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

Report by 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