Panthers Maul Cougars
HBA Premier League
Panthers 86-41 DST Cougars
Panthers recorded their first win of the season in emphatic style with a comfortable victory at Trinity Academy. Cougars started brightly led by captain Sam Dewsbury who had 7 points in the first five minutes and led 9-5 after a series of turnovers forced Coach Gant to call a timeout. The team responded accordingly with a 13-2 run to close the quarter 18-11.
At the start of the 2nd Cougars closed the gap to 3 points with a 6-2 run of their own but that proved to be the final resistance as Slav Jagiello hit back with 8 straight points which coupled with stifling defence restricted their opponents to just a single point in the last 5 minutes. HT 40-23.
By the mid point in the 3rd quarter the lead had reached 30 points and Coach Gant was able to give the bench players significant minutes. They combined for 20 points in the 2nd half to round off a good team performance in which all 9 players contributed points and received valuable court time.
Slav Jagiello led all scorers with 34 points whilst the reliable Marek Jacimovicz added 11 points. Sam Dewsbury led Cougars with 17 points.
Panthers 86-41 DST Cougars
Panthers recorded their first win of the season in emphatic style with a comfortable victory at Trinity Academy. Cougars started brightly led by captain Sam Dewsbury who had 7 points in the first five minutes and led 9-5 after a series of turnovers forced Coach Gant to call a timeout. The team responded accordingly with a 13-2 run to close the quarter 18-11.
At the start of the 2nd Cougars closed the gap to 3 points with a 6-2 run of their own but that proved to be the final resistance as Slav Jagiello hit back with 8 straight points which coupled with stifling defence restricted their opponents to just a single point in the last 5 minutes. HT 40-23.
By the mid point in the 3rd quarter the lead had reached 30 points and Coach Gant was able to give the bench players significant minutes. They combined for 20 points in the 2nd half to round off a good team performance in which all 9 players contributed points and received valuable court time.
Slav Jagiello led all scorers with 34 points whilst the reliable Marek Jacimovicz added 11 points. Sam Dewsbury led Cougars with 17 points.
Panthers II slip to season opening defeat.
HBA Premier League
Panthers 66-104 Dst Wilddogs
Last seasons championship winning team got off to a losing start to the new campaign albeit at the hands of a vastly experienced DST that had accounted for the national league team last week.
...
It was a very unfamiliar team with three debuts for Charlie Hogg, Mo Williams and Riyad Al-Shannon whilst there was also callups for Romas Keudys and Rees Newlove from the college team.
In an attempt to counter the DST three point threat Panthers started the match in a 3-2 zone and though they were able to restrict the long range opportunities their opponents dominated inside to take the 1st quarter 28-9.
A switch to 2-1-2 zone paid dividends in the 2nd, a 15-8 run at the end of the period inspired by a pair of 3's from Slav Jagiello and another from Marek Jacimovicz saw the gap narrowed to 33-46.
Panthers continued their good play into the third and by the 7th minute had closed the gap to 7 points 50-57 thanks to back to back 3's from Jagiello and Newlove. However DST piled on the pressure and a 14-0 run in the final 3 minutes saw the lead extended to 52-74.
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the final stanza until both Jagiello and Keudys fouled out and with the match over as a competition Coach Gant gave the bench plenty of minutes to see out the period. Inexplicably DST kept a very strong unit on the floor and switched to a full court press resulting in a 23-6 run that gave the final score a lopsided look that didn't do justice to the teams efforts.
Slav Jagiello led Panthers with 15 points, Marek Jacimovicz added 14 points and Matt Gant chipped in with 9 points.
Panthers 66-104 Dst Wilddogs
Last seasons championship winning team got off to a losing start to the new campaign albeit at the hands of a vastly experienced DST that had accounted for the national league team last week.
...
It was a very unfamiliar team with three debuts for Charlie Hogg, Mo Williams and Riyad Al-Shannon whilst there was also callups for Romas Keudys and Rees Newlove from the college team.
In an attempt to counter the DST three point threat Panthers started the match in a 3-2 zone and though they were able to restrict the long range opportunities their opponents dominated inside to take the 1st quarter 28-9.
A switch to 2-1-2 zone paid dividends in the 2nd, a 15-8 run at the end of the period inspired by a pair of 3's from Slav Jagiello and another from Marek Jacimovicz saw the gap narrowed to 33-46.
Panthers continued their good play into the third and by the 7th minute had closed the gap to 7 points 50-57 thanks to back to back 3's from Jagiello and Newlove. However DST piled on the pressure and a 14-0 run in the final 3 minutes saw the lead extended to 52-74.
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the final stanza until both Jagiello and Keudys fouled out and with the match over as a competition Coach Gant gave the bench plenty of minutes to see out the period. Inexplicably DST kept a very strong unit on the floor and switched to a full court press resulting in a 23-6 run that gave the final score a lopsided look that didn't do justice to the teams efforts.
Slav Jagiello led Panthers with 15 points, Marek Jacimovicz added 14 points and Matt Gant chipped in with 9 points.