U14s

Leopards 68 (17, 38, 50)
East London Royals 64 (15, 23, 55)

Leopards travelled to the stronghold that is East London Royals, coached by the legendary Humph Long. Few teams ever come away with very much. This U14 Leopards team were determined to put that record straight.

The young Leopards began in slightly hesitant vein but gradually found their confidence and rhythm and when they pressed the hosts found turnovers resulted. From these some good quality baskets were the prized outcome in a tight match. The key to success as always is strong individual and team defence and the Big Cats were starting to believe in themselves even more as excellent defence stopped the Royals from dominating.

The second period saw the Leopards increase the tempo and score some outstanding team baskets as they grew in confidence. This ‘change-up’ resulted in the Leopards dominating the quarter 21 – 8. The pendulum had definitely swung in the visitors favour. There would inevitably be a reverse swing at some point.

Unfortunately for the Leopards it came in the third quarter as the Royals increased their intensity and desire and the Leopards started to miss shots and defend loosely as their new zone defence was not as effective as it will be!

The final quarter began with the Leopards still up at 60 – 56 after a disappointing period. It was all to play for and Coach Darlow reiterated ‘Get after the Rebounds!’ This they did and so too did the hosts, leading to the inevitable ‘We have got to want this more than them’ from Coach Graves. Both teams were now challenged physically and mentally and the lead changed regularly. Then just when the Royals looked like they were getting on top, the Leopards bounced back with superb defence to deny the hosts and then ice cool shooting at the other end with George Crosby hitting a crucial three pointer which really hurt the Royals. With both teams in team foul trouble Leopards could afford to keep the ball and punish from the line as the Royals were forced to foul in the dying moments. The buzzer was greeted with joy and relief as the Big Cats had started their national league campaign with an impressive win. It was a great team performance.

Leopards: Lawrence Levy 19, Liam Reynolds 14, Jake Lloyd 12, Nathan Crossman (Capt.) 8, George Crosby 8, Alex Sarakis 4, Tom Bostock 2, Michael Darlow 1, Joe Graves, Tom Bryan, Neil Addison.

‘Champagne Moment’: George Crosby for his crucial three-pointer.

Full stats

U18s

U18s got their first win on Saturday.

Leopards 86 (28,49,71)
Worthing Thunder 48 (15,24,38)

Leopards: Ben Warden 24, Nathan Wilson 18, Michael Jarvis 15, Adam Edwards 11, Ryan Westley 10, Stephen Edwards 5, Pride Nyathi 2, Guy Fiducia, Charlie Graves, Russell Stonehouse, Michael Nketsiah.

Game against Sevenoaks yesterday lasted just over 3 minutes as the coach recieved 2 techinicals. Leopards have lodged a complaint so see what happens.

U16s

The U16s also beat Worthing Thunder in a tight game 60-58.