Recap
The Youngbloods Under 16 Boys league action continued on Sunday as they faced Kingston Wildcats in the opening game at St Angela’s. Youngbloods Under 16s were short handed as injury and illness played their part, as the game tipped off Kingston started off the better side as they went on a 5-0 run at the beginning of the first. However, Nathan Moyo hit back with a made shot as he was fouled and converted from the line, with a Big three from Jonathan Ragasa soon after giving Youngbloods the lead of the game as they pushed ahead and established a 14-7 lead half way through the first quarter. Youngbloods continued to get to the basket, attacking strong and getting fouled however failed to convert from the free throw line allowing Kingston to close the gap, giving the home team a four point lead at the end of the first 19-15.
Youngbloods picked up the tempo heading into the second quarter as they looked to establish a commanding lead, scoring three back to back layups to steer clear ahead of Kingston by 8 as Newham began to punish the Wildcats for their mistakes, as a shot from beyond the arc by Aaron Martin began a run Youngbloods as they held Kingston scoreless for 7 minutes with Joel Osei and Jelani Lewis combining well scoring the next 8 points. Rayon Brown started to take control of the game as he urged for patience and good back to back offences resulting in Kingston fouling on Both occasions. Oscar Turner being fouled as he attacked the basket and converted a free throw, with Brown finding a clear path the basket as he was fouled converting both from the charity stripe, then soon after finding Alfie Murray to cap a 28-12 second quarter giving Youngbloods a commanding 22 point lead at half time.
More of the same ensued in the next half, as Youngbloods beginning to find their rhythm, attacking the basket and controlling the play well, converting their chances from the free throw line as well as they built upon their first half performance, coming out on top at the end of the third with the score 62-37, giving Youngbloods the pathway to the win the the fourth quarter as they closed out the game to Win 80-53, ensuring that Youngbloods remained perfect within the Basketball England South Premier Division thus far with a 9-0 record, as they go away to Solent, Southampton next weekend.
Head Coach Aaron Senior said “This was a good Team win, when we played unselfish, we had great plays offensively and this showed in the points spread, all players had more than 5 points today, and that goes a long way in what we are developing. We got to keep working hard in training, as the season keeps progressing and getting better, we got a long way to go still”