WIRRAL BOYS WIN BASKETBALL CUP IN NAILBITING FINAL
Wirral Boys Grammar School sealed their first ever successive Basketball Cup with a 2 match winning streak and defeating arch rivals Ridgeway 16-6 in the Basketball Final after an evening gripped by tension.
The cup winners didn’t have to wait long for their first match of the evening due to being the first scheduled match on the fixture list. The tournament began on court 1 with a thriller between the high flying Wirral Boys and the underdogs Oldershaw. The Wirral Boys showed loads of endeavour and enjoyed much of the possession in the first half. They had most of the chances, and most of the better performers, none better than Wirral’s number 3 who scored a game-high 6 points and number 7 who scored 4 points which made Wirral Boys grow in confidence at high intensity. But Oldershaw refused to give up after going into the break (6-0), the manager decided to make 2 attacking tactical substitutions in order to try and gain some pride or possibly a comeback. However Wirral boys were no pushovers, they continued to grow and create chance after chance with great link up play throughout the team, they gained another 4 points to make the score (10-0) after 2 free throws from Number 3 and an outstanding run from the Man of the Match Number 7 who’s speed and ability was too good for Oldershaw to contempt with.
Wirral’s manager looked happy with his team’s performance and decided to make a triple substitution which was made because he believed it was important to prevent any injuries for the next match and thinks it’s important to rotate whenever possible. To prevent any embarrassment Oldershaw battled throughout the last quarter and managed to score 4 points thanks to a well team worked 2 pointer which was scored from a close range effort by Number 2 and a bizarre finish from Number 7 before the final whistle to help Oldershaw retain their pride and increase their self respect going into a must win match v the favorites Ridgeway. After the match I spoke to the satisfied Wirral manager and he said that “We played very well with a high intensity and created many chances to score” and believes his players will need to give 110% effort in the next match v Ridgeway in order to proceed to the Final.
Before Ridgeway’s first match of the tournament, the confident manager quoted that “His players have battled well in past competitions but believes this can the most successful one if the players work together and give plenty of effort throughout the tournament” This statement was later nearly affected by a pre-match injury to Number 3 after he slipped during the warm up, but still managed to play in the important match v Oldershaw. The match started and Oldershaw began the way the manager would have wanted by leading (2-0) after the first 3 minutes thanks to a superior shot by Number 4. However the lead never last long after Ridgeway attacked in numbers and unbelievably got into a comfortable lead going into the second half with a score of (12-2) after creating a number of chances which were being converted by player of the tournament Number 4. Due to the score, the manager of Oldershaw was unfortunately forced to make a tactical decision and go more attacking rather than his usual approach of defending and attacking when possible.
During the internal Ridgeway’s over confident manager was looking a positive man and stated he made substitutions so he can rest the player’s legs for the final v Wirral Boys Grammar School which presumes he thought they were guaranteed to get to the final which looked correct when Oldershaw luck ran out after Ridgeway scored a controversial goal which according to replays showed Number 6 foot was off the court when scoring a 2 pointer which ended the hopes of Oldershaw making a memorable comeback and heading to the final but their dreams were over when the final whistle was blown which meant the big one would be between the high flying Wirral Boys and the favourites Ridgeway in a Grand Slam Final.
As the final approaches, both sets of managers believed they could take the cup back home but both sets of managers also believed that it was all about commitment and the effort from their players which will decide on the winner of the final. During the pre match interviews, the Ridgeway manager expressed that this final has had loads of preparation from training weekly on Tuesday nights to a variety of competitions, all for this one game however Wirral Boys believed that it’s all about effort, determination and working as team in order to get their hands on the trophy. The whistle went and the atmosphere was electric, the Wirral Boys started the better team and were the first team to get points on the board with a lot of creativity and with their defence being like a brick wall, Ridgeway struggled to break them down and to get in behind. Going into the break and Wirral’s boys were winning 4-2 but Ridgeway made a few tactical changes and didn’t let their heads drop, they came out the last quarter flying out of the blocks with an equaliser from Number 7 who finished off from a basketball drill which was practised in the previous games but never came off.
However the Wirral Boys never let that 2 pointer affect their style of play and they began to show the form which was shown in the previous matches. This sort of play could only be described as unstoppable with Wirral Boys scoring point after point (4-14) which was stopped after the Ridgeway manager called time in order to encourage the team to go more attacking and to surprise the winning team. Everything was thrown at Wirral Boys and that led to 2 free throws (6-14) and the confidence was starting to build but that was soon dented with a 2 pointer from Wirral’s Number 3 (6-16) and with 1 minute to go the Wirral Boys were counting down the seconds of being the winners and that time finally came and the atmosphere was over the roof when the final whistle went and the mangers and players were ecstatic with their victory and when speaking to the runners up manager, he believed the best team won and his team will hopefully come back next year and go one further and win it themselves.
Under 12 Boys Basketball Final 2009: Wirral Boys
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