Thurs 14th saw the last home fixture of the DBA Season against Dorset Storm, arguably the largest club in the region. We knew they were going to be experienced and sharp shooting, however, with them sitting just 2 places ahead of us, and playing the way we have been, we knew it was a game we could compete in.
Dorset started by taking their first 5 or 6 offences from the outside, which allowed us to settle into a nice 3-2 zone, and with strong inside play from Yera and Boris we jumped out to a 12-10 lead mid way through 1, but some little fouls put them on the line, for easy points to take it to 16-17 after 10 mins.
The second was another even affair. Nathan was playing with flair and speed, driving and shooting well, and the ball was moving well in offence. Coach Mills kept reminding the boys to play at the correct tempo, and they responded. Running when needed and slow and sensible when needed. There was little we could do against the slick Storm ball movement and sharp shooting, but we kept them on their toes and it was 26-28 at the half.
The Seahawks were playing with heart and fire, and Boris quickly tied the game and then put us infront with a 3, which they replied to. Serious cramp put leading PG Vito out for the game, put Anthony was sensible when stepping in, playing well. And again the 3rd was to and fro, teams answering at both ends. However, three 3's in succession but the Storm in ascension 42-49 after 3.
The final quarter was close, but the 'Hawks got an 8-0 run, from 46-52 behind, saw us take the lead by 2 with 4 minutes to go. The Storm answered and as our defence worked hard to get the stops, and offence moved well and Nathan added another to his column, tied the game 56-56 with 2 to go... but we could not get the ball to drop, and we had to send them to the line to stop the clock, and they were going 50% so the game was there to take, but we could not get the last basket, and with a final prayer shot from Nathan, which came up just short saw us take an agonising loss, 56-59.
Another brilliant performance, where we sit as much gutted about the loss, but so proud of the display by the whole team.
[Scorers: Wickens 13, Wood 12, Petrov 11, Aimaganbetov 6, Li 4, Huber 4, Wong 4, Cheng 2]