Archive for the ‘Club News’ Category

January10

Crusaders off to a slow start in 2012.

By: Nick

Derby Trailblazers vs. Medway Park Crusaders: (07/01/12)

83-70

Report by Nick Moore

The Medway Park Crusaders failed to get off to a winning start in 2012, with an 83-70 loss on the road to the Derby Trailblazers.

Derby, who now sit second in EBL Division One proved to be the stronger team after the Christmas break on Saturday evening, 7 January, leading the game from start to finish.

Luton-born 6’2 guard Rishi Kakad, was the stand out player for Derby, hitting 28 points on the night. Adrian Fenyn top scored for the Medway side with 19, followed closely by Steve Vear with 16 and Joe Schow with 14.

Crusaders Coach, James Vear, said after the game: “We never really got going tonight, we looked a little bit rusty and made bad decisions at crucial times in the game. 

“Don’t take anything away from Derby they were excellent tonight. Their guards are probably the best we have played all year and they can hurt you in so many different ways.” 

Despite the festive respite, both teams came out firing in the first quarter. Kakad started by hitting a few outside shots and the Crusaders struggled to cope with another Trailblazers guard Martin Gayle, who hit 16 on the night. Derby took the first 24-19.

The second quarter was much like the first, with both teams keeping up the high tempo. Derby extended their lead to double digits, but after a time-out from Vear, the Crusaders pulled the lead back to eight points, with Captain James Harris hitting a three-pointer on the sound of half time, to make the score 45-37.

After the break, the Crusaders came out flat, and the Trailblazers capitalised on this in the early minutes, knocking down some easy shots.

Vear was forced to call another time-out and after rallying his team, they went on 8-0 run to close the gap to nine points. Although they started to play better defence, holding Derby to just 15 third quarter points, they only scored 14 themselves. Derby went into the last 10 minutes 60-51 up.

Medway started the fourth quarter badly and a quick 8-1 burst from the hosts, put the game beyond a Crusaders comeback. The final score read 83-70, but despite the loss Coach Vear was pleased with his team’s efforts.

He said: “I am still happy with the way we fought back at times and we never gave up.  We will have a good week at practice and I am sure we will be back to the level we were before Xmas next week.”

The game also saw some new Crusaders records being set. JP Dimandja moved into fifth for all-time career points for Crusaders (with 798), and Steve Vear moved into third for career assists (with 131) – surpassing Robbie Parker’s record of 128.

The Medway Crusaders take on the Westminster Warriors next Saturday, 14 January at 5pm.

Westminster sit bottom of EBL Division One, having lost 9 out of their opening 10 games. These include a 110-73 drumming two weeks ago by the Bradford Dragons, and a losing start to 2012 at home to the Bristol Academy Flyers (65-86).

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September20

Crusaders Split Opening Weekend

By: Andy

The Medway Park Crusaders came out of their opening weekend as an EBL1 team with both a win and a loss.  The Crusaders launched their National Trophy campaign losing a hard fought battle to the defending champions, the Reading Rockets 69-67 on Saturday.  They regrouped Sunday to post an 87-64 victory over the Hackney White Heat in the opening round of the National Cup.

On Saturday, Medway travelled to Reading for what turned out be an extremely close game, with neither team able to establish a significant lead at any point of the game.  The game was a great advertisement for division 1 basketball and showed Crusaders were ready to compete at this level.

After falling behind 5-2, Crusaders went on a 15-4 run behind the scoring of Adrian Fenyn, Joe Schow and Akeem Abdul.  However, Reading quickly regained momentum to score the final 10 points of the quarter to take a slim 19-17 lead at the end of the first.

This proved to be a pattern that would repeat throughout the game with both teams continuously going on mini-runs.  The teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter before Reading reeled off 7 straight points to take a 34-36 lead.  Crusaders responded quickly with Luke Baker hitting a couple of shots to reduce the deficit to 34-32 at the half.

Baker hit 2 more three pointers early in the second half as Medway moved out to a 7 point lead of their own.  Former Crusader Robbie Parker righted the ship for Reading with a couple of 3s of his own as the teams entered the final quarter tied at 50.

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September13

Crusaders season begins

By: Andy

The Medway Park Crusaders will open their inaugural season in EBL1 this coming weekend with a double header.

Saturday sees the Crusaders begin their National Trophy campaign with a daunting trip to Reading. The National Trophy is a secondary competition between EBL1 teams, mostly played at the start of the year. It sees all teams in EBL1 split into two groups where they play each other once. The top 4 teams in each group progress to the quarterfinal stage, where the competition becomes a single knockout tournament. The Crusaders find themselves in a group with Reading Rockets, Bradford Dragons, London Leopards, Derby Trailblazers and London Capitals.

The Reading Rockets are one of the most established and respected clubs in England, having won numerous titles and trophies in the EBL. Last season they won both the National Trophy and EBL1 play-offs. Crusaders Coach James Vear knows this will be a stern test for his team, “I don’t think it gets much harder than playing Reading in the first game of the season. I think they are one of the best coached and best organised teams in the country and we will have to be at our best to get a win. We are also excited about testing ourselves and seeing how good our team could be.”

Crusaders new captain is looking forward to his first competitive game as captain and matching up against former teammate Robbie Parker. Harris became the highest career scorer in Crusaders history last season, eclipsing the total previously held by Parker. “I’m looking forward to our game against Reading as it’s our first game in division 1 and because it’s against Rob. It should be a good indication of how we will do in the league.”

New signing Luke Baker is also anxious to get started, “I’m looking forward to playing my first competitive game for Medway Park. It’s going to be a tough game but the way we have prepared in practice and our performance in the pre-season tournament makes me believe we can compete with the strongest teams in the league.”

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September9

Crusaders add 2 more players

By: Andy

Medway Park Crusaders have made 2 significant additions to their men’s squad adding youth with Kalil Irving and experience in Sam Salter.

Irving, a 6’6 wing, returns to Crusaders after a season at the Masters School in America.  In 2009-10 he was a starter and key player for the Crusaders, averaging 10 pts and 6 rebounds per game.  However his greatest asset is the intangibles he brings with his ability to defend multiple positions and energy.

Irving has been with the Crusaders juniors for over 10 years and is a product of their academy at The Canterbury High School.

Head Coach James Vear is very pleased to have Irving back, “”I was lucky enough to have Kalil play for me the first season I took over as the men.s coach.  Back then he was only 17 but was one of the better players on the team.  You can see the year he had in the states has really improved aspects of his game that will allow him to be a real force in Division 1.  There are not many players his age that are better getting to the basket and he has improved his jump shot and defence to make him a better all round player.  I think picking up Kalil is the last piece in the puzzle and I am very happy with the squad we have put together.”

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August29

Harris Becomes Crusaders Captain, Coaching Staff Completed

By: Andy

James Harris has become the new captain of the Medway Park Crusaders and will take on the job of leading them into their first season into EBL1.

Harris played in Crusaders first ever senior national league game and is now entering his eighth season with the club.  During that time he has established himself as a key player with huge internal drive.  He has consistently developed his game and found new ways to contribute.

Harris holds numerous club records including career points and 3 pointers, 3 pointers in a game and a season (where he has the 3 highest seasons).  His 4th game of the 2011-12 season will also mean he has played more games for Crusaders than anyone else.

Head Coach James Vear praised Harris’ role with the team, “I think this is the right time for Harris to take on the captaincy.  He is the longest serving player on the team and has played a pivotal role in getting the team promoted.  He continues to work as hard as any player I have coached on and off the court.  Giving him the captaincy has also made him more vocal around the team especially to the new players that have joined which I think is a real positive for me and the team.”

Harris himself is excited about the new responsibility, “It’s a real honour to be named captain, especially now we’ve moved up to EBL1.  It’s been good to fly up the ranks, so to speak, and come into the team as one of the younger players to now being one of the more experienced. I’ve learnt a lot from James [Vear] and all the teammates around me (both past and present).  I now hope to pass some of it on to some of the younger players and see them progress.

It’s also great to know that James [Vear] has the faith in me, not only as a player, but also as an individual.  Now that the squad is coming together i think we have a great year ahead of us and to be honest can’t wait to get started!”

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