Manchester Magic made the long trip to Taunton but despite being diverted off the motorway due to the closure of the M6, showed no sign of ‘Coach-lag’ in the first quarter, as they nailed long-range threes to take a substantial early lead. With Magic Starting with 4 players at 6′7″ Taunton were forced to help out around the basket leaving open opportunities outside.
The second quarter saw the Tigers step up their intensity to reduce the National Cup holders to only 5 points by the eighth minute. It is this type of team defensive effort that the Tigers will have to rely on this year if they are to compete at the highest level.
Taunton still struggled at the offensive end and chose a bad day to shoot 3 from 20 from the three point line, their worst ever stats. Yabsley however lead the charge to claw back some points scoring 17 and confirming himself as Tigers most consistent performer this season. He was supported by Rich Anderson (10 Points) and Joe Andrews (9 Points). However, despite some free-flowing Basketball by the home side, the higher percentage shooting of the visitors combined with 7 from long range, enabled them to stretch their lead to 20 before the half-time break. Steve Gayle led the onslaught for the Magic, conjuring-up some impressive threes and cutting moves to the hoop on his way to a game high 28 points.
The second half proved a more even contest with the Taunton support still driving their team on, an unusually large turn-out on a bonfire night proved once again how important they have been to Taunton rise to the top. The experienced Manchester side finished very comfortable winners though at 85 – 54.
Early wins against Leopards in the Trophy and a close game with Sheffield demonstrate the potential of the young home grown Tigers but the gulf between Taunton and the ‘big three’ looks pretty big right now. Coach Ronnie Heath explained the difficulty against the top sides.
“We cope pretty well against teams with big names but really struggle against the well drilled teams. Jeff Jones (Magic's coach) has some great players but is his ability to get them moving the ball that makes it so difficult for us. It is a steep learning curve for us but I really believe the players will quickly make the adjustments needed.”
It doesn't get any easy for the Tigers for some time. This weekend they travel back to Worthing Thunder on Saturday and then Bristol on Sunday. Both teams are tipped for the top four and have used their considerable budgets to bring in American and European imports.