Basketball awarded Team of the Week after fine display

Warwick Men’s 1sts 89-47 University College of Birmingham 1sts

For their first game of the term, the men’s basketball team looked to continue their successful season as they faced opposition University College of Birmingham at home.

From the offset the cobwebs were visible, with a long Christmas break and too many mince pies proving to shake Warwick’s nerves following the opening tip.

However, the rust soon wore off as the hosts quickly raced into the lead despite early mistakes and defensive lapses.

With Birmingham applying full court pressure in the first quarter, the home team were forced into a high tempo transition game.

Opening the scoring, first year recruits Sam Sin and Jack Thomas pushed the ball well on offense and ran the lanes effectively for fast break layups. The hectic pace of the game however would see multiple turnovers, travelling violations and frustrating fouls committed by the home team – clearly a result of the long break.

Coach Chifamba called for a 2-3 zone on defence to slow down the other team and Warwick were able to contain their opponents. Slowing the game down and running through the sets on offense, the hosts were able to build on their lead going into the second quarter.

Bigmen Zygimantas Sirka and Ventsislav Georgiev worked in tandem on the low block, finishing well despite the superior height and strength of the away team.

As the second drew to a close, Warwick were able to run up the score and rotate their bench, ending the half with a commanding 50–26 lead.

In the second, Warwick would get off to a slow start with Birmingham’s bigmen making plays in the paint and drawing fouls from the home team’s frontcourt. The home side struggled with turnovers and lapses on offense that culminated in fast break layups for the opposition.

Going into the third quarter, the score was 71–42, and yet coach Chifamba was unhappy with his team’s defensive performance. With a goal of reaching the 100-point mark, the home team employed a full court pressure defence in the fourth quarter, yet weren’t quite able to reach this down the stretch despite an extremely promising performance.

All in all this was an encouraging return to action for the Warwick side. With key players injured and recovering from illnesses, the home team’s second string once again showed their capabilities.

Warwick now look ahead to Nottingham Trent in their next game in the BUCS basketball league, hopefully without the rust of the Christmas break.