Victory against UEL looks to have almost guaranteed that Canterbury’s name will be etched on the BUCS South Eastern 4B trophy come the end of the season. It is no surprise that they are leading the pack by such a significant margin: their attacking threat is lethal and their scoring rate phenomenal.
Zac Nelson, UEL’s centre, told Rising East: “the game did bring out the best in my team mates, I have not seen them perform in that way. I wasn’t there the first time we played Canterbury so I do not know what we are like at our most intense. It wasn’t a ‘blow-out’ victory so I’m satisfied with the team’s performance; not happy, but I’m satisfied.
As to his own display, Nelson said: “It was not my best game scoring wise, I didn’t make too many mistakes but I did clock up quite a lot of fouls. I ended the game with four in total which affected my time on the court and the impact I could have on the game.”
Unlucky
UEL epitomised the good nature of sport throughout the match today. Not once did they throw in the towel, and were unlucky to walk off the court without something to show for their efforts. They dominated the final quarter and fought with spirit, hunger, and desire to get the positive result they so desperately wanted.
As to UEL’s title chances Nelson admitted that “the only way we can win the league is if Canterbury lose the rest of their games, they are not losing at all and are winning by big margins, losing affected our chances as Canterbury are likely to go on beat the other teams in the league.”
Step up
Nelson will be moving to the second team in the New Year and says about this step up: “I’ve got comfortable with my team so having to move on again will be a bit strange at first, but I’m up for it.”
With both sides displaying good standards of basketball thus far, it looks like we may be in for another entertaining half of the season when the action returns in February. Looking ahead to the next round of fixtures, it would be a miracle of sorts should anybody other than Canterbury win the league title. This would require a capitulation of huge proportions after the Christmas break. For UEL, if they play with the same attitude they can aim for the runners-up spot.