Taunton shook off the pain of two successive close losses to record an emphatic victory against Cardiff Celts at Wellsprings Leisure Centre to keep their National Trophy campaign alive. Taunton fully expected a real test against their local rivals who had posted good performances against Reading and Bristol recently. On the day however, an energised Tigers squad against a tired looking Celts outfit proved to be a mismatch.
The 27 – 10 early score-line reflected the high quality ball movement coupled with traditional high tempo defence by the Tigers. Captain Rich Anderson and Joe Andrews (both 14 points) threw one-two punches from inside and outside with only Gregory for Cardiff (also 14 points) providing early resistance.
When Paul Yabsley took on the role of stopping Gregory Cardiff struggled as a unit to get any good looks at Taunton's basket. Down the other end the assists and lay-ups flowed with all 12 of the Tigers squad scoring at least 3 points.
Junior Sean Clifford (8 points) enjoyed his debut for the senior side vindicating Coach Ronnie Heath's surprising decision to start the youngster. Looked after by his older brother Tim, Sean revelled in the space created by the pretty patterns of his team mates.
The game was effectively over as a contest by the half with Taunton leading 53 – 23 but Cardiff typically battled right to the end although Tigers maintained enough momentum to win all four quarters. The crowd still expected to see three figures on the board and were not disappointed as a three-pointer by Alistair Bird followed by free throws from Adam Rickwood allowed the Tigers to finish with 101 points.
With so many Tigers players performing well the MVP went to Tim Clifford who controlled the game from the point guard spot. Heath was full of praise for the young guard,
“Everyone in the league knows that Tim has the full range of weapons, but the difficulty is using them at the right time. The Clifford brothers really appreciated the need to mix up their game and more importantly fully involve everyone else.”
Whilst clearly delighted by his team's performance he was quick to warn against complacency against Cornwall Cougars next week. Tigers host the Cougars in the second round of the National Cup on Sunday and will start as favourites. "They are a fast improving unit and there win against Tamar Cannons (Division 2 side) proved that they can't be taken lightly. I will use the game to give opportunities to some of our exciting developing players but the squad will contain plenty of our most experienced guys.