UEL Men’s 4th Basketball team were victorious in their opening match of the new season, when they convincingly beat Westminster 76-35 at SportsDock and claimed their first local bragging rights in the process.
Slow Start
Both sides started the game relatively slow, which was to be expected considering the rust several players showed on the court, many who would have not played competitively at all over the summer.
This was not more evident than in the three-minute scoring drought that both UEL and Westminster endured. Both teams were unable to get clean looks at the basket and their jump-shots failed to fall correctly.
Eventually, UEL got back into their groove and, with thanks to their full-court defense, they were able to turnover a ton of ball against their London rivals and transition to lay-ups for Isaac David to score, as the home team led after the first quarter 21-11.
Settled Rhythm
The second quarter was more of the same from UEL, as constant pressure and active hands disrupted the flow of Westminster’s offense and led to the away side scoring only five points in the second quarter’s entirety.
There were a couple of highlight plays from UEL’s Peter Akinyede: a high floater over the outstretched arm of one Westminster big man and minutes later, a crafty euro-step around his defender for a smooth finish at the rim.
UEL finished the half strong when an outlet pass from Faris Mohammed found its way to his teammate Dave Villegas for an easy transition basket after a missed Westminster 3-pointer.
UEL led at the half 37-16.
Constant Threat
Even though UEL were up by 21 points at the beginning of the second half, they showed no signs of complacency as they upped their defensive intensity to another level, starting the third quarter on a 14-0 run.
Westminster’s first points during the third came with just over three minute to go, a great indicator for how hard UEL played – even though the game was practically already in the bag. UEL ended the third quarter with a whopping 36-point margin, leading 59-23.
The fourth quarter was a chance for UEL to go deeper into their bench and put some players on the court who didn’t see enough time in the first three quarters, such as Mattheos Christodoulou. As the final buzzer sounded, UEL’s win was made official, with a commanding win by 41 points, 76-35.
Growing Team Chemistry
The majority of the team have been together for three years and the togetherness in the squad looks to be as high as it’s ever been, as highlighted by UEL’s Jacob Baily:
“There’s just love between the boys. This is our third year now, we’ve all been together for three years and there’s chemistry in the team now. That’s what I love.”
Baily also highlighted the importance of moving the ball when on offense, saying “If we move the ball and get the defense moving around, then we get better looks [at scoring].”