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Heartache for Narrowly Beaten Pirates
By Chris Deacon
Essex Pirates 88 (24, 49, 74)
Plymouth Raiders 92 (24, 48, 67)
UEL Scorers: (Anderson 2, Sing 8, Gachette 8)
Essex Pirates produced their best game of the season in front of a capacity crowd but couldn't shut out Plymouth Raiders.
Not a single seat could be found at the Southend Tennis & Leisure Centre on Saturday as the Pirates hosted the Raiders in the League. The Pirates had given away 200 free tickets to encourage fans to support the side, and they didn't disappoint. The game was full of skill, speed and sportsmanship from both teams.
Essex Head Coach, Tim Lewis was reasonably happy despite the defeat; "No one had a bad game, it was just lack of experience tonight. It was a better team performance and a couple of individuals contributed more than they usually do."
The Raiders were being controlled for long periods of the game but kept scoring points. Lewis pointed this out as well; "We let them back into the game. We could have blown it apart in the first quarter but we allowed them some silly mistakes. We need to be more poised and controlled when at times we were just throwing it up there."
He summed up his night with, "I can't complain, we played really well and it was highly competitive."
Essex dominated the first quarter with high possession and rebounding stats; Zac Gachette got the majority of the points in an early 14-2 run. Plymouth have been good under pressure this season, and hard work meant they levelled the score partially thanks to nine from Evaldas Zabas.
Zabas was one of three Raiders to net six in the second period; Jay Marriott and Lehmon Colbert completed Plymouth's overhaul of the score just before the break. However, with two seconds remaining Adrien Sturt completed a quick three-point play making the half time score 49-48 in favour of Essex.
Plymouth sat back in the third quarter and allowed the home side too much time to gain the upper hand. An 11-2 burst and defensive class from Dan Briglia earned the Pirates a seven-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.
The fourth quarter became a battle of tactics and the teams changed their approaches a lot as the clock ran down; each coach used their three time-outs to try and gain the advantage point-by-point. Essex started well; Briglia and Walid Mumuni scored, but the pressure became too much and mistakes crept in. Simple baskets from below the rim were missed by several players and two-point turnovers were common for the Raiders. The final seconds were tense but as the Pirates wasted another opportunity Plymouth scored to create a four-point gap with two seconds remaining. Essex lost 88-92 but their efforts weren't unnoticed as they got a standing ovation from the crowd at the final buzzer.?
Zabas was awarded MVP for an outstanding 27 points. The runners-up both managed to score 24 each; Taner Adu of the Pirates and Colbert of the Raiders. It was a high-scoring night overall for both teams that ended in despair for Essex fans but relief for those who had come from Plymouth.
Essex now hope to carry their momentum into a tough home game against Newcastle Rocks on 5th February.
Chris Deacon is a Sports Journalism student at the University of East London
Sports Programmes
- BSc Sport and Exercise Science
- BSc Sports Coaching
- BSc Sports Development
- BSc Fitness and Health
- PGCert Sports Rehabilitation
- MSc Exercise Science and Health
- MSc Sports Management
- MA Sports Media
- MSc Sports Media
