RGK Tees Valley Titans 60 Warwickshire Bears 30
British Wheelchair Basketball League Premier League
BEARS came away from their long journey to Teesside with mixed fortunes after the first team were beaten and the thirds enjoyed victory on Saturday.
Bears’ first team were up against Titans’ first team, who welcomed back Jude Hamer for the first time following her silver medal win with the Great Britain Women’s team at the World Championships in Germany.
Conversely, the Bears were missing Siobhan Fitzpatrick from their ranks, who won silver alongside Hamer and the GB women, as she was away helping Great Britain U24s win gold in the European Championships.
In the first quarter the Bears were their own worst enemy, making a number of uncharacteristic mistakes and giving the ball away cheaply to the Titans, who took full advantage and were able to take a decisive 22-4 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Bears introduced experienced Darren Peasley at the start of the second quarter and were able to find their way to the Titans’ end, but were unable to take any advantage with their shooting and this allowed the Titans to pull further away from the Bears and lead 36-14 at half-time.
The third quarter saw no change from the previous half, as the Bears were unable to put together any consistent pressure and again lost the ball continuously to the impressive Titans team who again won the quarter and pulled further away to lead 46-21.
The last quarter was all about pride for the Bears as they tried to find some consistency in their offence whilst trying to defend against the impressive Titans.
Bears coach Tom Masterson said: “I congratulate Titans and their coaching staff on an impressive win. I think we are still finding the massive gap between Division One and the Premier League hard to bridge.
“Once again, all we can do is try and learn from these games and go and practice harder.”
BEARS 3rds enjoyed an impressive 51-16 win against Titans 3rds in Division Three Central.
The depleted visiting team was made up almost entirely of the Bears women’s side, with the addition of Adrian Taber and Harry Draper.
Coach Dan Smith said: “This was a fantastic performance to earn a convincing win. Even with a minimal squad, the team dug deep and played strongly until the end.”
The Bears first team entertain Sheffield Steelers in the Premier and Bears 3rds host Steelers 5ths on Sunday, November 18.
