Pirates no match for Trophy-winning Tigers
Chris Deacon
Mersey Tigers 104(33, 56, 84)
Essex Pirates 76 (24, 37, 56)
UEL Scorers: Anderson 3, Gachette 10, Hesson 7, Sing 17
Fresh off a victory in the BBL Trophy Final last weekend, Mersey Tigers flattened Essex Pirates on a miserable Saturday by the sea.
Mersey’s Head Coach Tony Garbelotto said this weekend was tougher than he expected after the Trophy Final at the O2 arena; “I have a lot of respect for Tim and the young guys here. You can see they are improving all the time. I think the only thing they lack is consistency.
As for my guys we played well and now our priority is to keep everyone healthy. I think if we can keep them healthy it could be a turning point for our program and indeed the destiny of the league.”
Pirates Head Coach Tim Lewis was not impressed with the display and said quite simply; “We didn’t play well tonight…at all.”
The first period started evenly with both teams taking advantage of sloppy defending time and time again. Essex didn’t look intimidated by the Tigers’ recent Trophy win and edged into a one point lead with three minutes remaining. The Mersey players must have been kicked into gear as they netted a quick 11-0 burst to snatch a big lead. The Pirates however took it on the chin and worked hard to bring the difference back to just seven.
In comparison to the first quarter, the second was a slow starter. In seven minutes the teams had only managed a measly six scores between them. After a chat with the coaches during timeout the players sparked some life in to the game and a 9-4 spell opened up the contest. Mersey Tigers pushed for every point they could and soon put daylight between themselves and the Pirates who went in behind by 19.
Essex showed no signs of crumbling after the interval; an end-to-end eight-score run got the crowd fired up and chanting loudly. However cracks appeared and soon enough the defence turned into a free-for-all as the Tigers extended a 28 point lead. Shooting from the line also became a factor as each side were called on a number of Technical Fouls, Great British Captain Drew Sullivan to name just one.
The Tigers’ dominance had already shone through but Essex didn’t give up. The home team had UEL boy Colin Sing to thank for lowering the deficit in the final ten. Sing was on fire; sinking four from downtown and adding a nice shot-block to the list of defensive successes. Amazing 10-3 and 10-0 bursts got them back in sight of the northerners but it was too late to revive any chance of overtime.
MVP went to Tigers player James Jones who rocketed to the top of the scoring charts with 29, the number six also checked in with three assists. Another Mersey player, Andrew Thompson, was awarded runner-up scoring just five less than Jones and assisting two. The Pirates managed to sneak into the charts when Dan Briglia finished third on 18 points and three assists.
The Pirates have a small number of games remaining this season and will want to get as much as possible from their final few. Their last Home meeting comes against the likes of Guildford Heat.
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
