East London Men’s basketball first team boosted their chances of promotion after a 94-84 win over fellow title contenders, Bournemouth.
East London comfortably kept Bournemouth at bay, and they didn’t trail at any point during the match in front of a loud home crowd.
East London’s record improves to 5-2 after today’s win, and they move three points clear at the top of Premier South Division. Bournemouth slip to 5-3, with their chances of promotion slipping through their fingers after two straight losses.
Stand-Out’s
Guard Elijah Maynard put on a show for the fans at Sports Dock, scoring 30 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, as East London won their fourth straight home game this season.
Point guard Rhys Sundimalt had a strong performance, scoring 24 points with seven rebounds, and Daniel Delgado chipped in with nine assists and eight boards.
East London played without three of their usual starters, so it was vital that the rest of the team stepped up.
Bournemouth had no answer for Maynard for most of the game, Maynard making the most of his chances with an efficient shooting performance, going 11 for 18 (61%) from the field, and sinking four for eight (50%) from beyond the arc.
Turning the screw
Bournemouth kept it close in the first half, only trailing by four points, but Maynard’s energy and athleticism was the difference in the third quarter. Maynard scored 10 points in the third and acted as the catalyst to take the game out of reach for Bournemouth.
East London established a 13-point lead heading into the final quarter.
East London turned the screw on a tired-looking Bournemouth side with their elite ball movement on offense in the second half.
Delgado in particular was pulling the strings from the point, displaying excellent handles, and creating chances through his clinical ball distribution.
‘We should have held them at 70’
UEL Head Coach Dave Greenway was pleased with his team’s victory but showed disappointment with his team’s defensive performance at times.
In a post-game interview with Rising East, Greenway said, “[I’m] Proud of the guys and the work they put in. I’m happy that we won, we did what we needed to do to win the basketball game… But from a coach’s perspective, there are so many things we need to be better at. I thought defensively, giving them 84 points is too many. We should have held them to about 70.”
He added, “we’re in a great spot heading into the Christmas, top of the table, and I’m hoping we can get some players back from injury in the new year.”
East London’s next game is at home against the University of Essex after the Christmas break on Wednesday 19th January.
