TIGERS GRIND OUT WIN TO STAY TOP OF THE LEAGUE

South East Tigers 53 – 52 East Grinstead Flyers

South East Tigers made it three wins out of four with a 53 – 52 victory over East Grinstead Flyers last Wednesday evening at Battle Sports Centre.

A tough match where defence dominated offense saw many lead changes throughout, was decided by one point.

action-21-11A slow nervy start by both teams kept the score low and after the first quarter Tigers had a slender 11-10 advantage. Both teams were unable to move the ball inside successfully against compact defences, which saw the forwards from both sides cancelling each other out.

Both teams started the second quarter playing full court pressure defences which in turn forced poor shot selections and a number of turnovers. This time however the visitors were the better winning the quarter by two points and taking a one point lead into the half time break.

The second half saw both teams re-focus and the flyers become more aggressive on their offensive play. Tigers found more space on the perimeter and scored 3 three pointers (Lowe, Burt, Hambridge) in the quarter. East Grinstead were better at drawing fouls and made 9 trips to the foul line, scoring from 7 of them. Score at the end of Q3 saw Tigers 40-38 up.

Final quarter and Flyers resorted to a 2 man game with the majority of there points now coming from speedy left handed point guard Kallas (15), and 6’7” Koster (17). Geoff Lowe had a great final quarter, stealing possession twice and scoring 8 points including 2 three pointers. Tigers were 2 points up with 90 seconds remaining, but a Kallas free throw and 3 pointer saw Flyers grab the lead by 50-52 with 29 seconds on the clock. Tigers last offence reversed the ball round to Lowe who hit the clutch long shot to give the Tigers the narrowest lead with 11 seconds left. Flyers flew up court but their last second shot was heavily pressured, and hit the front rim and bounced out.

The win keeps Tigers level at the top of the Sussex league. Men’s coach Andy Hodder said after the match ‘The team have developed a resilience this season that enables them to grind out results when necessary. However, our offence is still not functioning well and we have a lot of improving to do, as we should have won this game by 12-15 points.”

Scorers:- Geoff Lowe 19; Tim Hambridge 10; Pawel Skrzypek 9; Joel Hunt, Duane Weller, Josh Burt 3; Justin Hemmings, Louis Parsk, Gary Harrison 2.

The Youth teams were also competing this week. The U16 were against Crawley Cagers and the U18 verses their local rivals the Eastbourne Lions. Both teams were unable to secure a win but club chairman Hung Li said ‘This is our first year competing with youths teams and I am encouraged by the improvement in both teams as they face their first experiences of real league competition.’

TIGERS FIRST LOSS IN THRILLING MATCH

South East Tigers 62 – 70 Bognor Pirate

South East Tigers had their first setback of the season as they suffered a loss to a highly experienced Bognor Pirates that featured 3 players who play in the National League.

Both teams started the game well with efficient offence from their guards; the Tigers scoring baskets and the Pirates using strong drives to the basket to draw fouls and gain free throws. The first quarter finished 16-19 to Bognor.

The second quarter saw a reversal of fortune and tactics. Tigers aggressive pressure defence caused a number of turnovers which they ran back for easy lay-ups. Strong drives to the basket drew fouls which led to a string of free throws while Bognor were able to keep the score close with accurate perimeter shooting. At half time the Tigers led 35-33.

The 3rd quarter saw Bognor ramp up the pressure as they switched defences and they regained the lead with some good steals and fast breaks. The intensity of the game caused emotions to run high on both sides and unfortunately two Bognor players picked up unsportsmanlike fouls. The quarter ended Tigers 48 – 51 Pirates.

The visitors started the last quarter with high intensity that the Home team found hard to match, the lead extending to 9 points. A Good use of Time-Out by Coach Andy Hodder stopped the slide but the damage had been done and the lead was maintained until the final whistle, the Pirates winning by 70 points to 62.

Tigers still top the league table although other teams have games in hand.

South East Tigers scorers:- Joel Hunt 17, Geoff Lowe 17, Piotr Skrzypek 11, Pawel Skrzypek 8, Tim Hambridge 6, Jake Thompson 2, Justin Hemmings 1.

Free Throws:- SET 9 from 16; BP 7 from 16.

Fouls:- SET 13, BP 18.

3 Pointers:- SET 6, BP 5.

The local club also fielded its first U16 team this week with a match against Worthing D&D Dunkers. The young players were unable to grab a victory but gained valuable experience against one of the best teams in the league. Youth Coach Joel Hunt said ‘My players performed well for their first outing, we know now where we need to aim in terms of standard and intensity’.

 

TIGERS CONTINUE GOOD START TO THE SEASON

South East Tigers 55 – 45 Haywards Heath

South East Tigers has had one of their best starts to the season with a victory over Haywards Heath making it two wins in a row.

freethrowshotTigers started the game well with an impressive display on both offensive and defensive. Aggressive pressure defense created turnovers which lead to number of early fast break opportunities. By the end of the second quarter Tigers were leading by 15 points. The home team extended this lead to 20 points by the end of the 3rd with 17 points coming from Joel Hunt and 14 from Duane Weller.

The fourth quarter saw the Panthers rally and reduced the score difference to 10 points with little response from the Tigers.

The visitors started the final minutes with purpose and a strong defence was rewarded by three fouls throws and a number of baskets that further reduced the lead to 5 points.

The risk of undoing all their hard work seemed to refocus the Tigers and they dug deep to stop conceding points and added to their tally to finally put the game out of reach of Haywards Heath.

Tigers top the league table although it is still early in the season, Team coach Andy Hodder said after the game. ‘We still need to improve in a number of areas but I’m pleased with how we have started the season. We have a strong team and I’m looking forward to seeing how we progress this season’

SE Tigers Men’s Team get season off to a good start

South East Tigers 63 – 55 SWRA Bears

South East Tigers Senior Men’s team started the season in good form with a win over SWRA bears.

senior-team

Both teams played well in a hard fought but low scoring game. Tigers were adjusting to some changes to the squad with some players from last season leaving and new additions to the team.

This is Andy Hodder’s second season in charge and the team has seen a positive improvement since his involvement.

South East Tigers are also fielding their first junior players this season in the U18 and U16 categories. If you are interested in playing for a team then contact Contact Us

Tournament raises £700 for local charity

Every year SE Tigers basketball club hold a charity basketball tournament ‘Ball 4 Life’ for a good cause. This year was an obvious choice when Local charity ‘Help Leo Walk’ asked the Tigers to help raise funds for Hastings youngster Leo Leyland.

Leo suffered a pre-birth hemorrhage in his brain and was diagnosed with Hemiplegia on his left side, a form of cerebral palsy, and high muscle tone in the affected side, the charity was set up to help with Leo’s medical expenses.

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The tournament, held on Sunday July 10th, was well attended by players from across the south east. There were also some players from other countries in attendance and ex-British Basketball League member Tayo Odulaja made an appearance to support the proceedings.

Eight teams competed in the main event with the Summer Madness team from Brighton becoming the eventual champions. A three point shoot-out competition was also held, won by Kobe Griffiths with an impressive display of accuracy from distance. The day showed a high standard of Basketball and demonstrated the depth of talent in the region.

B4L Dunk

The day was topped off with a BBQ for all players and spectators. This helped to bring in more funds and the total raised at the end of the day was £700.

Tigers head coach Hung Li said “I am so happy we could help a local charity and promote basketball in the south east at the same time. This is our third year of running Ball 4 Life and we are dedicated to be bigger and better every year. I would like to thank all the volunteers that helped make the event happen. If anyone has ideas for charities/events in the future or would like to get involved then just get in touch”

Anyone wanting to donate to ‘Help Leo Walk’ go to http://www.treeofhope.org.uk/leos-story-help-leo-to-walk/.

Young Tigers win first Match

South East Tigers U16 made an impressive start to their teams record by beating St Bede’s School team 48-44.
The Tigers, who play out of St Leonards Academy and Claverham Community College, already have a senior team but have set themselves a target of entering a youth team in next seasons league. The match was their first ever competitive game and was arranged by Tigers youth coach Nicole Goddard. Nicole has huge experience both as a player and coach of youth teams and was able to bring in another team to put into practice all the hard training by the young players.
St Bede’s school team, also coached by Nicole have been playing together for a while and contain older players. The Tigers were naturally a little nervous and this showed in the first quarter scores of 14-23 to St Bede’s. However an encouraging word from Nicole saw the team improve in defence and the second quarter was even, ending 24-33.
The third quarter was significant for the Tigers team as Nicole handed over coaching responsibilities to Joel Hunt the new youth team coach. Joel gave them his pep talk which seemed to do the trick as the team was able to pull back to 38-39 with some good accuracy on basket from range. The final quarter was all to play for and it was a foul that lead to two free throws in the final 10 seconds that put it out of reach for St Bede’s, the game ending 48-44.
Club chairmen Hung Li commented after the match “What a great way to start the youth team in Hastings & St Leonards, a town of this size deserves youth teams in all divisions but this is a fantastic start. Joel has lots of work to do, massive potential with our players but we can improve, particularly moving the ball around the team. We would like to thank Nicole for all her hard work and wish her the best while she travels the world”

Tigers runs sessions for all ages and abilities. However if you are under 18 on the 1st Sept 2016 and interested in joining a youth team next season then please contact South East Tigers now. The club are also looking for coaches/referees/table officials and local sponsorship so if you want to support local youth sport in the area then get in touch.