Sunday saw the battered and wounded Tigers have to do it all again against Plymouth's Division 2 side in the National Cup round 2. The local derby has produced some memorable games over the years but this one topped the lot. It was to be a full nail-biting weekend for the supporters.
The Tigers started the game well, jumping-out to an early double figure advantage. They maintained the lead throughout the first quarter, but as the game began to flow in the second, it was the Raiders pair Boyle and Francombe who got hot from the outside. With many of the Tigers shots failing to drop (as in their Trophy game vs Sheffield the day before), the visitors secured a lead of 5 points by half-time.
The second half saw the Tigers scrapping for every loose ball to try and get themselves back into the game; despite this the resilient Raiders not only maintained but increased their lead by a basket to go into the final quarter with a 7 point advantage.
The visitors continued to hold-on to their lead as the end of the game drew even nearer. Nevertheless, the continued pressure combined with the home crowd support enabled the Tigers to see themselves back into the game with a 2 point lead with only seconds of regular time remaining. However, in the dying few seconds of normal time Raiders nailed a long two to tie the score and force an extra period.
The Tigers went into overtime very positively and dominated play to gain the advantage. The spirited Raiders failed to give up but could not close the gap - despite a final push which was all to no avail, resulting in the Tigers winning by a single basket to close a cracking weekend of top quality Basketball at Wellsprings LC.
Head Coach Ronnie Heath had positive reflections on the weekend,
“After our strong performance on Saturday a few people thought we should blow away Plymouth on Sunday but that is just not how sport works. Firstly we have to give huge credit to Plymouth who made it their cup final and secondly you have to praise the Tigers players for staying in there and grafting for the win.”