Thirsk, UCA & Richmond Crowned Champions!

The second junior CVL took place on 25th April at Middlesbrough College and the outcome of today's games would determine the final standings in the U12, U16 & 1U18 leagues. There were a few casualties even before the event as Middlesbrough Lions, Game Time Gorillas and Richmond Vikings were missing a number of players leading to an amalgamated Lions and Gorillas with Gorillas having to forfeit their remaining games and Richmond unable to bring their U16 squad and subsequently forfeiting their remaining games.

 

In the U12 league it was business as usual for Thirsk Vikings as swept aside Hartlepool Heat A 17-07 to extend their unbeaten run from last month. The Thunder continued in this rich vein of form to clinch the U12 Championship, winning all ten games in the process. Derek Van Der Westerhausen was again the star of the show as the young guard seemed to score at will. Last month's MVP; Westerhausen would have some competition this month, although sadly for the other teams it was his own team mate in Jack McLaughlin who was awesome under the basket, picking up rebounds and lose balls and without hesitation putting the ball back in the hoop. This no nonsense and graceful play by McLaughlin earned the little big man 30pts. Chris Pallister enjoyed a fine day with 20pts, while Westerhausen was content to play provider, but still contributing 14pts. The young female players of Thirsk B were also in impressive form as Jessica Wakefield led the game well while Rosie Taylor was the leagues third leading scorer this month with 18pts.

 

Hartlepool A can be proud of their efforts, losing only two games in the two events, both times to Thirsk A. Ryan McKenzie was the big threat for Heat, finishing as teams top scorer with 12pts. Hartlepool A finished as runners up, 4pts behind Thirsk A. Middlesbrough Lions endured a torrid time as they missed a few key players to injury and holiday which subsequently witnessed the third placed team slip to fourth, 2pts behind of Hartlepool Heat B. To make matters worse, Lions big centre; Oliver Clark twisted his ankle mid way though the competition although the brave player soldiered through the next game against top dogs; Thirsk A. Lions will be disappointed with their turn in fortune but will be pleased with the heart from the young players who fought on, especially Anthony Dyne and Tommy Rowe who worked hard throughout.

 

Hartlepool B will be over the moon with their big 09-06 victory over Lions which enabled them to leapfrog the Middlesbrough side into third place. Thomas Bacon and Jonny Mee both played particularly well in this game, Bacon hitting the winning shots to secure victory.

 

UCA Need Only One Win To Seal Title

With Richmond unable to attend and the forfeit game awarded to UCA, the current league leaders would only need to beat Thirsk Vikings to secure their first CVL title and they would do so in dramatic fashion with a 44-14 win over the North Yorkshire outfit. Matthew Dover hit 12pts in this game and was well supported by Lewis Finnigan and Chris Sweeny, both with 8pts. Courtney Heugh did his best to respond with 6pts but the Middlesbrough school side were just too strong. Coach Leighton was impressed with his side, indicating the team as well as school representatives are already keen to attend the Presentation Evening on Saturday 30th May.

 

Middlesbrough Lions U15 squad welcomed back Chris Chapman, Philip Findlay, David Budd and Alan Slasor, all of whom missed last months event and their input for the team was excellent as the young Lions looked the team of the day with strong displays at both ends of the court and two convincing wins over Nunthorpe and Tees Valley Tigers by 27 & 25pts respectively. The well drilled side had the advantage of 6''7 14yr old; Shane Beadle who controlled the rebounds and made more than a few blocks but what is most impressive is the fact they played so well to finish runners up in a league two years above their age.

 

Game Time Gorillas were boosted with the addition of Marshall Patterson & Jordan Nicholls and this helped the team to win both their games over Thirsk and Nunthorpe and finish third in the league. Gorillas guard; Nicholls made amends for some early misses with some great passing while James Williamson proved his value to the team and Tshering Lama was also on top form.

 

There was a three way tie for 4th, 5th and 6th place with the eventual standings finishing Nunthorpe, Tees Valley and Thirsk via head to head wins. Tees Valley Tigers' Matthew Hayes finished well with 22pts.

 

Richmond Claim Title Despite Late QE Surge

The superb scoring form from Richmond guard; Mark Williams continued with 53 personal points helping the Vikings secure another three wins to claim the U18 championship. Coach Hall though was put through a sea of emotions as they lost to Middlesbrough Lions' U15 squad 18-16 and their closest rivals Queen Elizabeth 11-09. The league table finished with both Richmond and QE tied on 26pts but with Richmond beating QE 12-06 last month the head to head went the way of the North Yorkshire side who became the first Tees CVL U18 Champions. John Ford only managed 2pts in this event but was a crucial member of the team, picking up steals and rebounds and feeding the fast break to Williams. Adam Kinsley hit 16pts and the powerful Ian Donoghue contributed 14pts.

 

QE enjoyed a good spread of scoring with five players hitting double figures, led by Daniel Dowson on 33, including 12pts against Acklam Warriors.

 

Middlesbrough Lions entered their U15 squad into the U18 league and they still gave a great performance, despite just finishing the U16 league. Lions managed a very respectable 3 wins & 2 loss record to move into third place, 3pts behind QE. Dan Brown and David Budd finished well with 23 & 18pts respectively.

 

Prior Pumas finished in fourth place after collecting three wins, one draw and one loss. Michael Peddie and Matthew Brown provided a scoring machine as the fast guards combined for 72pts and the newly formed Acklam Warriors were unable to transform the fortunes of Lions ladies at last months event, but provided some stiff competition as they went down fighting.

 

The next event will be the presentation evening on Saturday 30th May 7-11pm at Thistle Hotel, Middlesbrough. Tickets are available now at £4 each. Tables of 10 can also be booked for £40 to ensure your team or group are placed together. Call Game Time on 01642 814221 for more details or to order tickets.

 

The next CVL will be a Summer league on 27th June and 18th July. New teams are welcome to enter by contacting Game Time.

 

Superb Start For New CVL

Over 150 junior basketball players took part in the Tees CVL last week at Middlesbrough College with teams travelling as far a field as Thirsk in search of honours. Opportunities for junior competition in the area have been almost non existent in recent years and this led Game Time to develop the foundations for an exciting and long term CVL which is planned to run once a month throughout the year with a summer league running through the off season.

19 teams in U12, U16 & U18 categories entered this first CVL in one of the biggest junior basketball events ever to take place in the area with visiting teams impressed with the excellent facilities of the new Middlesbrough College and heaping plaudits the way of Game Time and its staff for what was described as a great and well organised event. Wade Tovey, chairman of the TBL and coach of Nunthorpe Velocity who took part in the U16 event said afterwards “I would like to thank James (Thomson) and his team for such an excellent event today. The youngsters all enjoyed it and that’s what it’s all about. Well done.”

Parents too, were thrilled with the day and Chris Tappenden whose eight year old son; James took part said “James loved the event, it was his first real taste of a game and like many parents I was very proud to see the enjoyment on his face.”

 

Van Der Westerhausen Proves a Handful as well as Mouthful!

In the U16 league the players displayed the experience and confidence that was understandably missing from the U12 league. The big performers were Dan Brown of Middlesbrough Lions, Matthew Dover of UCA Allstarz, Tshering Lama of Game Time Gorillas and Courtney Heugh of Thirsk Thunder. All four players were well worth the plaudits thrown their way and provided some excellent moments in the tightly contested U16 league. UCA Allstarz top the league with a 4&0 record. The unbeaten side clinched a huge win over Lions in an exciting game that finished 21-18 although Lions were leading by 2pts with less than a minute to play. Matthew Dover was the hero in this game hitting a 3 pointer with 30 seconds left and then stealing the ball to score a lay up and seal the victory. The impressive Nunthorpe and Thirsk sit in third and fourth place respectively although they are tied on 7pts and both have a game in hand. The 12-4 score line when the two sides met represented a bad day at the office from the otherwise vibrant Thirsk. Richmond Vikings and Game Time Gorillas were both missing players but bravely continued and seemed to enjoy the experience despite some heavy losses while a special mention must go to the Tees Valley Tigers from Nunthorpe School who had to play with only 4 players due to a number of injuries and missing players. The Tigers picked up a big 18-15 win over the Gorillas and sit in sixth place but have one game in hand and will be hoping to have a full squad for next month.