Saturday, we just need to ensure we get the win. We should be getting better and start to execute our offence. Lower division teams are usually better organised at this stage of the season as they play throughout the summer and then add a couple of players to improve. We know nothing about them, but it’ll be a challenging game, and we need to find a way to win.” 13
September 2009 THERE’S plenty of basketball action at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday as Leopards stage their pre-season tournament. The Big Cats will face Worthing Thunder and Medway Park Crusaders in a three-team competition, which tips-off at 2pm. The teams will play each other in a mini-league basis, with three-quarter length games. Leopards will meet Crusaders in the opening game of the competition, tip-off 2pm, with Crusaders and Thunder playing each other at 3.30pm. The final game of the day will see Leopards face Thunder at 5pm in what is sure to be a tough pre-season test for the Big Cats. The Big Cats met Crusaders in their “return to Brentwood” game last season, and won 80-71 in a tight game, while Leopards defeated the Kent side 80-62 on their own floor in 2007/8. The Kent team have added a couple of import players as they look to be one of the favourites for promotion to the top flight of the EBL. Worthing are preparing for their second season in the British Basketball League, after finishing 11th in the 12 team competition last season. The Big Cats will face their nemesis in new Thunder coach Dave Titmuss who joined the south coast club after leading Reading Rockets to an unbeaten EBL Division One season in 2008/9 – and among their 36 straight wins were four victories against Leopards. Admission to the competition is £9 for adults (including tournament programme) and £5 for children. There will be plenty of other attractions during the day, with free-throw competitions for the kids, the Allstarzz cheerleaders and the debut of the new Leopards’ mascot. 13
September 2009 LEOPARDS will travel to the south coast on Saturday for the second annual Thunder Cup tournament at the Worthing Leisure Centre. The Big Cats finished third in last season’s competition, with the same record as runners-up Worthing Thunder. Both teams defeated Irish side Neptune, but lost to their compatriots DART Killester. Jon Burnell’s team are first on court at 2pm when they face last year's third place team in the BBL, Guildford Heat, under new player/coach Chad McKnight. Last year's champions, Killester, are returning to defend their crown, and they match up against the hosts in the second game, which tips off at 3.30 pm. Following the two semi finals, there will be a three point shoot-out at 5pm, before the two losing semi-finalists play off at 6pm. The final of the tournament will tip off at 7.30, with the trophy being awarded at approximately 9pm. 7
September 2009 LEOPARDS start their pre-season campaign on Friday when they meet touring side Team USA Select at Capital City Academy. Jon Burnell’s team will face a side of players who are looking to gain professional contracts, and with the Leopards coach still looking to add a big man to his roster, he will be running the rule over the opposition as well as looking at several British-based trialists. The teams met at the same venue three years ago, and the American side ran out 80-72 winners. Friday’s game tips off at 9pm, and is part of a double header as Team USA will bring a 24-man squad for their England tour, and will start at 7pm with a game against hosts London Capital. The Big Cats will make a quick return to the Neasden venue to play Capital the following afternoon, tip-off 2pm. Capital had a torrid time in the BBL last season, finishing bottom of the table and winning only one of their 38 games in all competitions. The two sides last met in the 2006/7 season, and Capital – under the coaching of former Leopard Pete Deppisch – proved to be a bogey team for the Big Cats as they won five of the six games against them, including dumping them out of the National Cup and play-offs. The weekend will be the first of two tough pre-season weeks for the Big Cats, with Burnell’s team competing in the Worthing-based Thunder Cup on Saturday September 19 before they stage the Leopards Trophy competition at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 20. Meanwhile, former Leopards junior Dan Clark has been included in the Great Britain squad for the European Championship in Poland. The 21-year-old will face Slovenia on Monday, Spain the following day and Serbia on Wednesday as Britain compete in the finals for the first time. Clark was water boy for the original Leopards when they won back-to-back BBL titles in 1997 and 1998, and went on to play for Ware Rebels – who morphed into the current Big Cats – at junior level before making his senior debut aged just 13. He currently plays in Spain. 5
September 2009 LEOPARDS’ pre-season game at London Capital on Saturday September 12 will now tip-off at 2pm. The Big Cats are currently awaiting confirmation of admission prices for that game and the previous night’s match-up with Team USA at the same venue. 1
September 2009 LEOPARDS have announced some fixture alterations ahead of the 2009/10 season. The home EBL Division One game against London Mets which was originally scheduled for January 31 will now take place at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday October 25, tip-off 4pm. The Big Cats will certainly see enough of the Mets early in the season, as they travel to north London to meet them on Saturday October 24, and also host them in a Trophy game on Sunday November 1. The visit of Derby Trailblazers has been brought forward from Sunday December 13, and will now take place at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday November 22, tip-off 4pm. Leopards will now travel to Derby on Saturday December 12, replacing the original trip to the midlands on March 13. 29
August 2009 LEOPARDS have announced that guard Carl Latham-Henry will be returning to the club for the 2009/10 season. The Big Cats have fought off competition from two BBL clubs to bring Latham-Henry back to Brentwood for a third straight season. The 26-year-old joined Leopards at the start of the 2007/8 season and has been a regular starter for Jon Burnell’s side. After the signing of former England international Ronnie Baker last season, Latham-Henry moved from the point guard position to the shooting guard spot and his decision to rejoin Leopards gives Burnell some flexibility in the back-court. Burnell is understandably pleased to have Latham-Henry back with his team: “It’s great to have Carl back. He’s proved he’s a good player, and the fact that he’s turned down BBL teams shows that we are heading in the right direction.” Latham-Henry will be joined by Baker and guard/forward Gareth Laws who both return to the Big Cats, and his cousin Marlon Henry is also expected to play for Burnell’s team this season. Leopards are also in the process of signing an American guard, and are hopeful that former Plymouth Raiders guard Jeff Danchie will join them for their EBL Division One campaign. Burnell is currently in negotiations with several other players as he looks to complete his roster for the new season. The Big Cats have three training sessions before starting their pre-season games, and they play their first games at Brentwood on Sunday September 20 when Worthing Thunder and Medway Park Crusaders visit for the Leopards Tournament. Leopards’ home game against London Mets which was originally scheduled for Sunday January 31 has been brought forward to Sunday October 25, tip-off 4pm. 24
August 2009 Medway Park Crusaders have been added to the line-up for the Leopards pre-season tournament on Sunday September 20. The Crusaders join Worthing Thunder in the three-team tournament at the Brentwood Centre, with the teams playing each other in three-quarter length games. The Big Cats met Crusaders in their “return to Brentwood” game last season, and won 80-71 in a tight game, while Leopards defeated the Kent side 80-62 on their own floor in 2007/8. Leopards will meet Crusaders in the opening game of the competition, tip-off 2pm, with Crusaders and Thunder playing each other at 3.30pm. The final game of the day will see Leopards face Thunder at 5pm in what is sure to be a tough pre-season test for the Big Cats. Jon Burnell’s team are also in action the previous day when they travel to Worthing to compete in the Thunder Cup. Having finished third in last season’s competition, they are on the court first when they play former BBL champions Guildford Heat. The second semi-final sees a repeat of last season’s final as hosts Worthing take on Irish Superleague side Killester. The winner of each game meet in the final, with the losers playing off for third place. 24
August 2009 Leopards are delighted to announce that one of the country’s top cheerleading group, the International Allstarzz, will be performing at all home Brentwood games during the season. The Allstarzz are also the official dancers of Sky Sports, and Leopards chairman Fred Dicker is delighted that they will be appearing at Brentwood throughout the season: “It’s great to have the girls back. They’re one of the top groups in the country, and they help us put on the best show in the EBL.” Fans will get their chance to see the girls perform when Leopards stage their pre-season tournament on Sunday September 20, with the action starting at 2pm. 17
August 2009 LEOPARDS continued their preparations for the 2009/10 season with a second trial session at Barking Abbey. Twenty-one players attended the session last Thursday, and coach Jon Burnell is now putting together a 12-man squad to compete in the top flight of the England Basketball League. The Big Cats expect to start the season with one import player, before judging which spot they need to add a second American in. While Burnell was working on his squad for the new campaign, former player Dan Clark was starring for the Great Britain national team at the Game On At The O2 tournament. Some impressive displays in the three day tournament look to have pushed Clark – who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday – into serious contention for a place in the GB team for the European Championship finals next month. A weakened British team lost all three games, but head coach Chris Finch had praise for Clark after Saturday’s narrow loss against eventual tournament winners Turkey: “He’s only young, but he showed a lot of improvement tonight over Friday’s game. He doesn’t get a lot of court time with his Spanish club, and this is probably the first time he’s played serious minutes in back-to-back games since he was with the [England] under-18s.” The 6’10” forward can expect to take a back seat when GB’s injured stars return, but Finch indicated he will still play a part when the team travel to Poland for the European Championship: “He’ll probably come in as the third or fourth big man, but he can give us 15 solid minutes per game.” Leopards general manager Dave Ryan had praise for Clark: “It was great to see Dan in a GB kit. Everyone always knew he had amazing talent, and he’s worked at his game to put himself in a position to be major part of British basketball for the Olympics and beyond. Clark was water boy for the original Leopards when they won back-to-back BBL titles in 1997 and 1998, and went on to play for Ware Rebels – who morphed into the current – at junior level before making his senior debut aged just 13. He currently plays in Spain. “He must be the most talented water boy anyone’s ever had,” said Ryan, “and I reckon George who currently does the job has a lot to live up to !” |
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August 2009 LEOPARDS began their pre-season preparations in earnest on Sunday as they staged a trial session at Barking Abbey school. Coach Jon Burnell ran the rule over ten prospective signings, and the Leopards play-caller was pleased with what he saw: “It was the first time we’ve done it, but it was definitely worthwhile and there are a couple of players there we’re interested in signing.” Among the trialists were two American players, along with a former Great Britain under-20 player and a Peruvian forward. The Big Cats look likely to sign the Peruvian, and will look at several of the players again on Thursday when they hold a second trial at Barking. It will be a new-look Leopards team for the 2009/10 season, with only former England international Ronnie Baker and shooting guard Gareth Laws definitely returning. The Big Cats are still in touch with several of last season’s players, but are also talking to one of the EBL Division One’s leading English players and are in the process of signing an American guard. Burnell’s team resume training on September 3, and will have three sessions before a pair of games at Capital City Academy on Friday September 11 and the following day. American touring side Team USA Select are their first opponents before they play London Capital the following day. They travel to Worthing on Saturday September 19 to compete in the Thunder Cup before hosting their own pre-season tournament the following day, with the action starting at 2pm at the Brentwood Centre. |
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August 2009 See Fixture List |
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August 2009 LEOPARDS face a tough pre-season schedule as they prepare for the new England Basketball League season. The Big Cats face the equivalent of five games in a nine day period as coach Jon Burnell looks to improve on last season’s third place in the top flight. American touring side Team USA Select are the Leopards first opponents, with the teams meeting at London Capital’s home venue on Friday September 11. Leopards last played the American team in September 2006 when they went down 80-72 at the same venue. Burnell’s team return to the Capital City Academy the following evening when they face their hosts London Capital. The Big Cats travel to Worthing on Saturday September 19 to play in the four-team Thunder Cup for the second straight year. Last season saw them finish third in the competition, losing against Irish side DART Killester in the semi-final before beating their compatriots Neptune in bronze medal game. This season sees Killester and Leopards return to the competition alongside hosts Worthing Thunder, with former BBL champions Guildford Heat completing the line-up. The draw for the competition is yet to take place, but Leopards will face two tough games regardless who they play. The following day – Sunday September 20 – sees the Big Cats stage their own pre-season three-team tournament at the Brentwood Centre. Leopards will be joined by Worthing and one other side, with the teams playing each other on a mini-league basis. In common with the previous day’s tournament, the games will be played with 15 minute halves, rather than the usual four 10-minute periods. “It’s a tough pre-season for us” said coach Burnell. “But you learn more from playing against good sides than teams from a lower level. We beat Bedford by 67 in a pre-season game a few years ago, but it didn’t really help us when we started in Division One.” The Big Cats are hopeful that Killester will travel from the previous day’s action in Worthing for the tournament, but they have other options if the Irish side are unable to travel. The action will start at 2pm, and is scheduled to finish at 6pm, but there will be a full programme of events from 11am. |
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July 2009 LEOPARDS will face holders Reading Rockets and EBL Division One newcomers London Mets when the National Trophy tips off in late September. The competition is the league cup for Division One teams, with the 12 clubs divided into four three-team groups, and clubs playing each other home and away. The top two sides in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, but Leopards will be aiming for top spot as they would then be drawn at home in the last eight. The Big Cats travel to neighbours Mets on Saturday September 26 for their first ever meeting with the north London club. They will be relieved that Arsenal are away that afternoon, as Mets home venue is directly opposite the Emirates Stadium. Leopards travel to Reading on Sunday October 4 before the Rockets visit the Brentwood Centre on Sunday October 11. The Big Cats lost twice to the Rockets in last season’s competition as Reading completed a remarkable unbeaten season – winning all 36 games on the way to lifting all four trophies. Despite those two defeats against Reading, Leopards went on to reach the semi-final of the Trophy before bowing out at Manchester, and with coach Dave Titmuss having moved on to Worthing Thunder in the summer they will have a new-look team for the 2009/10 campaign. Reading have a fine record in the competition having lifted the Trophy in each of the last three seasons. They have won 21 of their 22 games during that period, but it was the Big Cats who inflicted that defeat as a Sam Salter three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining sealed an 83-82 home victory. Leopards wrap up their group stage games on Sunday November 1 when they host Mets at the Brentwood Centre. Coach Jon Burnell is looking forward to the challenge of the competition: “With Dave gone, Reading will be a different side, and we have no real idea what Mets will bring, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on. The key thing is to recruit well, and make sure we’re ready to go on opening night.” Before the Trophy campaign tips off, Leopards are staging a pre-season tournament at Brentwood on Sunday September 20, with the competing teams likely to be announced next week. |
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July 2009 LEOPARDS have accepted an invitation to compete in the British Basketball League Trophy during the 2009/10 season. The competition is the league cup of the BBL – the country’s full-time professional league – which the Big Cats are aiming to join in the future. It will be the third time that Leopards have competed in the competition, but there is a change in format this year, with it changing from a mini-league basis to straight knockout basis. The Big Cats have been drawn at home in the first round of the competition, and will face BiG Storage Cheshire Jets at the Brentwood Centre on Friday January 15 – and will be the only home game not scheduled for a Sunday during the season. “We’re looking forward to facing a BBL team again this season” said general manager Dave Ryan. “We normally play one or two pre-season, but it will be good to face one in a competitive game. The new format suits us more as the group stages did lead to fixture congestion as we had to fit the games into a short space of time. The old Leopards had some really good battles with Jets, and it’s exciting that they’re coming down to Brentwood to play us again.” Jon Burnell’s team are currently finalising their pre-season schedule, and they seem likely to play five or six games against teams of EBL Division One standard or higher. The first chance fans will have to see them at Brentwood comes on Sunday September 20 when they stage a three-team pre-season, while the following Sunday they make their debut at Barking Academy when Milton Keynes Lions are the visitors in the National Cup first round. |
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July 2009 LEOPARDS have announced that they will be staging two open trial sessions as they prepare for their sixth season in EBL Division One. Both trial sessions will be held at Barking Abbey School, and will give coach Jon Burnell the chance to look at potential talent for the new season. The dates and times are as follows:
The trials are for Division One quality players only, and places have to be booked in advance. For further details, or to book a place, email leopardsgm@hotmail.com with details of your playing career, age and position. |
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July 2009 LEOPARDS have announced that they will be playing some games at Barking Abbey School next season. The move comes as part of the Big Cats’ link-up with the Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, which saw several of their young players play for the Leopards. The Big Cats have 15 dates booked at the Brentwood Centre, with the remaining five dates booked at the east London venue. The move sees the end of Leopards using Wodson Park in Ware as a second venue, and general manager Dave Ryan is looking forward to playing at Barking: “It’s a nice venue, and it gives us somewhere close to Brentwood when the Centre’s not available. It’s a shame to leave Wodson Park, but the crowds were poor there last season, and it’s simply too far away from Brentwood for our supporters to travel to for home games. We hope that we’ll get much better crowds at Barking Abbey, and it further cements our links with arguably the top basketball academy in the country.” Leopards start their home campaign at Brentwood on Sunday September 20 when they host a pre-season tournament. They make their Barking Abbey debut the following Sunday when Milton Keynes Lions II are the visitors in the National Cup first round. Jon Burnell’s Leopards will go into the game as hot favourites, and if they progress they will host either Brunel or Hackney White Heat at Barking Abbey on Sunday October 18. A win in that game would give them an away game in the competition they won back in the 2005/6 season, while if they reach the quarter-finals they will again be at home – with that game scheduled for the Brentwood Centre. Details of Leopards’ pre-season tournament will be announced shortly, and the Big Cats hope to reveal their early season fixtures next week. |
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July 2009 JON Burnell will return as Leopards coach as the Brentwood based club prepares for the 2009/10 season. Burnell led the Big Cats to their highest ever placing in the England Basketball League last season – third – as well as taking them to the semi-finals of the Play-offs and National Trophy for the first time. “We’re delighted to have Jon back with us again” said general manager Dave Ryan. “Last season was our most consistent in the five year history of the club, and we’re looking to build on that.” Former England junior international Burnell, 42, has coached the Big Cats throughout their five year history, and also took charge of their forerunners Ware Rebels for most of their final season. The club has made steady progress during that time to become one of the leading lights in the English league. “Jon’s talking to a lot of players at the moment, and we think we’re building a team that can again challenge for honours” said Ryan. “We were clearly the third best team last season – which is the best we’ve ever done – but with a little more consistency we could have challenged Manchester for second spot. With the team we’re looking to put together a team that will win things.” Burnell is looking forward to returning to the Leopards: “We’ve got a nice base at Brentwood, and it’s that we have the consistency of continuing to play there. You never know what’s going to happen with players, but I’m hopeful that Ronnie [Baker] will return as assistant coach, so we’ll have some continuity there. Looking back on last season it was probably the best we’ve ever done, but there’s definitely room for improvement and we’ll look to be better this season.” Leopards are expected to announce their opening fixtures within a fortnight. |
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April 2009 Leopards head to Manchester on Saturday looking to win the EBL Division One Final Fours competition and collect the biggest piece of silverware in their five year history. The Big Cats face hosts Manchester Magic on Saturday evening, with the winner facing either Reading Rockets or Sheffield Arrows the following day. All three games between Jon Burnell’s team and the Magic have been closely fought this season, with the home side winning in each occasion, while Rockets will be hot favourites to continue their perfect season with a 35th straight victory when they face the Arrows. Coach Burnell is pleased with his team’s campaign so far, but is looking forward to the chance of finishing it with success in the season’s finale. “It’s been an up and down season. I think our season has been defined by making the Final Four. We haven’t done anything exceptional, but we’ve reached a couple of semi-final and finished third in the league – that’s things we haven’t really done as a club before. We go to Manchester as the underdogs, but it’s a great opportunity to challenge to be in a final. “We’ve had the normal ups and downs: Players joining and Americans leaving us in mid-season. But we’ve had the best group of players since we’ve started – not just on the court, but as a group of people as well. It wasn’t great when McNally left, but I think we became a better team by adding Ronnie [Baker]. We’re probably not quite as balanced, but he’s brought a lot to us both as a player and as my assistant. The other three teams at the Final Fours haven’t had as many traumas with players as they all have the same unit they started the season with, but I think we’ve coped pretty well.” Having seen the Big Cats narrowly lose when they travelled to Manchester three weeks ago, Burnell is aware of the task facing them at the Amaechi Centre: “Their three-pronged guard offensive has been what’s damaged teams all season long. That’s no disrespect to the other players like Steve Boonham, as they’ve got a strong supporting cast of guys who do their jobs well. But most of the damage comes from Tannder Adu, Stefan Gill and Brandon Kimbrough, and when one of them is sitting down more often than not they stick with three guards by bringing Amokolie Bell on. Tanner can out-and-out shoot, if you guard him closely he’s capable of blowing past you and if you stand off him he can hit the three. The other two cause problems, and they’re tough to guard. “They are well coached, and even when they were 29 down at our place, Jeff [Jones] didn’t panic. We need to treat this a one-game weekend, and put everything into winning on Saturday night. But we do believe we can win it all, or there wouldn’t be any point going. I’ve put a lot of pressure on us to get this far, and we’ve done it we have to go all out to win the championship. I whether we do or not remains to be seen, but I do believe we’re capable.” |
9 April 2009 Final Fours information Amaechi Centre, Manchester, M16 8GW Leopards tip-off against Magic at 6pm, but there are women’s games at midday and 2pm and the first semi-final (Rockets v’s Arrows) at 4pm. Sunday’s final is at 3.30pm, with the Division Two final at 11am and the women’s final at 1.15pm. The full schedule is: 12pm - City of Sheffield Hatters v Solent Suns Division 1 Women Semi-Final 2pm - UWIC Archers v Nottingham Wildcats Division 1 Women Semi-Final 4pm - Reading Rockets v Sheffield Arrows Division 1 Men Semi-Final 6pm - Manchester Magic v London Leopards Division 1 Men Semi-Final Sunday 11am - Leeds Carnegie v Team Northumbria Division 2 Men Final 1:15pm - Division 1 Women Final 3:30pm - Division 1 Men Final Tickets are priced at £10 (£5 concession) for one day & £18 (£8 concession) for both days. We can get tickets in advance at a small discount, but these need to be pre-booked by mailing leopardsgm@hotmail.com by Easter Monday. Due to the costs involved, we are unable to provide a coach for this game, but there is ample parking at the venue. Unfortunately the team hotel (booked by England Basketball) is full, but the following Holiday Inn is a couple of miles from the venue and offers twin/double rooms at around £55. Christie Fields Office Park T: 08701 977 309 We hope to see as many of you there as possible. |
6 April 2009 Leopards coach Jon Burnell had praise for his team as they reached the EBL Division One Final Four for the first time in their history with a 74-71 victory against Coventry Crusaders at Brentwood. “I really believe that the team has galvanised itself in the last three games. We lost all of them against the rest of the top four, but we took a lot from those games. We’ve really stuck together, and even though we didn’t play well on Sunday, we continued to play as a team. “No one got greedy, and even though key individuals didn’t play well, we stuck together as a unit. We would have lost to Coventry a month ago if we’d played like that, but we refused to lose and stuck with our defence. “We’ve got where we wanted to be, and we’ll work hard over the next fortnight because I really believe we can beat Manchester in the semi-final and put ourselves in the Championship game.” |
3 April 2009 Sunday April 5 – tip-off
4.00pm League record: London Leopards 12-6
Coventry Crusaders 8-10 The last spot in the Division One Final Four is on the line at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday when Leopards host Coventry Crusaders. The Big Cats will be looking for their third win in as many games against the Crusaders this season, but coach Jon Burnell isn’t expecting an easy game: “They’ve added two Americans since we beat them at Brentwood, and they’ve had some decent results. They nearly won at Reading last week, and they gave us a really difficult game in the second half when we played them in Coventry. They are going to be tough, and we need to stick together as a team.” Leopards’ third place finish is their highest final position in their five year history, but Burnell still expects more from his team: “We’re happy to have finished third, but it won’t mean much if we don’t get into the Final Four. We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have, and although we’ve proved that we can compete with Magic and Reading, we haven’t played in the finals and we want more.” Coventry coach Scott Neely is happy with his side’s finish to the league season: “A team goal of reaching sixth place or higher was set at the beginning of January, so I'm happy that was achieved. Winning six out of the last nine matches was great especially because various players stepped up at crucial times to help us get those victories. We are looking forward to the play-offs and the challenge of facing London. Leopards have many players that can score from inside and outside making them difficult to defend.” When the teams met at Brentwood in January, Hrvoje Pervan scored 38 points for the second time this season as Leopards ran out 96-73 winners. The Croatian forward narrowly missed out on a triple-double, finishing with ten rebounds, eight steals and six assists in 33 minutes. Gareth Laws also scored well with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Leigh Greenan and Russell Jordan each added ten. It was a short-handed Leopards team, with starters Carl Latham-Henry and Lee McCarthy missing due to an ankle injury and virus respectively, while young guard Kenroy Wood was also unavailable. With Latham-Henry missing, the signing of England international Ronnie Baker couldn’t have come at a better time for the Big Cats, with the veteran point guard finishing with seven points and five assists in 23 minutes of action. Ben Potts led the Crusaders with 18, while Marcin Twierdinski added 16. The Big Cats led 29-11 at the first break, but Coventry steadily reduced the arrears to 49-34 at half-time and 68-60 at the end of the third period. That proved to be the last time the lead was in single figures, as Leopards opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, and a Pervan and-one saw the lead grow to 15 with six minutes remaining. The return saw Leopards win 103-100, but only after surviving a comeback from the home team. The visitors blitzed Crusaders in the opening minutes, to lead 29-18 at the first break, and that lead grew to 58-43 at half-time. A three-pointer from Baker ensured the Leopards went into the final break with a 76-65 lead. Four Pervan points and a Robert Gilchrist trey kept the Big Cats’ lead in double figures during the opening three minutes of the fourth period, but a Potts three-pointer launched a 7-2 Crusaders’ run to cut the lead to 87-80 within a minute. Pervan drained a pair of free-throws and a Ronnie Baker jump shot looked to have calmed the visitors’ nerves , but four Travis Lay points in an 8-0 run saw Coventry cut the Leopards’ lead to 89-88 with three minutes remaining. Baker broke the run with a three, only to see Potts do likewise at the other end, before Jordan and Baker each sunk a pair of free-throws to put Leopards 96-91 ahead with two minutes remaining. Wes Hall cut that lead back to three before Greenan took his tally to ten from close range and Baker converted another pair of free-throws to send Leopards into the final minute with a 100-93 lead. Hall again scored before a turnover allowed Lay an easy basket before Baker was fouled to stop the clock. England’s most capped international scored one of the two free-throws, only to see Twierdinski drain a three with two seconds remaining. But Pervan was fouled as he caught the inbound, and he sunk both shots from charity stripe to give Leopards their ninth win in ten games. Pervan had another big night against Coventry, finishing with 38 points while Baker scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, with Russell Jordan had an excellent night rebounding and added 14 points. The Big Cats were without centre Lee McCarthy, and Carl Latham-Henry injured his knee in the warm-up but still added 13 points in limited minutes. Travis Lay led the home side with 25, while Siman Stewart hit 17. |
2 April 2009 Leopards forward Hrvoje Pervan is looking forward to a successful play-off campaign with the Big Cats as they prepare to face Coventry Crusaders at Brentwood on Sunday. The 6’7” small forward was set to join BBL high-flyers Guildford Heat in the summer, but the Surrey club had to release him when they discovered that Croatia is not in the European Union, and they already had their quota of import players. Heat’s bad luck proved to be Leopards’ gain as they snapped up the man who goes by the name of “H”, and his debut in the National Trophy saw him lead the Big Cats’ scoring with 26 points in a 91-89 home victory against Taunton Tigers. The 25-year-old, who played in Germany last season, has clearly enjoyed his time with the Big Cats: “Being the part of the Leopards has been a very good experience. It's great to see that we made an improvement from recent years. I believe that the management can keep building for the future on this season's success. For that reason I'm proud of our coach and the teammates.” H isn’t expecting an easy game when Scott Neely and his Crusaders side arrive at Brentwood today: “We won both league games against Coventry this season, but we're certainly aware of their recent run of good results. This game is very important to us, and I expect us to show that on the court by being focused and playing hard for the whole game. I'm confident we'll win ourselves a trip to Final Four. “I would like to thank the fans, and all the good people that helped the Leopards in any way this season. We'll do our best to repay you with the playoff win!” Full interview in Sunday’s game programme – only £1.00! |
26 March 2009
Sunday March 29 – tip-off 6.30pm Reading Rockets coach Dave Titmuss expects a tough game against London Leopards when the pair meet in Division One’s final game of the season: "I think London has the talent to beat you in the half court or with scoring spurts in transition” said Titmuss. “Their roster is very balanced, experienced and flexible, and in Hrvoje (Pervan) I think they probably have the best offensive forward in the League. And of course I know that Jon (Burnell) will have them ready to play. If Leopards and ourselves are healthy and we each play to our potential, it should be an exciting game and a fitting end to the league season. "And as soon as the buzzer sounds on Sunday to end the game against London our thoughts will turn immediately to our play-off quarter-final opponent - Derby - and to having as deep a run as possible in the post season." It will be the fifth time the teams have met this season, and although Reading have won all the games, the Big Cats have gone agonisingly close to beating them on two occasions. In November’s first meeting, a strong display at Loddon Valley saw Reading win all four periods on the way to a 78-53 victory in the National Trophy group stage. David Watts (22) and Walid Mumuni (17) led the Rockets, while Hrvoje Pervan (21) and Gareth Laws (10) were the only two Leopards in double figures. The game at Wodson Park proved to be a complete contrast as Rocket edged home to a narrow 75-72 victory. The Big Cats had trailed by 18 going into the final period, but despite losing star forward Pervan with a broken hand and seeing coach Jon Burnell ejected, they managed to stage a late comeback almost taking the win. Leopards were trailing by 16 when Burnell left the game, but his ejection finally galvanised the hosts as they outscored Rockets 21-8 during the final eight minutes. However two needless turnovers in the final seconds proved key as they fell at the quarter-final stage for the second successive season. Watts again proved to be a thorn in the Big Cats’ side with 20 points, but it was Leopards’ Carl Latham-Henry who led all scorers with 26 points following his comeback from the neck injury which saw the Bristol game suspended. The sides met again in the final game of 2008, and Rockets managed to shut down the Big Cats’ defence as they chalked up a 70-51 victory in the EBL Division One. Leopards were without Carl Latham-Henry for most of the first half as their captain got caught up in an accident, but ironically they played their best basketball of the game during the opening 15 minutes. Leigh Greenan opened the scoring for the home side, and four points apiece from McNally and Volskis saw the Big Cats take a 12-4 lead at the midway stage of the first period. English forward Watts kept the league leaders in the game, scoring ten points in the opening quarter on his way to a team-high 24, but four Russell Jordan points and a Carl McNally and-one ensured that Leopards reached the first break with a 19-17 lead. Three McNally points kept Leopards ahead at the start of the second period, before a Laws three launched a 6-0 run to give the hosts a 27-20 lead at the midway stage of the quarter. That was as good as it got for the Big Cats as a Simon Kearney three launched an 18-1 run to put Rockets in charge at half-time with a 38-28 lead. Watts and Adam Thoseby each added four points in that run, while Terrell Smith drained a trey to put Rockets in charge at half-time. Despite 27 points from McNally, who scored 19 of his side’s 23 in the second half, the Big Cats never looked like getting back into the game. Fans were treated to another thriller when the teams met against in the Trophy in January, with Rockets winning 87-82. Leopards were ahead with just 20 seconds of the game, but turned the ball over twice and allowed the visitors to escape with a five point victory. Such a finish had looked unlikely as Burnell’s side rushed into a 20-2 lead in the first four and half minutes. Rockets replied with a 9-0 run and closed the gap to 23-13 at the first break. Despite Hrvoje Pervan marking his comeback following a broken hand with 27 points, Rockets continued to shave points off the home side’s lead, and the Big Cats went into the locker room with 45-39 advantage. Eight points from Pervan kept Leopards ahead in the third period, but some uncharacteristically poor foul shooting from Gareth Laws meant that Rockets stayed in touch, and the final break saw the Big Cats’ lead cut to 66-64. A pair of Laws jump shots put Leopards ahead by four after three minutes of action in the fourth period, but a single free-throw from Rockets’ American guard Terrell Smith gave them their first lead of the game, 77-76 with three minutes remaining. Latham-Henry and Pervan both sunk a pair of free-throws put Leopards 80-77 going into the final two minutes before Smith levelled the score with an and-one. Lee McCarthy scored from close range to restore Leopards’ lead, and with the ball in Latham-Henry’s hands going into the final 20 seconds they looked likely to take the win.However, Smith managed to steal the ball and sink a three to put Rockets into a lead they would never lose. After Leopards missed an attempt to regain the advantage, Latham-Henry was called for an intentional foul on Walid Mumuni with 0.31 seconds remaining. Mumuni missed both foul shots, but with coach Burnell and Pervan both given technical fouls, Rich Wellings wrapped things up from the chairity stripe. Laws finished with 16 points, while McCarthy added 12 and both Russell Jordan and Latham-Henry chipped in with 11 points. For Rockets, those four free-throws meant that Wellings led their scoring with 23 points, while Smith added 22 and Sayers finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds. |
26 March 2009
Saturday March 28 – tip-off
7.30pm The runners-up spot in EBL Division One is still up for grabs at the Amaechi Centre on Saturday evening. A victory for the home-town Magic will wrap-up second place for the Magic, while Leopards would still need to win at champions Reading Rockets the following day if they leave the north west with the points. Leopards coach Jon Burnell knows the size of the task facing his team this weekend: “The loss at Sheffield was very disappointing last week, but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and get on with it. It’s a huge ask to win at both Manchester and Reading on successive nights, but it’s what we’ll have to do to win the play-offs, so we’ll give it a shot.” The Big Cats will be hoping that point guard Carl Latham-Henry is fit to return to the side after missing the last two games, but the 25-year-old Londoner is still struggling and is more likely to be rested until the play-off start at the beginning of April. The teams met at the Brentwood Centre in early February and an incredible game saw the home side win 85-83 in overtime. Leopards looked to be strolling towards a comfortable win,, adding six points to their 46-23 half-time lead to be 29 ahead with 15 minutes remaining. However, Magic staged a comeback of epic proportions and scored 22 straight points before eventually forcing the game into overtime. Jeff Jones’ side led for the first time when they scored the first points of overtime after 80 seconds. However with Steve Boonham and Stefan Gill fouling out, Leopards finally took control again and a 7-0 run capped by a three from Hrvoje Pervan saw them 84-79 ahead with two minutes remaining. Scores from Adam Slater and Brandon Kimbrough cut that lead to one, but as Magic were forced to foul to stop the club, Latham-Henry converted a free-throw to wrap up the win. Pervan led the Leopards’ scoring again, finishing with 30 points including ten in the first period. Latham-Henry added 13, Ronnie Baker 11 and both Russell Jordan and Lee McCarthy ten each. Magic were led by 32 Tanner Adu points, while Stephan Gill added 25. Steve Boonham was the only other Manchester player in double figures with ten. That game remains Magic’s only defeat against anyone other than champions Reading, and they gained revenge the following week with an 89-81 victory in the National Trophy semi-final. A strong third period proved to be key as Magic outscored the visitors 25-15 to put themselves in pole position. Kimbrough finished with 22 points for Magic, while Adu added 14 and nine rebounds with Steve Boonham chipping in with 11. Latham-Henry led the Leopards scoring with 24, while Pervan added 22. McCarthy had 11 rebounds to go with his 14 points, with Jordan adding nine points and seven boards. |
18 March 2009
Saturday March 21 – Tip-off
6.00pm There’s a key game at the EIS on Saturday evening as the Sheffield Arrows host London Leopards. Arrows go into the game in fifth place with a 7-7 record, and have still to face fourth placed Tees Valley, so a victory against the London side would put them in a good position to gain home court advantage in the play-off quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Leopards are joint second in the table with Manchester Magic (who they have to visit on the final weekend of the regular season – with a 12-3 record and need the victory if they are to keep their runners-up hopes alive. Sheffield coach Pete Kelly is looking forward to Saturday’s match-up: “For the Arrows four straight away wins has given a new perspective on the Division - we now find ourselves in a battle for fourth rather than looking at ending our season early. However we have a double header weekend against the teams battling it out for runners up spot. “This season we have addressed our away form with five of our seven wins have been away but we struggled with our home form. This year we lost away to Leopards and that broke a long running series of away wins at Wodson Park. We always seem to lose to them at home in return but perhaps Saturday will be different. “The Leopards have one of the strongest teams in the Division with a number of influential players, perhaps most of all it’s players like Russell Jordan who’s a hard worker who causes us most trouble with his non-stop effort.” Leopards coach Jon Burnell is expecting a tough game in the steel city: “Sheffield have without a shadow of a doubt two of the best players in the league in Tyler Ousley and Doug McLaughlin-Williams. They might not be as deep as some teams, but they’re right up there. They’re fifth in the league and I’m sure they have every intention of doing well in the play offs. “For us, we need to keep on rolling, and realistically we need to win if we’re going to finish second. We’d have to win at Manchester and Reading on the final weekend if we lose at Sheffield, and that would be a massive ask.” The teams met at Wodson Park in mid-December, and Leopards survived a second half fight-back from Sheffield to remain unbeaten in Division One with an 89-84 victory. Burnell’s team were ahead by 14 at half-time, but only scored 12 points in the third period as fourth placed Arrows held them scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter. Carl McNally marked his home debut by leading the Big Cats’ scoring with 27, with Gareth Laws (17), Carl Latham-Henry (13) and Lukas Volskis all finished in double figures. Sheffield’s American duo dominated their scoring against a Leopards team still missing Hrvoje Pervan and Robert Gilchrist, with Doug McLaughlin-Williams scoring 30 and Tyler Ousley 22. A tight first period saw Leopards lead 28-23 at quarter-time, but they looked to be moving towards a comfortable victory as they extended a 58-44 half-time lead to 63-46 with two minutes gone. However Arrows battled back; Leopards’ lead was just two points going into the final period, but they opened with an 8-0 run, including another score from the foul line after Arrows’ coach Pete Kelly was given a technical foul for inadvertently putting six players on the court. The run was ended by a Dave Siddall basket, though he failed to complete the three-point play after being fouled by Volskis. That launched a 13-2 run for the visitors, with Jordan and Lee McCarthy each scoring a single free-throw for Leopards, and Ousley scored five points to help Arrows to their first lead (81-80) since the opening quarter with two minutes remaining. A time-out from Burnell stopped the rot, and after McNally had missed a pair of free-throws, he grabbed the rebound and scored from close range to make the score 82-81. McLaughlin-Williams levelled the score going into the final minute with a single free-throw before Laws restored Leopards lead with a jump shot. As Arrows were forced to foul to stop the close, Latham-Henry scored three from four free-throws, before Laws iced the win with another pair from the charity stripe. |
18 March 2009 Leopards 78 (20,34,48) Cardiff Celts 66 (11,31,47) A strong fourth period eventually proved to be enough as Leopards ensured a top three finish with a 12-point victory on Sunday. In front of the biggest crowd in Division One for five seasons, 31 points from Hrvoje Pervan proved to be the difference between the two teams. In common with the two games between the sides in Wales, the Big Cats simply wore the Celts down in the final quarter to remain in joint second place. Russell Jordan added 17 points for Jon Burnell’s team, with Ronnie Baker chipping in with 11 and Gareth Laws eight for a Leopards team who were without Carl Latham-Henry and Bradley Wilkinson. Jordan opened the scoring after pulling down and offensive rebounds, and with Pervan hitting eight straight points – including back-to-back three pointers, the home side rushed into a 12-3 lead. Mike Gregory replied with a trey at the other end, but with Laws scoring five straight points, Leopards went into the final minute17-11 ahead before Jordan sunk a buzzer-beating three to extend that lead to 20-11 at the first break. Leopards opened the second period with an 8-2 run – Laws, Jordan, Pervan and Robert Gilchrist all getting on the scoresheet – to open a 28-13 lead with four minutes gone. However, rather than taking the game by the scruff of the next, the home side noticeably relaxed and allowed Celts to fight their way back into the game. Eight Dan Miles points in a 12-0 run saw Leopards’ lead reduced to 28-25 before Leigh Greenan broke the run. However he missed the chance of a three point play, and Gilchrist also struggled from the foul line as he scored only one of four free throws. A Pervan three looked to have put Leopards back in control, but another Miles trey launched a Cardiff run as they scored the final six points of the half to send Leopards into the locker room only 34-31 ahead. Pervan opened the second half scoring, but a Nic Horrocks basket followed by another Miles three-pointer saw Cardiff tie at the score at 36 with three minutes gone. Scores from Laws, Jordan and Lukas Volskis saw Leopards take a five point lead, but although back-to-back Jordan scores sent them into the final minute of the period with a four point lead, a Matt Lord basket cut that advantage to 48-47 at the final break. Pervan scored four points in a 6-1 run to open the final period, and a Baker trey saw Leopards take a 59-50 lead after four minutes. The Welsh side – who went into the game on a nine game losing streak - still refused to lay down and a Tony Berry basket cut the lead to 62-59 with two and half minutes remaining. At this point Leopards finally showed some of the form which has seen them challenging for honours this season, and seven Pervan points in a 9-2 run put them 71-61 ahead going into the final 80 seconds. Lord broke the run, but as Cardiff were forced to foul to stop the clock, Baker sunk seven of nine free-throws to give Leopards their 12th league win of the season and maintain their chase for the runners-up spot. Leopards: H Pervan 31, R Jordan 17, R Baker 11, G Laws 8, L Greenan 6, R Gilchrist 3, L Volskis 2, L McCarthy, K Wood (DNP) |
8 March 2009 Leopards sealed home court advantage in the play-off quarter-finals and kept up the chase for second place in the EBL Division One with a tight victory at Coventry Crusaders, on Saturday.A win against Cardiff Celts at Brentwood on Sunday will ensure that the Big Cats finish in the top three for the first time, and they still have a real chance of clinching the runners-up spot. Hrvoje Pervan had another big night against Coventry, following up his 38 points in January’s win with a game-high 31.Ronnie Baker scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, while Russell Jordan had an excellent night rebounding and added 14 points.The Big Cats were without centre Lee McCarthy, and Carl Latham-Henry injured his knee in the warm-up but still added 13 points in limited minutes. The visitors blitzed Crusaders in the opening minutes, with Pervan draining back-to-back treys to open the scoring before Gareth Laws also drained from long range to put them 9-0 ahead.Siman Stewart broke the run for the hosts, but Laws answered from downtown to make the score 12-2.Marcin Twierdinski dragged his side back into the game with five straight points, but a 9-0 run capped by a Jordan put-back put Leopards 21-7 up after just over five minutes play, forcing a timeout from Crusaders coach Scott Neely.That break worked for the hosts as they closed the gap to six points, but back-to-back scores from Jordan sent Leopards into the first break with a 29-18 lead. Crusaders opened the second period with treys from John Olinger and Ben Potts before Jordan broke the run. Five straight Simon Payne points saw Coventry cut the Leopards’ lead to nine with three minutes remaining, but five from six foul shooting saw the Big Cats regain control and three-pointers from Pervan and Lucas Volskis sent them into the locker room with a 58-43 lead. After Stewart had opened the second half scoring for Crusaders, Laws drained his third three of the night, and Leigh Greenan score kept the margin at 16 with a put-back. A clearly struggling Latham-Henry missed four straight foul shots, but he made amends with three field goals, and a three-pointer from Baker ensured the Leopards went into the final break with a 76-65 lead. Four Pervan points and a Robert Gilchrist trey kept the Big Cats’ lead in double figures during the opening three minutes of the fourth period, but a Potts three-pointer launched a 7-2 Crusaders’ run to cut the lead to 87-80 within a minute. Pervan drained a pair of free-throws and a Ronnie Baker jump shot looked to have calmed the visitors’ nerves , but four Travis Lay points in an 8-0 run saw Coventry cut the Leopards’ lead to 89-88 with three minutes remaining. Baker broke the run with a three, only to see Potts do likewise at the other end, before Jordan and Baker each sunk a pair of free-throws to put Leopards 96-91 ahead with two minutes remaining. Wes Hall cut that lead back to three before Greenan took his tally to ten from close range and Baker converted another pair of free-throws to send Leopards into the final minute with a 100-93 lead. Hall again scored before a turnover allowed Lay an easy basket before Baker was fouled to stop the clock. England’s most capped international scored one of the two free-throws, only to see Twierdinski drain a three with two seconds remaining. But Pervan was fouled as he caught the inbound, and he sunk both shots from charity stripe to give Leopards their ninth win in ten games. Leopards: H Pervan 31, R Baker 16, R Jordan 14, C Latham-Henry 13, L Greenan 10, G Laws 9, L Volskis 5, R Gilchrist 5. |
2 March 2009 Leopards fan Tony Shorey is once again doing the London to Brighton bike ride on June 21st, in aid of the British Heart Foundation and Macmillan nurses Please sponsor Tony at http://www.justgiving.com/leopards |
1 March 2009 Juniors "Race Night" fundraiser It is Friday 27th March 2009 - 7.30 for 8pm start.
(Apx. 30/40 mins from Hertford/Ware, 30 mins from Stevenage/Hitchin, 45 mins from Harlow) Fun for all the family. This is the ONLY fundraiser for the juniors, so please come along, bring family and friends and support the Leopards. Horses available to buy for £5 - please contact a team manager or If you are able to sponsor a Race for min £25 prize, voucher, cash - please contact a team manager. Have your name or company name in the programme. PLEASE come along and support us - Thank You. |
26
February 2009 Leopards return to Wodson Park for the final time this season on Saturday when they host Derby Trailblazers, tip-off 7.30pm. The game was brought forward from mid-March after both teams were left with a blank weekend due their scheduled opponents being involved in the National Trophy final. Having won at Bristol Academy Flyers last Saturday and then received the league points after Taunton Tigers were forced to call off the following day’s game at Wellsprings, Leopards are now up to join second in the table with a 9-3 record and can move ahead of Manchester Magic who aren’t playing if they win. Meanwhile, Derby are still fighting for a play-off place and are currently eighth with four wins from 13 games. The Big Cats will be looking for revenge, as Derby inflicted one of their those league defeats on them with an 89-83 victory in December. With coach Jon Burnell suspended for that game, Leopards were short-handed with Gareth Laws concentrating on coaching and Hrvoje Pervan out of action with a broken hand. Leopards struggled to cope with Joe Montgomery that day as he poured in 41 points. However the American guard has missed Derby’s last two games with a knee injury. Derby started that game with the first 16 points, but Leopards appeared to have weathered the storm and closed the gap to 24-21 at the first break. Trailblazers regained the initiative with a 28-16 second period, only for Leopards to close the gap 63-58 at the final break. That lead was halved in the first three minutes, with Lukas Volskis draining a three, and a second long range effort from the teenage point guard meant Leopards went into the final minute still only trailing by three. However, that was as close as they came, despite Derby hitting only scoring six of ten free-throws as Leopards were forced to foul to stop the clock. There was one plus side for Leopards after their loss at Derby just before Christmas, as general manager Dave Ryan explains: “ A conversation with Trailblazers’ Stedroy Baker led to us approaching his brother Ronnie as we looked to strengthen our coaching team. Ronnie’s been a big part of our post-Christmas form, both on and off the court, and today will see him match-up against Steddie for the first time at this level of the game. “The two played together in the top division of the National League for Brixton Topcats, and have gone head-to-head in the BBL over the years – with the most recent time being in April 2007 when Sheffield Arrows won 66-64 at Milton Keynes Lions. Steddie came out on top in all four meetings that season, so I reckon it’s Ronnie’s turn on Saturday.” Trailblazers have also been without Simon Spencer, who was their second leading scorer that day, and they have slipped down the table without the two players. Both players are expected to return for Saturday’s game, however, and Derby will also field their four new recruits from Birmingham A’s. Stephen Barnes made an immediate impact with 17 points, but it didn’t prevent Trailblazers going down 67-78 at home against Sheffield Arrows. Trailblazers coach Clarence Wiggins is hopeful that the pair will return: “We hope to have Spencer back, but it will be his decision. His doctor said two months, but Spence is a competitor, he’s been training on his own and he wants to play at the weekend. I’m therefore confident that he’ll play, but it will be his decision, as I say. I won’t attempt to influence him. Joe should also be back ready to play too. He’s been home to the States to have the knee injury checked out and it’s fine.” Stedroy Baker is looking forward to facing his brother in Saturday’s game: “I think the last time against Ronnie it was when I was at Sheffield and he was a Milton Keynes in the BBL and I think we won, so hopefully that’s a good sign! This time will be very different though, because we’ll both be playing a lot more minutes. One thing I would say is we don't play like brothers. We both want to win, but as soon as it's over, we'll be the best of friends again. “Leopards are playing well, but hopefully we’ll get a few of our players back from injury and along with the new guys we now have, I believe we can go on to be successful.” Meanwhile, Wiggins is expecting a tough game at Wodson Park: “Leopards have put a great team together this year. I think they’ll probably finish third in the league this year which I think will be their best ever finish. They’ve obviously got Stedroy’s brother and the Croatian guy is one heck of a basketball player. “I think they’ll be very hard to beat, especially at home, but we normally play pretty well against them and I’m just hoping that will continue,” he joked. |
25 February
2009 Leopards’ trip to the West Country ended in disappointment as Sunday’s game at Taunton Tigers was postponed five hours before the scheduled tip-off. The Tigers called the game off following the sudden death of guard Mike Sebire’s mother early on Sunday morning. “We understand the situation, and our thoughts are win Mike and his family” said general manager Dave Ryan. The Big Cats had stayed in a Bristol hotel after the previous night’s win against the Flyers, and were preparing to travel to Taunton when the call came through that the game was off. “Everyone was stunned when I told them we were going home” said Ryan. “We don’t know what will happen with the game, but logistically it would be hard to get it arranged at this stage of the season.” |
10 February
2009 Leopards will look to strengthen their bid for a top two finish in EBL Division One when they host Tees Valley Mohawks at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon. Last week’s overtime victory against Manchester Magic has given the Big Cats a good chance of catching the north west side, but to do so they will need a victory against Mohawks when the teams meet for the second time this season. When Leopards travelled to Middlesbrough in November, 26 points from Hrvoje Pervan helped them to an 87-78 victory. Gareth Laws and Carl Latham-Henry each added 15 points in that game as the Big Cats produced a strong second half performance to outscore the hosts 42-27 and take the win. Mohawks have added American guard Kenny Rogers to their side since then, and also have former Leopard James Nicholson back in action. A good run of results was ended by Manchester Magic on Saturday, but Paul Douglas’ team are still up to fifth place in the table and will provide the Big Cats with a tough game. Leopards go into the game aiming to bounce back after their National Trophy dreams were ended by Magic who won 89-81 at the Amaechi Centre. The visitors started strongly, and seven straight Carl Latham-Henry put them into a 19-15 lead, and a pair of Robert Gilchrist free-throws sent them into the first break with a 21-18 lead. Magic regained the lead after four second period minutes, and despite six Lee McCarthy points they reached half-time trailing 40-35. Things got worse for the Big Cats in the third period as a series of calls went against them, and they were outscored 25-15 as they went into the final break trailing 65-50. Stefan Gill – who led all scorers with 32 – extended that lead with a three point play to open the third period, but Latham-Henry dragged the visitors back into the game with seven straight points, and they were still in the contest going into the final two minutes as Pervan his nine points in succession. A Ronnie Baker score cut the deficit at the one minute mark, and Brandon Kimbrough missed a pair of free throws for the hosts before Pervan sunk a three to set up a grandstand finish. However, despite McCarthy taking his tally to 14 for the evening, Magic wrapped things up from the foul line as they protected a home winning streak that goes back 15 months. Latham-Henry led the Leopards scoring with 24, while Pervan added 22. McCarthy had 11 rebounds to go with his 14 points, with Russell Jordan adding nine points and seven boards. Leopards coach Jon Burnell was clearly upset after the game: “We’re obviously disappointed. It’s tough playing up there as they shoot the ball really well on their own floor, and that’s a massive part of their game. “We know we can beat them on our day, but the refs forced us to become a jump shooting team as they wouldn’t give us any calls when we went inside. “We were always in the game, but we didn’t shoot the ball well and every time we penetrated we were getting fouled.” |
6 February
2009 Just seven days after an overtime thriller at the Brentwood Centre, Manchester Magic and Leopards meet in the National Trophy semi-final. Leopards looked to be strolling towards a comfortable win in last week’s league game, adding six points to their 46-23 half-time lead to be 29 ahead with 15 minutes remaining. However, Magic staged a comeback of epic proportions and scored 22 straight points before eventually forcing the game into overtime. Jeff Jones’ side led for the first time when they scored the first points of overtime after 80 seconds. However with Steve Boonham and Stefan Gill fouling out, Leopards finally took control again and a 7-0 run capped by a three from Hrvoje Pervan saw them 84-79 ahead with two minutes remaining. Scores from Adam Slater and Brandon Kimbrough cut that lead to one, but as Magic were forced to foul to stop the club, Carl Latham-Henry converted a free-throw to wrap up the win. Pervan led the Leopards’ scoring again, finishing with 30 points including ten in the first period. Latham-Henry added 13, Ronnie Baker 11 and both Russell Jordan and Lee McCarthy ten each. Magic were led by 32 Tanner Adu points, while Gill added 25. Steve Boonham was the only other Manchester player in double figures with ten. That was the first victory in seven attempts for the Leopards against Magic, having seen the Manchester side complete a league double over them in each of the last three seasons. Magic coach Jones is looking for a more consistent performance than his team produced in that thriller at Brentwood: ““Well, we might make a shot in the first ten minutes, that would be good ! Certainly we don’t want to start the way we did in last week’s game, and if we can play the way we did in the last 20 minutes I’ll be happy. “Obviously we have to focus on not being so sluggish, we have to be ready to go from the start. It can work both ways losing in overtime, but we need to focus on the things we didn’t do well in the first half. I’ve never been involved in anything like that; We were abysmal, and then to have that kind of turnaround was almost surreal. “If Sunday’s game is as entertaining as that, it’s all the fans can ask for. I’m happy we’re at home as it gives us a slight edge.” When it comes to singling out the danger players on the Leopards team, Jones has little doubt of that impact that Ronnie Baker makes on the Big Cats’ roster: “He was probably the difference between the teams down the stretch. He’s kept in great shape, and both Ronnie and his brother Stedroy – who played for me at Derby – have had great careers. It’s good to see them still making an impact.” Leopards coach Jon Burnell was unperturbed after his side nearly lost what appeared to be a comfortable victory: “I said after game that the most important thing was that we got the win. It was a bigger game for us than it was for Manchester, at least at the beginning. I think our team were still asking questions of themselves, and we answered some of them and came out with a win. That’s great for us, we’ll prepare all week knowing what we’re up against. “Magic aren’t easy to beat anywhere, but on their own floor they haven’t lost for a long time. Clearly we need to play for the whole 40 minutes. We were very good for the first 20 and decent for the next five, that’s not enough. Both teams hurt themselves by not playing for 40 minutes, but we know we can beat them as we have done, and they know they had enough opportunities to win. “We need to do the little things that we didn’t do well when it wasn’t going our way. It’s easy when the shooters are scoring and the big guys are rebounding. But we need to work harder away from the ball and score the high percentage shots near the basket.” While Magic won all eight qualifying games, Leopards finished with a 5-3 record in the pool stage to reach the final four. |
29 January
2009 Leopards will be running a coach to the Amaechi Centre on Sunday February 8 to watch the Big Cats face Manchester Magic in the National Trophy semi-final. Times are to be confirmed, but the coach will pick up at the Brentwood Centre, Barking railway station and at Junction Six on the M1. Cost is £15 per seat, and we understand admission at Manchester will be £5 for adults and £2 for concessions. Seats are on a first come first served basis, and to book a place please phone Fred on 07973 239146. It’s arguably our biggest game since winning the National Cup in December 2005, and the players would appreciate as much support as possible. Due to the semi-final against Magic, the game at Taunton Tigers on Saturday February 7 has been postponed until Sunday February 22, tip-off 4.00pm – with the Big Cats spending the weekend in the West Country as they play at Bristol the previous day. |
27 January
2009 Leopards return to Brentwood on Sunday as the host Manchester Magic in a key EBL Division One game. It’s a third versus second clash at the Brentwood Centre as both teams look to keep up the pressure on league leaders Reading Rockets. Magic defeated the Big Cats twice last season on their way to a league, Cup and play-off treble and Jeff Jones’ side have again started strongly this season with 19 wins from their first 21 games in all competitions. Their two defeats have both come against Reading Rockets, with a loss in the league at the Rockets’ Rivermead venue before Dave Titmuss’ team repeated the trick in last week’s National Cup final. The game is a dress rehearsal for the following Sunday’s National Trophy semi-final in Manchester as Leopards reached the last four of the competition for the first time with a pair of victories over the weekend. Needing to win both games to finish second in Pool One, the Big Cats defeated Cardiff Celts 73-54 at Wodson Park on Saturday before winning 73-63 at Bristol Academy Flyers the following day in “winners-takes-all” showdown. Leopards started slowly against Celts, and trailed by nine at the midway stage before recovering to go into the first break level at 16-16. Six points from Hrvoje Pervan in a 13-0 run put Leopards in charge against the Welsh side, and they went into the half-time break 36-25 ahead. Celts staged in touch throughout the third period, but with Gareth Laws and Ronnie Baker both draining three-pointers, the Big Cats reached the final break with a 56-43 lead. Cardiff had one last run left in them as a 10-0 run started and finished by R Priddle three-pointers saw them cut the Leopards’ lead to 60-53 with four minutes remaining. However, Baker calmed the nerves with back-to-back three-pointers to launch a 12-0 run as the Big Cats never looked back. Baker led all scorers with 15 points, with Laws adding 14, Pervan 12 and Lukas Volskis 10 in a game where all ten Leopards got on the scoresheet. The following day at Bristol started in somewhat surreal fashion as the two sides played out the final 24 seconds of the game abandoned in November. The clubs were making history as the first game in England to finish at a different venue , in a different year but the Big Cats were unable to pull of a surprise win. Going into the final 24 seconds, Leopards were 92-86 down, and although a Gareth Laws three pointer cut the deficit by one, the game finished 95-89. That defeat didn’t seem to affect the Big Cats confidence as they started the Trophy game against Flyers strongly as an 8-0 run put them in the driving seat as they reached the first break 27-17 ahead. Bristol battled back, scoring the first six points of the second period, and with Leigh Greenan blowing a chance to send Leopards into the locker room with an eight point lead, and Watson netted on the buzzer to cut the visitors’ lead to 40-36 at half-time. Flyers took their first lead since the opening minutes as they outscored Leopards 10-5 in the opening five minutes of the second half. Four straight Pervan points broke the run, and launched a tear of eight unanswered points for the Big Cats, and a late Russell Jordan basket sent the Big Cats into the final break 57-48 ahead. Leopards remained comfortably ahead in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, and four Latham-Henry points in a 6-0 run took the lead out to 71-57 as the Big Cats sealed their first Trophy semi-final spot. Pervan led the scoring with 27 points, while Jordan added 17 and Latham-Henry 12. |
23 January
2009 While Jack Bauer continues to try save democracy and America, Bristol Academy Flyers and London Leopards will stage their own version of “24” in the England Basketball League Division One on Sunday. The two sides will play the final 24 seconds of a game that was suspended in November following a neck injury to Leopards’ point guard Carl Latham-Henry. That game at Leopards’ Brentwood Centre home on November 16 was held up for 30 minutes after the 25-year-old collided with Flyers guard Greg Street and suffered a neck injury. With the player unable to be moved, and the ambulance taking over 25 minutes to arrive, the referees called a halt to proceedings. Latham-Henry was taken to Romford hospital, and was released after treatment for damaged ligaments in his neck. With Flyers leading 92-86,Leopards agreed to play the remaining 24 seconds when the sides meet in the National Trophy on Sunday. We were never looking to gain any advantage from the situation” said general manager Dave Ryan. “We were still in with a chance, albeit an outside one, of winning the game and even though we’ll be at a disadvantage having to play it Bristol it always seemed the fairest way of doing it.” The two sides will be making history on Sunday as it is believed to be the first game in England to be spread over two different dates. There is 155 miles between the Brentwood Centre where the game started and 70 days would have elapsed since it originally started. The teams will only be allowed to play players who were involved when the game started, and with the exception of Latham-Henry who will take no further part in the game, they must start with the players who were on the court when the game was suspended. Both teams are in the penalty, with Bristol holding the ball and 20 seconds on the shot clock. Leopards coach Jon Burnell is realistic about his team’s chances of snatching a win: “We’ll give it a go, but the odds are against it. We didn’t deserve the win last time, and if we don’t get it this time around we’ll move on and look to get the win in the Trophy. That’s our priority this weekend, if we can beat Cardiff and Bristol we’ll have an excellent chance of getting through to the semi-finals.” In the original game, Flyers had looked to be heading for a comfortable win as they led 90-77 with 80 seconds remaining, but a pair of three pointers from Gareth Laws and one from Hrvoje Pervan took the score to 92-86 before the game came to a premature end. Pervan and Latham-Henry had led the scoring for the Big Cats with 26 points apiece, while Gareth Laws added 14. When the 24 seconds are over, the teams will return to the court for what looks likely to be a key National Trophy game. The teams both head into the game with 3-3 records, and are looking to gain their first semi-final spot in the competition. Bristol visit Cardiff Celts on Friday night, with Leopards hosting the Welsh side the following evening. With Celts winless and effectively eliminated from the competition, if Bristol can win both their games they will qualify for the last four. Meanwhile if Leopards record a pair of victories, they’ll be hoping that undefeated Reading Rockets win at least one of their two remaining games against Taunton Tigers – which will eliminate the Somerset side. Flyers coach Andreas Kapoulas is also looking forward to Sunday’s history-making double-header: “It’s a bit bizarre game on Sunday. We first have to play the last 24 seconds from the league game and then we have the national trophy game. The most important element is the fact that Carl is ok and healthy. In terms of the game, we are up by six points and possession of the ball however it’s still a two possession game and we have to be careful as Leopards have some of the best shooters in the league. It should be interesting as we have never been involved in a day that determines two results! “The national trophy game is a winner takes it all game provided we beat Cardiff on Thursday. The winner goes through to the National Trophy semi-finals. its going to be a great achievement for our club to reach its first ever trophy semi-final in the short period we have been in the league. Leopards seem to have most of their team back healthy and that makes them really strong. Unfortunately we have a lot of significant injuries so a lot of our younger academy players will have to give us quality minutes. It’s a bit like throwing them in the deep water but it will be really good to see how they react. I have loads of confidence in them and they have been playing really well in practise. Sunday should be a really good crucial test for us.” When Leopards and Flyers met in the Trophy at Brentwood earlier in the season, things were considerably calmer than the subsequent league game. Thirty-five Hrvoje Pervan points helped Leopards record a comfortable 96-81 victory in a game that they never looked back in after going into the first break with a 29-16 lead. Brody Bishop led the Flyers with 24 points. |
21 January
2009 Leopards will look to move towards a semi-final place in the National Trophy when they host Cardiff Celts at Wodson Park on Saturday evening. The Big Cats need to defeat the Celts and then win at Bristol Academy Flyers on Sunday to stand a realistic chance of reaching the final four of the competition. The game will be the first chance for the Wodson Park fans to see England international Ronnie Baker in action for Leopards after he signed for the club last week. Having lost all six games they’ve played in the competition this season, Celts are already eliminated and face the prospect of hosting Bristol on Friday evening before traveling to Ware on Saturday. When the sides met in Wales in October, a season-high 32 points from Gareth Laws helped Leopards overcome a stubborn Celts side 93-79. A strong fourth period proved to be key as Jon Burnell’s team outscored the home side 25-16. The Big Cats also travelled to Cardiff for a league game in December, and once again a strong finish saw Leopards 89-69 as the home side were outscored 29-14 in the final period. Nineteen-year-old point guard Lukas Volskis came off the bench to score 13 points in the final quarter on his way to a team-high 20 points. Celts have improved since then, and are now fourth in the Division One table, with three wins from six games. |
15 January
2009 Leopards have pounced to strengthen their squad ahead of the January 31 deadline with the signing of former England international Ronnie Baker. The 39-year-old is England’s most capped player, having collected 156 caps in an international career that lasted 18 years, culminating with a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Baker played three seasons with the original Leopards in the mid-1990s, winning the BBL title and the National Cup in 1996/97 season as well as playing for seven other BBL clubs. He spent the last two years with Milton Keynes Lions, where he won the BBL Cup last season. The 5’ 8” point guard will be player-assistant coach for the Big Cats, and general manager Dave Ryan is excited about the club’s new signing: “We’re delighted that Ronnie is joining us, both on the coaching and playing side. When Gareth Laws coached us at Derby before Christmas he did a great job, but he wasn’t as effective as a player – and we really need him on the court. Ronnie brings a wealth of experience at the top level in this country and at international level, and he’ll be a fantastic asset as a coach. “But we also get a great player who can bring so much to us on the court. We have two really good point guards in Carl Latham-Henry and Lucas Volskis, but when one of them has been injured we’ve struggled, so having Ronnie available is a real bonus. Both Carl and Lucas are capable of playing at the shooting guard spot, so we certainly have lots of options now. “We’re 11 deep with Division One quality players, and we’re really looking to push on now and get our highest ever spot in the final table. The league’s probably beyond us, but there’s still the National Trophy and the play-offs, and I genuinely believe that with this squad we can win something.” Baker will make his Leopards debut on Sunday afternoon when the Big Cats host Coventry Crusaders, at the Brentwood Centre – tip-off 4pm. As well as winning a pair of trophies with the original Big Cats, Baker won collected five other winners medals in the BBL as well as finishing runners-up three times. |
7 January
2009 Leopards will look to start the New Year in style on Saturday when they host Reading Rockets in a key National Trophy game at Wodson Park. The action at the Ware venue starts at 7.30pm, and the Big Cats will be looking to end the Rockets unbeaten start to the season which was stretched to 18 games with last week’s 31 point demolition of Derby Trailblazers. The teams met three times in the space of a month leading up to Christmas, with Rockets winning all of the games. The first meeting saw a poor shooting performance from the Big Cats as Rockets took the National points with a 73-58 victory at their Loddon Valley venue. A thriller at Wodson Park the following week saw a late comeback from the home side prove to be in vain as Rockets won 75-72 in the National Cup quarter-finals. The sides met again in the final game of 2008, and Rockets again managed to shut down the Big Cats’ defence as they chalked up a 70-51 victory in the EBL Division One. While Leopards look to have a tough task ahead of them, general manager Dave Ryan believes that Saturday’s game could see them end the hoodoo: “We haven’t managed to field our strongest team yet this season, but it looks like we’ll finally be able to do it on Saturday. “With no disrespect to the other players, our key men are Carl Latham-Henry, Hrvoje Pervan and Carl McNally. We’ve never had more than two of them available, and the only time we had two of them playing we lost H with a broken hand. We narrowly lost that game, and if we play as well as we are capable we can be the first team to beat them this season. “We’re excited that we’re finally going to put our strongest team out. It’s never happened yet to injuries to H, Carl Latham-Henry, Lee McCarthy, Lukas Volskis and Rob Gilchrist. The treatment room’s looked like casualty at times, and hopefully the new year will bring us some better luck.” Reading look certain to win the group and get home court advantage in the semi-final. A win for Leopards would put them in pole position to qualify for the last four as they look to get out of the group stage for the first time. Admission at Wodson Park is £6 for adults and £4 for children. |
21 December
2008 We are pleased to announce the arrival of:
to Troy and his wife, Megan on 19 December 2008. Alanna weighed in at a very healthy 8lb 4oz and measured 21 inches. Mom, baby and dad are all doing fine. With all good wishes to the Selveys from London Leopards management, players and fans. |
19 December
2008 Gareth Laws will be looking to continue his perfect coaching record for London Leopards when the Big Cats visit Derby Trailblazers on Saturday. The 28-year-old guard/forward will fill in for suspended coach Jon Burnell as Leopards look to maintain their perfect record in Division One. Burnell is serving a one-game suspension after being ejected in his side’s National Cup quarter-final loss against Reading Rockets, and with assistant coach Lloyd Gardner at a wedding, Laws will step up. He coached last season’s 101-96 victory at Taunton Tigers, and also called the plays in the Big Cats’ pre-season wins against Christians In Action and Kent Crusaders. Laws will be without Hrvoje Pervan who has a broken hand and fellow forward Robert Gilchrist is also doubtful with a knee injury. Derby are also struggling for players as they attempt to snap a six game losing streak, but with their Division Three side not having a game they are expected to draft in some reinforcements. One of those players could be centre Dave Attewell – a member of the original Leopards in their final four seasons and still a popular figure with the Big Cats’ supporters. Trailblazers won both games between the teams last season as they made an encouraging debut in the top flight. Twenty-seven points each from American pair Joe Barber and Rob Stockwell helped Derby win a tight game 96-90 at Wodson Park, despite 26 points from Carl Latham-Henry, and they completed the double on Easter Saturday with a 90-74 home victory. Simon Spencer had a big night for Derby with 21 points, while Latham-Henry again led Leopards with 19. |
16 December
2008 Leopards will be looking for revenge when they return to the Brentwood Centre with an EBL Division One game against Reading Rockets on Sunday. The action starts at 4pm, and the Big Cats will face a team who have already beaten them in two competitions this season. A poor display saw Jon Burnell’s team go down 78-53 at Loddon Valley in the National Trophy group stage three weeks ago, before a thriller at Wodson Park the following week saw Reading escape with a 75-72 victory. The two teams go into the weekend as the only sides with unbeaten league records – Rockets having won all six EBL Division One games and Leopards currently boasting a 4-0 record. The game will give the Brentwood Centre crowd the first chance to see new shooting guard Carl McNally in action. The 22-year-old New York born player joined Leopards from BBL side Milton Keynes Lions, and made an immediate impact with 16 points in their 89-69 victory at Cardiff Celts before pouring in 27 in Saturday’s 89-84 win against Sheffield Arrows. Jon Burnell’s team were ahead by 14 at half-time, but only scored 12 points in the third period as fourth placed Arrows held them scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter. Assistant coach Gareth Laws added 17, while Carl Latham-Henry (13) and Lukas Volskis both finished in double figures. A tight first period saw Leopards lead 28-23 at quarter-time, but they looked to be moving towards a comfortable victory as they extended a 58-44 half-time lead to 63-46 with two minutes gone. However Arrows battled back, Leopards’ lead was just two points going into the final period, but they opened with an 8-0 run, including another score from foul line after Arrows’ coach Pete Kelly was given a technical foul after inadvertently putting six players on the court. The run was ended by a Dave Siddell basket, though he failed to complete the three-point play after being fouled by Volskis. That launched a 13-2 run for the visitors, with Jordan and Lee McCarthy each scoring a single free-throws for Leopards, as Ousley scored five points to help Arrows to their first lead since the opening quarter, 81-80 with two minutes remaining. A time-out from Burnell stopped the rot, and after NcNally had missed a pair of free-throws, he grabbed the rebound and scored from close range to make the score 82-81. McLaughlin-Williams levelled the score going into the final minute with a single free-throw before Laws restored Leopards lead with a jump shot. As Arrows were formed to foul to stop the close, Latham-Henry scored three from foul free-throws, before Laws iced the win with another pair from the charity stripe to keep the Big Cats in third place with games in hand on their title rivals. Prior to the Reading game, Leopards travel to Derby Trailblazers on Saturday evening where they will face a team who have lost six straight games following a good start to the season. |
11 December 2008 Leopards will be looking to end their dismal home form against Sheffield Arrows when the teams meet at Wodson Park on Saturday evening. The game will see the Big Cats host Arrows for the fifth time since the new Leopards came into existence, and they’re still looking for our first home victory against Pete Kelly’s club. Conversely, they have managed to win three times when visiting the EIS, although they have visited the Steel City on eight occasions. Last season the teams split the two games in Sheffield. When they met in October, a poor first half performance saw Leopards lose their second group game in the National Trophy, going fown76-61. The Big Cats were without point guard Carl Latham-Henry and their failure to put enough points on enough point on the board in the opening 20 minutes proved to be their undoing as they trailed by 22 at half-time. Our only two players aged over 20, Gareth Laws and Sam Salter, led the scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively, with point guard Lukas Volskis adding ten points. When they returned for a league game in December, Lee McCarthy led the Leopards’ scoring for the first time this season as they continued their good start to the EBL Division One campaign with a hard-fought 75-70 win. Once against Latham-Henry missed the game due to a knee injury, but a strong third period proved key for the Big Cats. When Arrows visited Wodson in March Leopards never recovered from a poor start as their top four hopes were damaged by an 87-77 loss . The Big Cats scored just two points in the first seven minutes, and Sheffield never looked back as they built on an early 11-2 lead. A late flurry gave the Wodson Park fans some hope, but Leopards ran out of time as Arrows continued their perfect record in away games against Jon Burnell’s team. With Errol Seaman ill and both Leigh Greenan and Lee McCarthy injured, Leopards were woefully short of big men, and Arrows’ American centre Dustin Bevard took advantage with 31 points. Bevard was almost matched by Leopards’ Gareth Laws who finished with 30 points, including 15 in their ultimately futile fourth period comeback. Hrvoje Pervan will miss the game after breaking his hand in Leopards’ National Cup loss against Reading Rockets, with forward Robert Gilchrist also likely to sit out for the second week running with a knee injury. With Arrows going into the game in fourth place, one spot behind the Big Cats, Sheffield coach Pete Kelly is looking forward to the game: “We will try and be positive as always and see where that takes us, we are fit and ready to play. Wodson has been a good place for us in the past as though we have struggled elsewhere on our travels we have won there on our last two visits. Sadly we have offered the Leopards similar hospitality in Sheffield. “We envy Leopards ability to combine youngsters of great calibre with more seasoned players. We are looking forward to testing our once again young squad with one of the division’s best rosters. “Our group is beginning to come together but with matches against Leopards and Manchester before Christmas we will need to continue to improve in every aspect of our play.” |
4 December
2008 Leopards have been frustrated in their attempts to sign American shooting guard Carl McNally in time for Saturday’s trip to Cardiff Celts. The 22-year-old was released from British League side Milton Keynes Lions, and immediately snapped up by the Big Cats. He watched their two recent games against Reading Rockets, and was expected to make his debut against Cardiff this weekend, but the move has been held up due to a problem at the UK Border Agency, as general manager Dave Ryan explained: “We sent the documentation off over a week ago, before the procedure changed, but they appear to have lost it. They’ve been provided with copies of everything, but we’re waiting to see if they treat it as a new application. That would complicate things as the new procedures are unclear and will take a lot longer. “It’s frustrating as we did everything right and on time, and so did England Basketball, but they simply seem to have lost the application. “There’s no point bellyaching though, we’ll go down there with whoever’s fit and licensed and try to win the game. Carl [Latham-Henry] coming back so soon is a massive bonus for us, because we really believed we wouldn’t see him until after Christmas. We need him and Gareth Laws to have big games, and lead us to a win.” McNally is now expected to play his first game for the Leopards when Sheffield Arrows are the visitors to Wodson Park on Saturday December 13. It will be a depleted Leopards team that travels to south Wales this week. Croatian forward Pervan broke his hand in last week National Cup exit against Reading Rockets, and will be out of action until the New Year. Centre Lee McCarthy aggravated his on-going ankle injury against Rockets as is also unlikely to travel. On the plus side for the Leopards, Carl Latham-Henry came through the game against Rockets unscathed after the neck injury he suffered two weeks before, but his back-up Lukas Volskis missed that game with an Achilles injury, and is unlikely to play this weekend. Celts go into the game in eighth spot in the league with a 1-2 record while the Leopards are third having won both their completed Division One games this season. The teams have already met in the National Trophy this season, and a strong second half proved to be key for the visiting Leopards as they won 93-79. Gareth Laws led the way for the Big Cats with 32 points as they overcame a 43-40 half-time deficit to lead 68-63 at the final break, and they never trailed again. Hrvoje Prevan added 29 for the visitors, while Celts were led by 23 Mike Gregory points. |
28 November
2008 Leopards coach Jon Burnell knows that his side will have to play better when they host Reading Rockets at Wodson Park in Saturday evening’s National Cup quarter-final. The Big Cats went down 78-53 against the Rockets in the group stage of the National Trophy on Saturday, and although the margin of victory was not a true reflection of the game, Burnell acknowledged there was room for improvement: “I was pleased with our defence, but it was almost as if we’ve worked so hard on that area of our game that we lost the ability to score. I’m not making excuses, but being without Carl Latham-Henry really hurt us. He brings us a lot offensively, and losing your point guard is probably the hardest injury to cope with.” Saturday’s game at Wodson Park tips-off at 7.30pm, and will see a repeat of the 2005/6 National Cup final, which the Big Cats won 79-75 at the NIA in Birmingham to pick up what currently remains the only piece of silverware they have won. A big crowd is expected at the Ware venue as Burnell’s team hope to progress to the semi-finals. Tickets are available on the door, priced at £6 for adults and £4 for children. |
21 November
2008 Reading Rockets v’s London
Leopards Reading Rockets will look to effectively wrap up a place in the National Trophy semi-finals when they host London Leopards on Saturday evening. Holders Rockets go into the game with a perfect 4-0 record in this season’s competition, and they will be looking to protect a remarkable record in the Trophy. Dave Titmuss’ team have only lost once in their last 16 games in the competition as they’ve recorded back-to-back successes. However, that defeat came at Leopards’ old home at Goresbrook Leisure Centre when just over two years ago, with the home side winning 83-82. Sam Salter drained a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to give the Big Cats victory that day. Leopards have won three of their four games in this season’s competition, but having lost by 15 in their last Trophy outing at Taunton, they need a win to get their campaign back on track. Jon Burnell’s team look set to be without point guard Carl Latham-Henry for several weeks after the 25-year-old was carried off with ligament damage in his neck when they hosted Bristol Academy Flyers last week. The game was suspended with 24 seconds remaining with Flyers up by six, but Leopards’ general manager Dave Ryan is pleased to report that the damage to Latham-Henry’s neck wasn’t as serious as was first feared: “I spoke to Carl yesterday, and although he’s still in a lot of pain, it appears he will make a full recovery. He gave us all a massive scare, but we’re looking forward to having him back with us soon – although it could be that he doesn’t return until the New Year. “The amount of people we’ve had contact us asking if he’s okay has been truly remarkable. It’s nice to see just how many people care about someone from another club. “ Rockets won both games between the sides last season, producing a dominant performance in a 77-55 home victory before closing out the game strongly at Wodson Park, winning 93-81. |
15 November
2008 Leopards are looking for someone to provide the stats for their EBL Division One, Trophy and Cup games during this season. We play home games at Brentwood and Ware, but if someone can only do one of those venues, we'll certainly consider them. Training can be given, and further details can be gained by mailing leopardsgm@hotmail.com. As with all positions at the club, the position is a voluntary one. |
12 November
2008 Leopards are expecting their biggest crowd of the season when they host Bristol Academy Flyers at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon. With a charity auction following the game, and 60 school children training with the Big Cats players before the game, general manager Dave Ryan is hoping for a large crowd at Brentwood: “We think it could be our biggest home crowd since we reformed the club five years ago. We’re never going to beat the 5,000 who saw us win the National Cup at Birmingham, but it’ll be great to see Brentwood Centre full up again. “We’ll be trying to raise as much money as possible for Richard House Children’s Hospice, but it also should be a good game against a side that matches up well with us. If it’s half as good as last week, we’re in for a treat!” Bristol arrive at Brentwood with one win from their opening two EBL Division One games, and are still in with a chance of progressing in the National Trophy. 35 Hrvoje Pervan points helped the Big Cats defeat Flyers 96-81 when the sides met at Brentwood in the Trophy last month. Leopards progressed to the National Cup quarter-final on Sunday with a thrilling 123-118 triple overtime victory against Westminster Warriors. After trailing 70-58 at the start of the fourth period, Leopards fought back but were still down by three with two seconds remaining when young point guard Lukas Volskis launched a huge three-pointer to send the game into an extra period. Volskis looked to have given Leopards the win with a late basket, but the impressive Jon Johnson levelled the score at 98 to force a second extra period. Four straight Fola Adeleke points at the start of the second OT period appeared to have put Leopards in charge, but Warriors refused to lie down, and it took a late score from Pervan to force a third extra period. Adeleke again scored the first four points of the period for a Leopards side who were without starters Carl Latham-Henry, Gareth Laws and Pervan due to foul trouble, and with Lee Greenan adding four points, the Big Cats finally wrapped up the victory. Pervan led the Leopards scoring for the sixth time this season with 30 while Greenan had his best ever offensive night for the Big Cats with 22 points and Latham-Henry finished with 18 despite foul trouble. The previous day had seen a strong third period performance pave the way for Leopards to continue their unbeaten start to the EBL Division One season with an 87-78 victory at Tees Valley Mohawks. The Big Cats upped their defensive intensity in the second half, and held the home side to 11 points in third period – adding 21 of their own – and once they took the lead with two minutes of third quarter remaining they never trailed again. Pervan again led the Leopards’ scoring with 26 points while Latham-Henry and Laws each added 15. |
8 November
2008 There will be a new face on show for the Leopards when they host Westminster Warriors on Sunday as they have added power forward Russell Jordan to their squad. The 26-year-old dual British/American national joins the Big Cats from BBL newcomers Worthing Thunder where he was on a short-term contract, having played for Leicester Riders in the same competition last season. Leopards’ general manager Dave Ryan is delighted with the new signing: “We’ve been tracking Russell for a while but we’ve never quite managed to sign him, so it’s great that he’s finally on board. He’ll bring us a lot at the defensive end, which we clearly needed at Taunton last week. Add the facts that he’s good at the Hoops 4 Health work and he’s a British passport holder, we’re very happy to Russ on board.” Born in England while his father served in the US military, Jordan had a successful college career in The States with Middlesex County College, Jarvis Christian College and Kean University before playing for German team VSC MR Plan Donauworth. He was signed by Martin Ford at Riders last season before linking up with Thunder in September – making his debut in their pre-season tournament which saw Leopards finish third. With centre Lee McCarthy likely to miss both of Leopards’ games this weekend with an Achilles injury he picked up at Taunton, Jordan’s signing comes at the right time for the Big Cats. Jordan will make his debut on Saturday night as the Big Cats make the long journey to Tees Valley Mohawks before Leopards return to Wodson Park on Sunday evening to face Westminster Warriors, tip-off 5pm. Even with McCarthy injured. the Leopards go into the weekend genuinely ten deep, and with a long trip north on Saturday followed by a tough game on Sunday, that could prove crucial as they look to bounce back from last week’s loss at Taunton. |
6 November
2008 Leopards Basketball Club will be aiming to raise money for the Richard House Hospice when they stage their next home game at the Brentwood Centre. The Big Cats host Bristol Flyers in the EBL Division One on Sunday November 16, and they will running a full programme of fundraising for the Becton based hospice. Richard House has been providing care and support for life-limited and life-threatened children and their families since the year 2000. They accompany them during the child or young person’s journey through life to death, creating positive experiences along the way which become good memories for the future. There will be bucket collections during the afternoon, a chance to buy signed warm-up shorts worn by the Leopards’ team as well as a stall in support of the charity. After the game Leopards will be holding an auction in the bar at Brentwood Centre, and among the items going under the hammer is a signed West Ham United shirt, concert tickets for events at Brentwood and a framed Leopards shirt. The club are also hoping to obtain a signed England shirt worn by Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and something from Frank Lampard. Leopards’ chairman Fred Dicker is hoping the day will be a big success: “We’re looking forward to help Richard House, and w hope that we can raise a lot of money for the charity. “We’re expecting our biggest crowd since returning to Brentwood this season, and it’s a chance for everyone to help a worthwhile cause.” The action starts at 4pm, with tickets available on the day priced 8 for adults and 5 for children. Further details available from 07940 539197. |
4 November
2008 Jon Burnell is prepared for the biggest weekend of the season so far as Leopards face two games in just 24 hours. The Big Cats make the long journey to Middlesbrough on Saturday evening before hosting Westminster Warriors at Wodson Park in the National Cup on Sunday. “It’s going to be a really tough weekend, and if we don’t play better defensively than we did on Sunday, we’re going to be in trouble” said the Leopards coach. The Big Cats went down 93-78 at Taunton Tigers on Sunday as a poor second period cost them dearly. Carl Latham-Henry led the Big Cats for the first time this season with 20 points, while Gareth Laws added 17 and Robert Gilchrist 11. Significantly, star forward Hrvoje Pervan was limited to just ten points by some tough defending, though the Croatian could justifiably complain about some of the calls he received – including two technical fouls – on a night when nothing went right for him. Leopards had led 20-15 at the first break, but were outscored 32-10 in the second period, and although they started the second half strongly, they were never able to get back into the game. Sunday’s National Cup game at Wodson tips off at the slightly later than usual at 5pm, and the Big Cats will face a Warriors side packed with BBL-standard players. Julius Joseph, who played for Great Britain in the summer of 2007, is the most recognisable player in the Westminster line-up. The 6’ 8” forward played for Scottish Rocks in the BBL last season, and he is joined by former Leicester Riders guard Steve Vear. The team is coached by former Milton Keynes Lions point guard Junior Williams, who also plays for the London club, and he can also call on the likes of Marvin Addy and Adam Lovelock and Sammy Rahman who have played Division One basketball. “It’s going to be a very difficult game” said Burnell. “They have a team more than good enough for Division One, and we certainly won’t be taking them lightly. “Our players need to buy in to playing tough defence. We’ve got away with it on several occasions, but it showed on Sunday that if the shots aren’t falling, you can’ give up 90 plus points.” Saturday’s trip to face Tees Valley Mohawks sees Leopards facing a team who bounced straight back to the top flight of the EBL after being relegated in 2007. Mohawks have won two of their five National Trophy games, and opened the league season with a 93-70 loss at champions Manchester Magic. The Big Cats hope to have a new player in their squad for the weekend’s fixtures with the club set to announce the signing of a power forward. Burnell was remaining tight-lipped about the identity of the new man: “We’re talking to two players at the moment, and we should know by Wednesday. Whichever one signs I think he will strengthen us considerably defensively.” |
1 November
2008 Leopards have moved quickly to replace shooting guard Sam Salter, and have re-signed Fola Adeleke to their EBL Division One squad. Adeleke was an ever-present member of the Big Cats team last season and proved to be a key part of the side which finished fifth in the table. The Barking Abbey Academy graduate had hoped to go to college in The States this year, but the move falling through he has returned to Jon Burnell’s team. “It’s great to have Fola back with us” said general manager Dave Ryan. “He was an important part of the team last season, and we could have signed him early this season but we didn’t want to upset the balance of the team. “However as soon as Sam left we were on the phone to him, and I‘m sure he’ll be an important part of the team.” Adeleke played one pre-season friendly for the Leopards this year, coming off the bench to drain 26 points in a 91-74 victory at Harlow Hawks. The 20-year-old is expected to make his return in a Leopards vest for Saturday’s National Trophy trip to Taunton Tigers where Leopards will look for their sixth straight competitive victory this season. 31 October
2008 Leopards have announced that shooting guard Sam Salter has left the club. The 32-year-old has struggled to commit to the Big Cast this season due to work pressures, and has reluctantly told the club’s management that he can not longer play for them. “Sam’s been a great player and leader for us” said coach Jon Burnell. “We’re going to miss him, and we wish him all the best for the future.” The moment that Leopards will always remember most about the Birmingham-born player came the 2005/6 season when he sunk the four free-throws which won the National Cup for the Big Cats at the NIA in Birmingham. “That was the single best moment in the history of the club” said general manager Dave Ryan. “Sam’s been a great ambassador for Leopards and it will seem weird at Taunton without him on Saturday.” Leopards are expected to name a replacement for Salter in the next few days, and are also closing in on a big man as they look to maintain their unbeaten start of the season. With their Hoops 4 Health programme starting in November, Leopards still plan to add a big man to their squad, and have also signed Barking Academy guard Turan Webb this week. Tigers go into the game with one win from three games in the Trophy, and realistically need to win to maintain their semi-final hopes, while Leopards have won their opening three games in the competition. |
29 October
2008 Taunton Tigers and Leopards meet for round three of the “battle of the big cats” on Sunday afternoon, with National Trophy points at stake. The two previous meetings this season have resulted in home wins for the Leopards. The game ended in a thrilling finale which saw Tigers’ Joe Saunders level the score at 89 with under two seconds remaining, only to see 19-year-old point guard Lukas Volskis coolly drain a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 0.7 seconds remaining to give the hosts victory. Last week’s game at the Brentwood saw a more comfortable win for the Leopards as Hrvoje Pervan poured in 38 points in a 103-90 victory. Most of the damage for the home side was done during the second period as Tigers were outscored 31-10 – indeed it was the only quarter that the Leopards actually won, with both second half periods finishing level. Despite losing the game, Tigers’ long-serving team manager Paul Carter remained positive: “In previous seasons we would have lost by 30 points or more after that poor second quarter. However, the resurgent Tigers never lost hope and played for the win in the second half rather than damage limitation. There is a different and completely justified level of belief and confidence about us now”. “With our home crowd at Wellsprings behind us, it will be very interesting when they come to us next weekend. If you have to pick one game to come to this year choose this one next weekend - it promises to be a real cracker “ Leopards hope to have a full roster to choose from for the first time this season. Point guard Carl Latham-Henry is back to full fitness after missing the first two games of the campaign with a groin injury, though youngster Volskis continues to keep him out of the starting line-up. Young forward Robert Gilchrist marked his return from an ankle injury with 16 points against the Tigers, while centre Lee McCarthy returns after missing two of the last three games due to junior coaching commitments. “It will be good to have all ten players available again” said Leopards’ coach Jon Burnell. “We struggled with foul trouble last week, so having two players for each spot with always help.” Burnell is pleased with how the club’s junior players are developing: “Lukas and Leigh [Greenan] are much better players than when they joined us 14 months ago, and the newer juniors are also progressing. Robert had a really good game for us on Sunday, and he’s clearly got a lot of talent. We know the kids will be inconsistent, but there’s a lot of promise from them.” With their Hoops 4 Health programme starting in November, Leopards still plan to add a big man to their squad, and have also signed Barking Academy guard Turan Webb this week. Tigers go into the game with one win from three games in the Trophy, and realistically need to win to maintain their semi-final hopes, while Leopards have won their opening three games in the competition. |
21 October
2008 Leopards will look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they tip-off their England Basketball League Division One season with a home against Taunton Tigers on Sunday. The action at the Brentwood Centre starts at 4pm, and if the game is as thrilling as last time the Tigers visited, the fans are in for a treat. Two Lukas Volskis free-throws with just 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock to seal a 91-89 victory in the teams’ opening National Trophy game. Tigers’ Joe Saunders looked to have sent the game into overtime with a lay-up less than two seconds from the horn, but the young guard inexplicably fouled Volskis. The 19-year-old point guard stepped up and coolly drained both shots from the charity stripe in the final second to give the Big Cats victory in their first competitive game at the Brentwood Centre for 30 months. Such a finish had looked unlikely as the Big Cats had led the game 59-43 midway through the third period, but Tigers refused to give in and a strong finish to the third period saw them go into the final break only trailing by four. The Big Cats go into the game on the back of a successful weekend where they remained joint top of their National Trophy group and progressed in the National Cup. A season high 32 points from Gareth Laws helped Leopards overcome a stubborn 93-79 Cardiff Celts side to maintain the Big Cats unbeaten start to the season, on Saturday. Croatian forward Hrvoje Pervan continued his excellent start to life in a Leopards’ vest by scoring 29 points as he and Laws combined for 65 percent of the visitors’ points. Leigh Greenan added 12 points, while point guard Carl Latham-Henry marked his return from injury by coming off the bench to finish with ten. Leopards had trailed by three going into both the second and third periods, but outscored the home side 28-20 in the third before closing game out with a 25-16 final quarter. Gareth Laws led the scoring for the second night in succession as Leopards made hard work of progressing to the National Cup third round with a 108-85 victory against Oxford Brookes University. Laws took his weekend tally to 65 points with 33 as the Big Cats produced a strong second half performance to make it nine straight wins. Hrvoje Pervan added 26 points, while Carl Latham Henry continued his comeback with 18. The Big Cats trailed 27-22 at the first break and went into the locker room 53-47 down at half-time. However, they upped their defensive intensity and proved more clinical at the offensive end in the second as they reached the final break 75-67 ahead before outscoring the visitors 33-18 in the fourth stanza. |
14 October
2008 Leopards coach Jon Burnell is looking forward to bringing his side back to Wodson Park when the Big Cats face Oxford Brookes University in the National Cup second round on Sunday. “It’s good to be back at Wodson, it’s a nice place to play, and I’m pleased we’ve managed to keep some games here. “If we win we’re at Wodson in the next round and we also have a home draw if we get through to the quarter-finals, so there’s a big incentive to do well.” Leopards will face a side who defeated Richmond College 71-67 in the first round, and have won their last three Division Three South games, including a 101-39 hammering of Guildford Heat II last week. The Big Cats also go into the game on the back of winning streak, having won their opening two National Trophy games and their final four pre-season friendlies. If Leopards are successful on Sunday, they will host either Westminster Warriors or Eastside Eagles London in the third round on Sunday November 9. They could also host Reading Rockets at Wodson Park in the quarter-final, which would see a repeat of the 2005/6 final when the Big Cats won the competition. After a weekend without a game, the Big Cats face a double header this week, as they travel to Cardiff Celts for a National Trophy group game on Saturday afternoon. Leopards go into the game joint top of the group with Reading, while Division One newboys Cardiff have lost their first three games including a 101-49 hammering at Taunton on Sunday. Sunday's game tips off at 4.00pm with tickets priced at £6 for adults and £4 for children available on the door. |
5 October
2008 The Big Cats have adopted children’s charity Richard House as their official charity, and have also agreed to play in a pre-season friendly in aid of the Christians In Action charity. Richard House is a purpose built children's hospice in east London.Their core purpose is to accompany families with children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, during the child or young person's journey through life to death, creating positive experiences along the way which become good memories for the future. Leopards will be organising several fund raising events for the hospice during the course of the season, and Big Cats’ chairman Fred Dicker is looking forward to helping the charity. |
30 September 2008 Leopards will look to make it six wins in succession when they host Bristol Academy Flyers on Sunday at the Brentwood Centre. The Big Cats won their final four pre-season games, and continued that good run with a thrilling victory against Taunton Tigers on Saturday evening. Jon Burnell’s club will be looking for revenge against Flyers after the West Country club knocked them out the players last season with a 105-96 loss. Watch Leopards play-off game vs Flyers from last season Leopards had won both meetings in the EBL Division One, however, returning from Bristol with an 81-74 victory in November before winning a thriller 91-90 at Wodson Park in February. Flyers went down 93-79 at home against National Trophy holders Reading Rockets on Saturday, and Andreas Kapoulas’ team are also in action on Saturday evening when they travel to Taunton Tigers. Burnell will hoping that point guard Carl Latham-Henry will be fit to return for the Big Cats after missing Saturday’s game against Taunton with a groin injury, and Leopards are also looking to add another player to their squad. Tip-off at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday is 4pm, with tickets priced £8 for adults and £5 for children available on the door. Leopards now know their opponents in the National Cup second round after Oxford Brookes College defeated Richmond College London 71-67 on Sunday. The teams will meet at Wodson Park on Sunday October 19, and with home draws in both of the next rounds available for the winner, it will be a game the Big Cats will be keen to win. |
26 September
2008 Leopards new signing Hrvoje Pervan has landed in the country and has been cleared to play in the Big Cats' National Trophy opener against Taunton Tigers at the Brentwood Centre on Saturday. The 6' 7" forward will make his Leopards debut in their final pre-season friendly at Harlow Hawks on Friday night - tip-off 8.20pm. "It's great that we've got H" said General Manager Dave Ryan. "It's always a nervous time when you're waiting for players to come in, and their paperwork to clear, so we're delighted he's here. We're sure he's going to be a big success for the Leopards." |
24 September
2008 Leopards are hoping that new signing Hrvoje Pervan receives international clearance in time for their first competitive game back at the Brentwood Centre, on Saturday evening. Croatian forward Pervan was granted a work permit on Monday, and the Big Cats are hoping that his clearance from German side SCH Weurzburg Baskets comes through in time for him to face Taunton Tigers in Saturday’s EBL Trophy game against Taunton Tigers. Pervan is a former Croatian under-16 and under-18 international, and also put in a two-year stint at Mercer University (2005-06 and 2006-07), whose NCAA Division 1 basketball team - the Mercer Bears - play in the Atlantic Sun Conference. “H will be a massive signing for us” said coach Jon Burnell. “He’s a big body inside the paint, but is also a real three-point threat, so getting him in for Saturday would be a real bonus. But we’re signing him for the whole season, so ultimately if he’s not available, we’ll just go with what we’ve got.” The 24-year-old is excited about joining the Big Cats: "I would like to thank the management and the coach for the opportunity to be a part of the Leopards. I can't wait to get to England and to meet my new team-mates. I'm looking forward to be a part of a successful club. I will do all I can to blend in the team and to help win as many games as possible." Leopards will face a Taunton side who finished eighth in their debut season in the EBL Division One last season, and will be looking to build on a successful campaign. The West Country side have retained most of their players from last season, and have added to their depth. The sides also met in the group stage of the Trophy last year, with Tigers winning 90-83 at Leopards’ other home at Wodson Park. However, Burnell’s side won both league games, snatching a 101-96 away win in January before hammering the Tigers 87-54. The National Trophy is the league cup for EBL Division One sides, with the ten teams split into two five-team groups. The sides play each other home and away, with the winner of each group hosting the runner-up from the other section in the semi-final. The action starts at 7.30pm at the Brentwood Centre, with tickets available on the door priced £8 for adults and £5 for concessions. |
20 September
2008 Leopards are closing in on the signing of Croatian-born of 6' 7" small forward, Hrvoje Pervan, a player who should prove a valuable addition to the club's new look roster for the upcoming 2008-2009 season. Born in Rijeka on March 10, 1984, Pervan was due to join BBL Trophy and Play-off winners Guildford Heat, and was expected to start for the Surrey club. However, with Croatia not due to join the EU until next season, Heat were unable to register him, and head coach Paul James recommended him to the Big Cats. “If we get to sign “H” it will be a massive capture for us” said general manager Dave Ryan, “The fact that Paul believed he would play substantial minutes for one of the BBL’s top teams speaks volumes. We’re still waiting to hear whether he qualifies for the work permit, but we’re hopeful everything’s in order and we’re aiming to get him into the country for our Trophy opener on September 27 at the Brentwood Centre.” Pervan would come to Leopards with an impressive CV. He has played under coach Josko Pulja and been a member of both the Croatian Cadet and Junior national teams and in a country in which basketball is a major sport (the former Yugoslavia won the World Championships three times). He also put in a two-year stint at Mercer University (2005-06 and 2006-07), whose NCAA Division 1 basketball team - the Mercer Bears - play in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Leopards make their return to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday when they face Kent Crusaders. The pre-game action starts at 2.30pm with a Streetball Extreme game, and the Big Cats tip-off at 4.00pm. Tickets are priced at £8 for adults and £5 for children, and are available on the day. |
19 September
2008 Leopards travel to Mitcham on Saturday to face Christians in Action in a charity game, tip-off 5.15pm. The Big Cats expect to field Carl Latham-Henry, Sam Salter and last season’s MVP Gareth Laws, along with Academy players Lukas Volskis, Leigh Greenan, Kenroy Wood, Robert Gilchrist and Bradley Wilkinson. Lee McCarthy and Kevin Griffin will sit out the game, but will return for Sunday’s “back to Brentwood” game against Kent Crusaders. The address of the game’s venue is: Canons Leisure Centre, Madeira Road, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 4HD. |
16 September
2008 Leopards make their eagerly awaited return to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon when Kent Crusaders are the visitors. It will be the Big Cats penultimate pre-season friendly, and there’s plenty of action for supporters as they return to Brentwood after two and half seasons away. The main game starts at 4pm, but at 2.30pm there is a Streetball Extreme game where the crowd will be treated to slam dunks and alley-oops galore. Streetball Extreme are a high octane version of the Harlem Globetrotters who have created a newly evolved style of basketball. The team shot to fame after it's smash hit TV show 'The Battle For Europe' which aired on the Extreme Sports Channel in 2006. On their arrival back to the UK the Streetball Extreme players were crowned the European Streetball Champions, successful and undefeated in all nine cities. Leopards will face a Kent Crusaders team who are expected to challenge for the EBL Division Two championship having signed Danish forward Soren Sorensen and Canadian guard Simon Mitchell. “It will be a tough test for us” said Coach Jon Burnell. “We’re still at the building stage, but we’ll look to put on a good show for the fans in our first game back in Brentwood." General Manager, Dave Ryan admitted that he couldn’t wait to see the Big Cats back at Brentwood: “It’s really exciting, we reformed the Leopards to bring basketball back to Brentwood, and we’re delighted to be coming home again. We’ve got an exciting team with a great mix of youth and experience, but as well as the basketball, we’re looking to put on a good show for everyone who comes to our games.” The Leopards have announced that Pulse cheerleaders will again be entertaining the crowd at the Brentwood Centre. The cheerleading team performed at Leopards games between 2002 and 2005, and with the club returning to Brentwood, Ryan is delighted to have them again dancing at the Big Cats’ games: “It’s great that Fay and the girls are returning to our games. They helped make the whole experience at Brentwood the best in the EBL when we played there before, and I’m sure they’ll be a great help again.” The doors open at 2pm on Sunday, tickets are priced at £8 for adults and £5 for children, and can be bought in advance from the Brentwood Centre or on the door. |
13 September
2008 Leopards have announced that Pulse cheerleaders will again be entertaining the crowd at the Brentwood Centre. The cheerleading team performed at Leopards games between 2002 and 2005, and with the club returning to Brentwood, General Manager Dave Ryan is delighted to have them again dancing at the Big Cats’ games: “It’s great that Fay and the girls are returning to our games. They helped make the whole experience at Brentwood the best in the EBL when we played there before, and I’m sure they’ll be a great help again.” Pulse, who have performed at Harlem Globetrotters games as well as at Watford Football Club and Saracens Rugby Club, will return to Brentwood on Sunday September 21 when Leopards play their comeback game against Kent Crusaders. |
13 September
2008 Leopards have added another player to their roster ahead of the new EBL season. Leigh Greenan, who operated as back-up centre for the Big Cats last season returns to the club having been set to join Spanish First Division side Fuenlabrada. However the deal fell through, and General Manager Dave Ryan is pleased that 18-year-old Greenan is returning: “It’s a shame for Leigh that it hasn’t worked out in Spain, and as a 7 foot teenager, he is always going to have clubs looking at him. But we’re delighted that he’s back with us and I’m sure he’ll again play an important role for us.” Greenan returns to the squad for Saturday’s trip to Worthing where the Big Cats will face Irish Superleague champions DART Killester before playing against either hosts Worthing Thunder or another Irish side, Neptune. |
12 September
2008 Leopards will welcome back centre Lee McCarthy when they travel to Worthing Thunder for a pre-season tournament on Sunday. The 6’ 8” Englishman started last season, but was forced to sit out the final two months of the season due to injury. McCarthy is now fully fit, and general manager Dave Ryan is delighted to see him back for the Big Cats: “Our form definitely suffered when we lost Lee last season, and it’s good to see him back with us. “If Leigh Greenan gets his move to Spain, we’d have been a bit on the small side, so having Lee back is a definite bonus.” McCarthy and his team-mates will face Leopards Irish Superleague champions DART Killester in their first game at Worthing on Saturday, and will then play either hosts Thunder or a Neptune side who finished near the foot of the Irish Superleague last season. |
10 September
2008 There will be plenty of new faces on show when Leopards open their pre-season campaign on Saturday in the four-team Worthing Thunder tournament. Leopards face a tough test in the semi-final when they play Irish Superleague champions DART Killester. The other semi-finals sees hosts Thunder playing a Neptune side who finished near the foot of the Irish Superleague last season. The winners meet in the final on Saturday evening, which is proceeded by the third place play-off. Games are three-quarter length, so coach Jon Burnell will have plenty of time to look at the squad he is taking to the South Coast. Five of last season’s roster are definitely returning, with club MVP Gareth Laws being joined by point guard Carl Latham-Henry, captain Sam Salter, Matt Eames and youngster Lucas Volskis. The Big Cats are also in talks with small forward Kevin Griffin. The American has spent the last four seasons with BBL team Milton Keynes Lions, and collected the MVP award as the Lions won the BBL Cup final in January. “It would be a massive signing if we can get Kevin” said General Manager Dave Ryan, “We’re not sure whether it’s feasible at the moment, but he’s going to spend a couple of weeks with us, and we’ll see how things work out.” Leopards are also giving a trial to American guard/forward Johnnie Carter who is currently in the UK looking for a job. The Big Cats will also be giving debuts to three players from Barking Academy. Forwards Bradley Wilkinson and Robert Gilchrist both played alongside centre Leigh Greenan for England under-18s during the summer, and they are joined by guard Kenroy Wood. Greenan’s future with the Leopards is still in doubt as he is involved in talks with a Spanish top division club. “It would be a shame for us if Leigh left, but the Spanish League is second only to the NBA, so if he has the chance to play for a club at that level he really should take it” said Ryan. Leopards make their long awaited return to Brentwood on Sunday September 21 when they face Kent Crusaders. |
2 September
2008 Leopards fans attending the Big Cats first game back at Brentwood are in for a bonus after the club announced that they will staging a additional game before their match-up. The highly acclaimed Steetball Extreme team will be in action at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 21 as they play a half-length game prior to the Big Cats’ match against Kent Crusaders. Streetball Extreme are a high octane version of the Harlam Globetrotters who have created a newly evolved style of basketball. The team shot to fame after it's smash hit TV show 'The Battle For Europe' which aired on the Extreme Sports Channel in 2006. On their arrival back to the UK the Streetball Extreme players were crowned the European Streetball Champions, successful and undefeated in all nine cities. The TV show was distributed and exposed to more than 52 countries worldwide and because of its legendary Streetball content, 'The Battle For Europe' became the most successful and best rated show ever to be aired on the Extreme Sports Channel. Streetball Extreme uses its style and creativity to mould and engineer a highly entertaining sport that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. Such a concept has captured the eyes of many entities and used as tools to encourage people of all ages to embrace basketball and Streetball as a new and up coming sport. Having newly established itself as a company and a brand, Streetball Extreme will endeavour to expand in and out of Europe, maintaining its strong connections with UK companies such as ITV, ITV 2, S4C, The Extreme Sports Channel, Sky TV and Radio. Streetball Extreme will also continue its commitments to various clubs around the country and charities amongst other corporations whilst spreading the essence of Streetball Extreme and Streetball as a sport throughout the globe. Big Fen From Streetball Extreme Says. "Streetball Extreme are very excited about performing alongside the Leopards at the Brentwood Centre, It’s a great chance to get the best in UK Streetball and the best of UK Basketball under one roof". The Streetball game will tip-off at 2.30pm, with Leopards following at 4pm. Tickets can be bought in advance or on the day priced £8 for adults and £5 for children. |
11 August
2008 Leopards will be doing their bit for charity when the next basketball season opens next month. The Big Cats have adopted children’s charity Richard House as their official charity, and have also agreed to play in a pre-season friendly in aid of the Christians In Action charity. Richard House is a purpose built children's hospice in East London.Their core purpose is to accompany families with children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, during the child or young person's journey through life to death, creating positive experiences along the way which become good memories for the future. Leopards will be organising several fund raising events for the hospice during the course of the season, and Big Cats’ chairman Fred Dicker is looking forward to helping the charity: “We’re excited about helping Richard House. We think it’s a worthwhile charity, and we hope we can raise a substantial amount of money for them.” The Big Cats will travel to Mitcham in South London on Saturday September 20 – the day before they host Kent Crusaders at the Brentwood Centre – to face the CIA team. The project works in schools throughout London providing counselling and mentoring for young people. It is now in its 14th season, with Leopards’ current player of the year Gareth Laws among their former players. Leopards have added an addition friendly to their pre-season campaign. They will travel to Harlow Hawks on Friday September 26 – two days before Taunton Tigers are the visitors to Brentwood for the Big Cats opening National Trophy game. |
31 July 2008 Leopards will start their pre-season campaign with a trip to Worthing on Saturday September for 13 for a four-team tournament. The Big Cats have accepted an invitation to compete in the inaugural Thunder Cup, which sees each side play two three-quarter length games of 30 minutes each. Irish sides Killester and Neptune will compete, alongside Leopards and tournament hosts Worthing Thunder. Leopards are expected to be drawn against one of the Irish sides, and coach Jon Burnell is looking forward to the challenge: “It will be tough whoever we play, because all three clubs are full time, and we’ll be the underdogs. “But it will give us the chance to have a good look at the players before the league season starts.” Killester won the Conference A in Irish Superleague last season with the best record in the competition, while Neptune finished third in Conference B. Thunder runners-up both the National Trophy and Cup – beating Leopards in a thrilling quarter-final on the way – and finished third in EBL Division One before accepting a place in the BBL. The Big Cats face Kent Crusaders at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 21, and are expected to announce another friendly on the previous evening. Leopards centre Leigh Greenan scored seven points and pulled down four rebounds as England under-18s lost 72-67 against Belarus on Monday evening. Greenan has played in all three of England’s game as they continue to look for a place in the quarter-finals, average five points and three rebounds per game. Bradley Wilkinson and Robert Gilchrist, who are team-mates of Greenan’s at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy and are likely to play for Leopards next season, have also played in the three games – averaging 9 and 2.3 points per game respectively. |
22 July 2008 Leopards have announced their full fixture list for the 2008/09 season as basketball returns to the Brentwood Centre. After hosting Kent Crusaders in a special game to welcome the Big Cats back to Brentwood on Sunday September 21, Jon Burnell’s team will be at home the following Saturday when Taunton Tigers are the visitors in the National Trophy group stage. Bristol Academy Flyers also visit Brentwood in the Trophy on Sunday October 5, before Leopards travel for the first time in the campaign, to Reading Rockets on Saturday October 11. With the Brentwood Centre only available for ten games, the Big Cats have announced that they will continue to play some home games at Wodson Park, Ware, and their first game of the season at the Hertfordshire venue will see them play either Richmond College or Oxford Brookes University in the second round of the National Cup. Brentwood is the venue for the first EBL Division One game of the campaign when Leopards host Tigers again on Sunday October 26, and it also stages the final game of 2008 when Reading Rockets visit on Sunday December 21. The full fixture list Leopards’ centre Leigh Greenan has been included in the England under-18 squad for the European Championships in Debrechen, Hungary. After a season where he played significant minutes in Leopards’ first team, Greenan is expected to start for Andre Alleyne’s England side. The competition starts on Friday, with England facing eight games in the space of ten days, starting with a tough test against tournament favourites Poland. Greenan is joined in the 12-man England squad by fellow Barking Abbey Academy players Robert Gilchrist and Bradley Wilkinson, who are expected to feature in Jon Burnell’s Leopards team during the course of the season. |
20 July 2008 Leopards have announced that they will continue to play some home games at Wodson Park during the 2008/09 basketball season. The Big Cats have secured the use of the Brentwood Centre for ten games, with the remaining fixtures taking place at the Ware venue. There had been doubts about the club staying at Wodson following disappointing crowds last season, but general manager Dave Ryan is pleased that they are remaining at Ware: “It’s a nice venue to play at, and we’re looking forward to staging some games there. Obviously we won’t be there as much as last season, but hopefully the people who only came to a few games will aim to see a higher percentage of our home fixtures. “We really do need bigger crowds to make the club a success. No one likes playing in a half-empty venue, so we’re hoping for a bit more support this season.” Leopards’ first game of the campaign at Wodson is on Sunday October 19 when they will host either Division Three side Oxford Brookes University or fourth division Richmond College London in the second round of the National Cup If they make their expected progress in the competition, they will also play at Wodson on Sunday November 9 and Sunday November 30. Sheffield Arrows are the visitors to Ware on Saturday December 13, while Reading Rockets arrive on Saturday January 10. Division One newcomers Cardiff Celts are the visitors a fortnight later, while Leopards’ last home game of the regular season sees the Big Cats host Derby Trailblazers on Sunday March 22. |
1 July 2008 Leopards will be heading west when their National Trophy campaign commences in late September. The competition is the league cup for England Basketball Division One sides, and the ten clubs have been divided into two five-team groups – with the sides playing each other on a home and away basis. The Big Cats have been drawn in a group with holders Reading Rockets, Bristol Academy Flyers, Taunton Tigers and Cardiff Celts. Jon Burnell’s team open the competition on Saturday September 27 at the Brentwood Centre when Taunton Tigers are the visitors, tip-off 7.30pm. Leopards are also in action at Brentwood the following Sunday (October 5) when they will look for revenge for last season’s play-off defeat against Bristol Academy Flyers. They then have three successive away games in the competition before the league campaign starts in November, and the Trophy starts again after Christmas with home games against Reading (January 10) and Division Two champions Cardiff (January 24) before they complete their Trophy games with a trip to Bristol on January 25. “It’s a tough group” admitted general manager Dave Ryan, “Reading have won the competition in each of the last two seasons, Bristol gave us some really tough games last season and Cardiff looked a physical side when I saw them in the Division Two play-off final last season.” The top two in each group qualify for the semi-finals, with the group winner having home advantage in the last four. Before Leopards face Taunton on September 27, they host Kent Crusaders at Brentwood on Sunday September 21 in the first game back at their traditional home. |
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June 2008 Leopards have announced a major community programme as they prepare to return to Brentwood in September. The Big Cats will be the only England Basketball League side to take part in the Hoops4Health programme, which will see them visiting 150 schools in the five Olympic boroughs to promote healthy living for youngsters. Leopards’ programme in being run in conjunction with Great Britain assistant coach Tony Garbelotto, who started the scheme with his former club London United, and continued it last season despite United pulling out of the BBL. “It’s a really exciting project for us” said Leopards’ general manager Dave Ryan, “We’ll be the only side at our level to run a Hoops4Health scheme, and it will enable us to employ four full-time players. “We’re still committed to our link-up with Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, but we’ll now have the funds to bring in a couple of American players, and look to strengthen our group of senior British players.” Hoops4Health made its debut on Tyneside in 2002 as Newcastle Eagles set about getting school children active. After touching the lives of more than 60,000 kids across the North East that fledgling community scheme has been rolled out nationally by the BBL and its member clubs. "It's an extraordinary achievement to get so many children engaged in physical activity," said Dr Danny Ruta, public health director for Newcastle Primary Care Trust. "Without Hoops4Health, many of them wouldn't have had the chance to engage in any kind of physical activity. Many of them will be children who have been turned off by, or turned away from, so-called majority sports." It is estimated that 500,000 children from across the UK will reap tangible rewards from the scheme by the time the London Olympics begins in 2012. Leopards make their return to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 21 when they host Kent Crusaders. |
20 June 2008 Leopards have made one final attempt to keep National League basketball at Wodson Park. Poor crowds at the Ware venue have forced the EBL Division One side to consider moving their home games, and although they have agreed to return to the Brentwood Centre for ten games in the 2008/9 season, general manager Dave Ryan is hopeful that the remaining eight games can be played at Wodson: “I sound like a broken record, but we really want to remain at Wodson, we just need some help with sponsorship. We didn’t have a budget to promote the games properly, and if we can get some sponsorship, it will obviously be of benefit to anyone who is advertising with us. “The junior teams are still playing at Wodson, and we’d like to maintain the link as it’s a good place to play. We’re probably playing at the highest level of any of the sports teams in the Ware and Hertford level, and it would be a shame if we had to move away completely. “With less games at Wodson, we’ll have the opportunity to really promote them. We’re not looking at huge sums of money, we just a bit of help to really get the crowds going.” Leopards can be contacted on 07940 539197. |
16 June 2008 Leopards have announced that Kent Crusaders will provide the opposition when they make their return to the Brentwood Centre on Sunday September 21. The game will be the Big Cats’ final pre-season friendly before they start their National Trophy campaign the following weekend, and coach Jon Burnell is looking forward to the test: “We played them last season and they gave us a good run-out. We’re looking forward to returning to Brentwood after two seasons away, and it’s good to have a game there before the season starts.” Leopards traveled to Kent for Crusaders’ pre-season tournament last season and a strong performance saw them win 80-62 as Fola Adeleke led the way for the Big Cats with 19 points. The game will start at 4pm, but Leopards are arranging a full afternoon of activities including coaching for children, shooting competitions and they are also hopeful of staging an exhibition game involving a team who regularly appear of national television. The Big Cats hope to announce their opening National Trophy fixtures by the end of the month, and will also be confirming their full pre-season schedule over the next few weeks. Former Leopards junior Ben Russell looks set to follow in the steps of Joe Ikhinmwin having been called up for the Great Britain under-20 squad. The 6’ 2” shooting guard played several first team games for the Big Cats before moving to Spain to play at the Gran Canaria Academy. The 15-man squad will be reduced to 12 players before they travel to Romania for the ten-day European Championship B Division tournament which starts on August 1. |
31 May 2008 Leopards will be looking to make home court advantage count when they start their National Cup campaign on Sunday October 19. Having reached the quarter-finals last season, the Big Cats received a bye in the first round, and will host either Division Three side Oxford Brookes University or fourth division Richmond College London. If Richmond College upset the formbook and beat Oxford it will be a lucky omen for Leopards. Richmond were nursery club for the now defunct London United who the Big Cats hammered 74-50 at the Brentwood Centre in the third round on the way to winning the competition in the 2005/6 season. With the Brentwood Centre unavailable for the second round tie, Leopards do not know where they will stage the game yet, but if they are successful they will be playing at Brentwood in the third round on November 9 against Westminster Warriors, Eastside Eagles London or Wellingborough Phoenix. Warriors were the surprise package of last season, hammering Leopards’ fellow Division One side West Anglia Fury by 30 points on the way to the quarter-finals. The Big Cats have never met Eagles, but they hosted Phoenix in the second round in 2006, and destroyed the Northamptonshire team 102-29. If Leopards make it through to the quarter-final, they will also be at home – with their most likely opponents being Reading Rockets, who they beat at the NIA in Birmingham to lift the Cup in December 2005. Leopards general manager Dave Ryan was pleased with the draw: “It’s as good as we could have asked for. We’re at home all the way through, and we can’t meet anyone from Division One until the quarter-finals. “The college teams are always something of an unknown, but Westminster had a really good season last year, and they will give us a tough game if they get past Eagles or Phoenix.” |
23 May 2008 Leopards will return to the Brentwood Centre in September following an agreement with centre management and the club’s board of directors. The Big Cats last played at the Essex venue in the 2005/6 season, but a hike in hire from 1,400 per game to 4,000 meant that they were forced to move to Dagenham before spending last season playing at Wodson Park in Ware. “We’re delighted to be back at the Brentwood Centre” said Leopards’ director Fred Dicker. “It is the only place that we were able to consistently get good crowds. It’s the best venue in the EBL, and we’ll look to put on the same kind of show we did when we last played there.” The decision to return to the Brentwood Centre came after the talks with the centre’s new management which has seen the two sides come to an agreement whereby they will share the game-day revenue. “We’ll be working with the Brentwood Centre, rather than just being a paying customer” said Leopards general manager Dave Ryan, “The exciting thing is that both sides will have a common goal. There were times during our last spell when it seemed they were only interested in taking our money.” Leopards expect to make their return to Brentwood on Sunday September 21 with a special match to mark the occasion before tipping off their EBL Trophy campaign the following week. They are expected to play around ten games at Brentwood, with the club still considering other venues for their remaining six games. The options for the Big Cats include remaining at Wodson Park or finding a court in east or north London. The original Leopards played at Brentwood between 1999 and 2003 before the club closed down due after its financial backer withdrew. A group of supporters revived the club for the 2004/5 season, and they won the National Cup in December 2005. The Big Cats finished fifth in the England Basketball League Division One last season, with an all British squad, but will be strengthening that side as they look to challenge for the title next season. Leopards expect to announce their full fixture list by the end of June, and reveal some new signings over the course of the summer. |
14 May 2008 Summer training We will again be running sumer training sessions for all age groups on the following Saturdays leading up to the Wodson Park Basketball Camp. June 21st
2.00-4.00 These sessions are open to anyone-members and non members. Cost £4.00 per session. Summer Camp The 20th Annual Camp wiil run from 28th July - 1st August. Brochure/application forms can be obtained from reception at Wodson Park or www.networkhoops.co.uk Annual General Meeting The meeting will be immediately before the first of the summer training sessions at 1.15 pm on 21st June 2008. Pre Season Training/Trials Players wishing to be a member of one of the age-group teams for the 08-09 season should come along for trials/training on the following dates. We will be running teams at the following age groups: U13, U15, U16, U18. Saturday
6th September 12.00-2.00 Registration Day 13 September Players selected for the teams will register with the club and England Basketball. More details to follow at pre-season training/trials. If you have any queries about any of the above, please contact Club Secretary Ashley Stonehouse: Mobile:
07946 760123 |
24 April 2008 Leopards General Manager Dave Ryan has admitted that some tough decisions will have to be made as the clubs look forward to the 2008/09 season. The Big Cats slipped to fifth in the final EBL Division One table, but it is off-court matters that concern Ryan more: “We cut our losses from the previous three seasons massively, but the fact is we still spend more than we bring in. We have cut our costs to the bone, and there’s really very little left we can do to save money. We simply have to bring in more income.” Ryan admitted that without sponsorship from local firms, Leopards’ future at Wodson Park is in doubt: “Our crowds really dropped last season, and it’s hard to know why. The fact that some of the Americans we’ve employed have basically wrecked our community programme hasn’t helped. We’ve tried reducing admission prices and we’ve given out discount vouchers, but nothing’s really worked. It’s hard to see how we have a long-term future at Wodson without sufficient money coming in.” The Big Cats are currently investigating other avenues to keep the club going: “We have two options available, one would see us leaving Wodson Park entirely, the other would see us still playing at least some of our games there. “We want to take the club forward, and we have no wish to leave Wodson” said Ryan. But if neither of those two options come good, and we can’t get any sponsorship in the East Herts area, it’s hard to see how we continue.” |
20 April 2008 Gareth Laws was presented with the Leopards Most Valuable Player award for the 2007/8 season following the club’s final home game of the season. The English shooting guard led Leopards’ scoring on 13 occasions during the season, including a club record 39 point haul in their season-ending play-off defeat against Bristol Academy Flyers. “Gareth’s been a real leader for us this season” said Big Cats’ general manager Dave Ryan. “He’s had some great games for us, but along with Sam Salter, he’s also really helped the younger players. “When we were without a coach at Taunton, he stepped up, ran the team and still finished as top scorer. The fans obviously appreciated what he’s brought to us on the court this season, but he deserved the award as much for the other stuff as well.” |
3 April 2008 Having missed out on fourth place a home game in the play-offs, Leopards travel to Bristol Flyers on Saturday looking to reach the final four for the first time. Jon Burnell’s side have shaded two close games against the West Country side this season, with Carl Latham-Henry leading the way with 24 points in an 81-74 away victory in November before two last second free-throws from Gareth Laws sealed a 91-90 home win in February. The Big Cats have won only one of their last six games, and general manager Dave Ryan admitted that their end-of-season form had been disappointing: “We’re staggering into the play-offs, which is a shame after such a good start to the season. But if you’d offered us fifth place at the start of the season when we decided to concentrate on British players, we’d have taken it. It’ll be tough down in Bristol, I’m sure they’re still hurting from the way we beat them in February, but it would be a great achievement if we could reach the final four for the first time. If not, we’ll get on with planning for next season.” You can follow the game on www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk - as we will have live quarter updates from Bristol. |
26 March 2008
Jon Burnell admits that Leopards’ home encounter with Worthing Thunder on Saturday is his side’s biggest challenge of the season. |