Play Offs - Final 2009

Junior Sharks 14 43 69 96

Worthing Thunder 21 30 47 62

Worthing Thunder had beaten the powerhouse Manchester Magic in their Semi-Final, any one who beats Manchester are obviously a quality side. So the Sharks began the final with some nervousness which showed in their finishing as despite getting several good looks at the basket the Juniors couldn’t seem to get the ball to drop. Worthing, were having no such trouble and took an early lead, ending the period 7 points to the good.

Unlike the Semi-Final the Sharks decided to fight back early this time and did not look back. The signature Sheffield pressure defense was too much for the thunder to handle, disrupting their offense and causing a number of turnovers that the Sharks took full advantage of. Conor continued his heroics from the semi-final and completely took charge of the game from the point, Josh realised he could get to the basket at will, George did what George does best; run and Quincy was pulling down some big rebounds to ignite the break. By halftime the Sharks had played a 29-9 quarter and held a healthy lead going into the locker room.

The message at the break was clear: a 13 point lead means nothing. All weekend teams had comeback from big deficits in nail-biting games so the score was reset to 0-0 and a good start to the 2nd half was called for. The growing maturity and ruthlessness of this team emerged and all their hard work came together in one fantastic performance. Sheffield did not step off the gas for one second and took the game further and further away from the talented Worthing team. As was said in an early time-out huddle, when this team plays with pace no-one can stay with them. Renny was hounding the ball carriers as always, resulting in forced passes that Sheffield were mopping up. George Brownell’s hustle was immense. He was always in the passing lanes diving on the floor for every loose ball. And once again Conor Faulkner was leading from the front; driving to the basket, nailing 3 pointers and hitting fast break runners with precise passes.

The 4th and final quarter saw no let-off from Sheffield. Quincy and Josh continued to battle well on the glass against much bigger opponents earning themselves a few put backs. Renny was also showing strength going to the basket and also showed his finesse with a beautiful behind- the-back wrap around pass to Quincy. With 3 mins remaining the Sharks rotated their players and a unit of Aidan, Trent, Sheu, Zach and Jack took to the floor. Inspired by their team-mates performance they not only held their own but stretched the lead further still to 34 points. As the final buzzer sounded the rest of the team rushed the court to celebrate a thoroughly well deserved victory. After two years of disappointing Final Four performances and a summer of ‘what-ifs’ this team finally showed what they were capable of on the big stage and can now call themselves the best U15 Basketball team in the country!

Even though this was a fantastic team effort and every single player put in a great performance there was one stand-out across the two games, Captain Conor Faulkner collected the Championship trophy and the MVP award. His big-game mentality was invaluable and he received praise from all in attendance including, very sportingly, the Worthing fans who went out of their way to offer congratulations.

Well done to all the boys. The pressure is now on to defend our title next year!

Conor Faulkner: 28 pts, 8 assists, 7 steals, 5 rebs
Josh Adams: 21 pts, 9rebs, 4 steals, 1 assist
George Brownell: 18 pts, 7 rebs, 8 steals
Quincy Kaka: 17 pts, 9 rebs, 4 steals, 1 assist
Renny Nascimento: 5 pts, 3 rebs, 3 steals, 1 assist
Zach Fenech: 4 pts, 2 rebs
Aidan Appleyard: 2 pts
Sheu Matewe: 1 pt
Callum McKenzie: 2 rebs
David Anthony: 1 assist
Jack Donaldson: 2 rebs
Trent Woodward: 1 steal