27/09/05 While most games in the second round of the National Cup went to form, there were a couple of minor upsets. In the South West, Taunton Tigers, from EBL3, turned over Plymouth Raiders II, opening a 30-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and holding steady for the remainder of the game, to win by 14. With Plymouth being newly-promoted to EBL2, and Taunton having finished close behind them in Division 3 West, last year, this result is perhaps not so much of a shock - especially as the Tigers had beaten the Western champions in the League as recently as March. The other teams from outside EBL 1 to reach the Third Round were all from Division 2. Liverpool's 41-point stroll past EBL3 newcomers Wear Valley Warriors hardly qualifies as an upset, but Northampton Neptunes' 13-point home win against newly promoted EBL1 side Kings Lynn Fury does. The Neptunes feel they have a strong team this year, with a stable core to the squad and several additions, and it was Simon Taylor (who was with Colchester last year) who led them to victory, with a game-high 21 points. Though there were only three points separating the teams at the end of each of the first three quarters, the fact that Northampton's top three scorers all bagged more points than Jon Stonebridge, who led the way for the Fury, suggests that Kings Lynn may well struggle in the top flight this year. Tamar Valley Cannons showed that their reprieve from relegation was justified, with a huge 45-point victory at new entrants Gloucestershire Giants, whose policy is to concentrate on home-grown Gloucestershire talent. NEWI Nets had been tipped as potential giant-killers, as they played host to Coventry Crusaders, and they held their EBL1 opponents close in the first quarter, at 20-22. The Crusaders, however, seem much stronger than last season, and despite having to leave out one of their Americans (only one being permitted in the Cup, unless two EBL1 teams are involved), three of their newcomers led their scoring - Neely with a game-high 30, Oatman with 22, and Twierdzinski with 21. The result was a resounding 34 point win for the Midlands team, despite 26 points from Alan Duppa for the Nets. Elsewhere there were big wins, against lowly opposition, for Worthing Thunder (Rani Malik celebrating his return from Nottingham with a team-high 24 points, in the 50-point demolition of Westside), Reading Rockets (Paul Tonkovich hitting the highest score of the round, with 38 in their 31-point win at Hackney, for whom Joujou Bola [22] was the only player to achieve double figures), Arrows (for whom Kain made his mark with 28, as they beat Aston Athletics by 21) and Manchester Magic (46 point victors over Huddersfield, despite 25 points from Karl Seamarks and 22 from Jason Swaine, for the Yorkshire side). Leopards held visiting Colchester United to just 8 points in the first quarter, and 15 in the half, before easing up to win by 23, and London United (for whom Pete Deppisch and Jacek Jagodka hit 20 apiece - accounting for the victory margin over Towers II) were also able to use their game as a good workout. It was not quite so easy for Worcester Wolves against an experienced and tenacious Filton Flyers. The third division side were still level, at 25-all, at the end of a tight and defensive first half, with Wolves levelling the scores on the buzzer. It was still level, at 33-all midway through the third, but then the visitors began to tire, and a 13-3 close to the quarter put the first division outfit in control. Still the Wolves could not pull away in the final period, and the eventual 12-point margin will have been as encouraging to the promotion-chasing Flyers as it will have been disappointing to their first division hosts. Nottingham Knights didn't have quite such a struggle at near-neighbours Loughborough Cardinals, but having established a 14-point interval lead they found the students (led by Rod Bryn-Hussey with a game-high 23) impossible to shake off, and only ten points separated them at the end of the third, before the Knights edged away to win by 14, with Tristan Lawson and Stefan Gill hitting 22 apiece. Teesside Mohawks also found their neighbours putting up a good fight, as they led Durham Wildcats by just eleven at the half. The second half proved a different proposition, however, as the third division outfit tired, and the Mohawks pulled away to win by thirty. With the Cup Final this year being played in early December, the surviving 16 teams have only a fortnight to wait to see if they can make it to the Quarter Finals. Of the four non-EBL1 qualifiers, three will feel that they may stand a chance of causing further upsets. Liverpool have home advantage against a Teesside team who are a shadow of their former selves (with even veteran Corey Jackson now having left, to join Brighton); Taunton will also hope to benefit from being at home against a Solent team who are still taking time to gel as a unit, and Tamar Valley should be able to give Worcester an even sterner test, although the Wolves will be at home again. For Northampton, though, the "reward" for knocking out First Division opponents is ... a trip to Cup holders Reading! With the Women's Cup having fewer rounds than the Men's, the Women's EBL Division 1 was able to get more thoroughly under way, and the table began to take on a somewhat familiar look. Manchester Mystics made a good start at home to Nottingham Wildcats, shading the first quarter 18-14, but the visitors had edged ahead, 32-40 by the end of the half. Mystics hung on, to trail by just seven at the start of the fourth, before the Wildcats greater height and experience told, to see them home by fifteen, led by Jessica Kemp and Emma Pass with 22 apiece - over half of their team's 79 points. It proved to be a good weekend for Nottingham, as they topped the table on Sunday, with a perfect 3&0 start, courtesy of a convincing home victory over Spelthorne (now known as London Heathrow Acers). Just as the night before, the Wildcats could only edge out an eight point advantage by half-time, but a 13-6 third quarter put them in control before they blasted the game wide open in the final quarter, with a 23-3 blitz. Disappointed last week, when injuries had forced them to postpone their opening game (against Rhondda), Sheffield Hatters also had a double-header weekend, and showed that they will be challenging at the top yet again, as they recorded to fine wins, at home to London Towers and away at Brixton Topcats, by 18 and 29 points respectively. Newcomer Gandy led the Hatters' scorers in both games, with 17 and 15, and new recruit Sarah Naylor (who was with Nottingham last year) Last week we'd wondered whether Acers' 59 point victory at Doncaster was a result of their own strengths or their hosts' weaknesses. The result at Nottingham gave us part of the answer, and the Panthers' visit to Solent Stars brought stunning confirmation. Doncaster were held to just two baskets in the first half (fortunately both from 3-point range), as they trailed 52-6, and the 104-15 final scoreline is believed to be the lowest points ever scored in a top division Women's game. No less than eight of Solent's players recorded more points than Doncaster's joint top-scorers. Last season Patricia Chukwuma and Helen Naylor accounted for 532 of Doncaster's 897 League points (and hauled down 245 rebounds between them). With Chukwuma having returned to Nigeria, and Naylor appearing not to be with the team, one can only fear for the sanity of the Panthers' players unless there is an injection of more experience into a very young team.
11/09/05 DEFAULTS MARR THE BIG TIP-OFF It didn't take a genius ('cos I'm certainly not) to predict that there would be more than one game that failed to take place on the first day of the season, and so it proved, as first Brixton conceded their First Round Cup game, and then Omega, UWIC (both Men and Women), and London Towers II all failed to get their players registered in time to take the court in their matches. The result was an easy passage into Round 2 for Colchester, Plymouth II and Bedford in the Men's competition, and Plymouth Racers in the Women's. I'm sure though that all those teams would have readily swapped their progress for some competitive match-practice, and the opportunity to give their fans something to watch. Hopefully the fines for the defaulters will not be negligible.
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