Tigers came back down to earth after their fantastic win against Solent Stars in the cup the previous weekend. The game started brightly for the U16s who have adapted to playing against a zone defence very well this season which the raiders played from the start. The team took an early lead but it was poor individual defence that kept the Raiders in with a sniff.
The second quarter proved why the coaching staff have been pressing the importance of free throw shooting the Tigers missed 9 opportunities from the line, the team ended up only scoring 50 percent the entire game compared to previous games when the percentage has been up to around 70.
In the third quarter Tigers showed why they went into the Christmas break top of the league, the gear levels were upped on both defence and offence and with the lead stretched to a much as 27 in the fourth quarter the game was effectively won, a flurry of points in the last minute from the raiders put a dent on the score sheet.
The team were briefed at the end of the game the importance of players coming off the bench and being able to spark the team in life, this will become ever important as the team takes its unbeaten record in all competitions to the next level after the break. With a trip to second place Abingdon Eagles and a Quarter final game against Premier division side Reading Rockets, who beat Tigers last year in the playoffs, all coming in the first two weeks in January it is going to be an exciting time for the team.