Taunton Tigers U16 boys claimed their first victory of the season after being mauled the previous week in the cup. This season the team is made up of a lot of new faces, many of whom have not played national league Basketball before. But Saturdays result away at Bristol was crucial towards helping with the teams development.
The first quarter was a scrappy affair with both teams struggling to get going, the introduction of Ahmed Zahid for the Tigers gave the team a spark to end the quarter with the lead.
The second quarter the team started to find their tiger feet on defence, putting the Bristol guards under immense pressure, this was led by the games MVP Ed Surtees and top scorer Yarred Ketema.
Tigers led by as many as 13 points during the second half, with rookies Steve Knight, Alex Potter, and Joe De Silva gaining valuable court time. But the game changed as Bristol switched their defence and banking some big shots. It was time for tigers big players of Pym, Schroeder, Ingham and Royall to step up and play some big defence and grab the rebounds to stop Bristol from getting second opportunities. Captain George Scarborough showed why he is capable of being the best player in the league scored some big baskets near the end, supported well by Matt Sweet who is showing he has the taste for National League Basketball.
After a tense last minute the coaching staff were positively pleased with the performance and it made for an enjoyable trip home.