FINAL HURDLE PROVES TOO TALL

U16’s Match Report

V’s Cheshire Jets, Sunday 20 February @ Amaechi Basketball Centre, Manchester

Sureshot Cup Final

Junior Sharks 65 – 79 Cheshire Jets

Another appearance in the Sureshot Cup Final, Junior Sharks’ fifth in recent years, was an exciting occasion and keeps the name at the forefront of British Junior Basketball.

Our opponents were Cheshire Junior Jets, another excellent organisation who consistently produce quality teams across the age groups. Junior Sharks had previously matched up against this outfit on two occasions this season coming off second best both times but by the narrow margins of one and three points. This was an opportunity for the Sharks boys to gain revenge and win another prestigious trophy.

The day started early with players, coaches and a huge army of supporters meeting to travel to the venue at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester. Arriving early players took the opportunity of settling into the show court and stretching the journey out of their legs.

Tip off approached and the noise reached a crescendo as both sets of supporters cheered their team.

The opening period was tense but both teams settled quickly with Henryk Krajniewski grabbing the early points for Junior Sharks. At the five minute mark scores were level but Jets went on a mini run opening out a seven point lead at the first interval 26 – 19.
Junior Sharks struggled with shot selection in the second period and went long periods without a score but great offensive boards work by Lemar Darien-Campbell and a late burst brought them back to twelve points down and a belief that they were still in contention returned.

The third period was a time of runs with first Jets stretching their lead and then Sharks fighting back. It would have been easy to fold at this stage but the Sharks boys showed huge character and cheered on by a fanatical crowd they repeatedly dug deep to stay in touch at twelve points down by the end of the third. Jets lead 61 – 49.

Spurred on by top scorer Dennis Kaka and in front of both England U16 and U18 coaches the gap was again narrowed only for Jets to regain the initiative. In the final five minutes Sharks had the momentum and held Jets to only three scores. Unfortunately the gap was not being reduced quickly enough and the final buzzer sounded with Jets the victors 79 – 65.

Many thanks to the massive support that travelled across the Pennines.

Players: Marcus Welsh 2 points, 1 rebound, Mat Michalak, Tom North, Wes Skaines 6 points 3 rebounds, Dennis Kaka 19 points 8 rebounds, Tommy Price 2 points, Simron Nahal, Marko Bacovic 2 points 4 rebounds, Lemar Darien-Campbell 9 points 13 rebounds, Connor Dixon, Henryk Krajniewski 16 points 6 rebounds, Dale Stennett 9 points 7 rebounds.