Medway Park Leisure Centre, 29/10/11

Report by Nick Moore

The Medway Park Crusaders came out on top in their first EBL Division One match on Saturday night against the PAWS London Capital – but it was not all plain sailing reports Nick Moore.

The final score read 77-69, but the clash was a much closer affair than the result suggests.

The London side, which the Crusaders comprehensively beat 77-40 just seven days previously in the National Trophy, gave the home club a harder game second time round and lead for most of the game.

The main reason for this was due to the return of Capitals forward Ibrahim Gamba, who sank 28 points on the Medway Park side.

The game started evenly with both teams drawing blanks in the first quarter. The scoreboard read 20 all with strong offensive plays being displayed from both sides.

Medway went into half time trailing 36-35 as the London side edged the second quarter 16-15. The PAWS looked the much happier team considering their heavy loss last week.

Crusaders Coach James Vear called for his team to step up the pace in the second half, and 6’9 forward Joseph Schow responded by sinking a host of points on his way to 27 personal on the night.

But the Capitals defence remained strong and they managed to edge a further point into the lead, taking the third period 16-15 as they extended their lead to 52-50.

However, all was about to change as both sides entered the final quarter.

The Crusaders came out firing in the fourth, going on a nine point run to lead 59-54 with important baskets from 6’2 guard Luke Baker – Baker sank a total of 17.

The Medway Park side then closed out the victory, 77-69 as the pressure got to the Capital side and they could not break out of the Crusaders grasp.

Coach Vear was relieved that his side managed to get the vital win, but was frustrated at how difficult they made it for themselves.

He said after the game: “Tonight we came out a bit flat and let the Capitals get off to a good start. This gave them belief that they could go on and win it.”

He added: “They brought in a few more players from when we played them last week and they made a real difference. At times we didn’t make adjustments to take them out of their comfort zone.”

Vear was however pleased with his teams strong comeback saying: “It was great to see us show real determination and team spirit in that final quarter to come away with a win. We hit some big shots in the final five minutes and really stepped it up on defence.”

The Crusaders next game sees them take on Leeds Carnegie on the road on Sunday, 13 Nov. They hope to see a good level of support travelling with them.

Vear closed by saying: “We now have 2 weeks to prepare for our next game so we will be working hard to get better and looking to improve every time we step on the floor.”

Crusaders Team:

Baker

Lufadeju

Raymen

Laws

Salter

Betts

Schow

Fenyn

Harris (captain)

Dimandja

Irving

Whitehouse

Coach – Vear

Medway Park are pleased to announce the sponsorship of Grade One Commercial Cleaning for their junior programme. Grade One’s sponsorship will mean increased support for our junior and grass roots programmes, allowing more players to access and enjoy basketball.

Grade One are a long established company in Kent and London that specialise in office cleaning and window cleaning. They are a family business with over 30 years experience in the field.

They are a growing company that has expanded form their Kent roots to establish a significant presence in teh City of London, including the prestigious glass structure at the Broadgate Tower.

Crusaders Chairman Jesse Sazant is really pleased to welcome Grade One to the Crusaders team, “We really appreciate the support that Grade One are offering to help our juniors to take part in basketball.”

Half time score 36-35 in favour of Capital.

FULL TIME SCORE:

Medway Park Crusaders win 77-69.

Three of Medway Park Crusaders talented youngsters have been named in the initial England U16 squad. Liam Carpenter, Dave Couchman and Tyler Russell have all been selected for a training camp in Bristol over October half-term.

The training camp is the first step in the process of preparing for the 2012 European Championships. It is a special opportunity as it will be the first time the England U16s will be competing in the A division of the European Championships having gained promotion this past summer.

All 3 of the players are also members of the Medway Park Crusaders academy based at The Canterbury High School. They were part of the Crusaders U16 team who made the national quarterfinals last season as well as the U15 team at The Canterbury High School that won a national silver medal in the England Premier Schools competition.

Carpenter is a 6’1 guard who has played for Crusaders for the last 4 seasons. He has had a taste of the Under 16s last season as part of the training squad, as well as being a key player for the England U15 Development squad. Carpenter lives in Rochester.

Couchman is a 6’7 centre from Folkestone who has also been at Crusaders for 4 seasons. He travelled with Carpenter to Copenhagen last season as he was also part of the U15 Development Squad.

Russell, a 5’10 point guard, also comes from Folkestone. He has been at Crusaders for 4 seasons. Russell has represented the South East regional team for the last 3 seasons, including a stint as captain. He is really excited about the opportunity to prove himself as a national team player, “After missing out on my chance last year I have worked on the things I needed and I now feel ready.”

Crusaders Chairman and Academy head coach Jesse Sazant is obviously proud of the three promising players, “To be one of only 2 clubs to place 3 or more players in the U16 squad is something we are very proud of as a club. All 3 of them have had their own obstacles along the way but have fought through them to work hard to keep pushing themselves. They all have shown a huge commitment to travel large distances to school to give themselves the best opportunity to succeed. It is great to see such dedication and drive from these young men.”