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England 144-109Georgia

Unbeaten start continues after an incredible offensive display against Georgia. 144 points, 51 assists(!) and 63% FG is an incredible job done by the team. Woodhouse once again impressive with 31 points in only 25mins with his backup Anderson also adding 20 points in 21mins from the bench.

Georgia are one of the lower seeded teams in the group, but do appear to have some good u21 players this season, so I didn’t want to take them lightly. I had clocked that their manager liked to guess GDP so decided to switch up the offence this week, which they almost predicted still! But our offence were just too strong in the game. A +35 win is great for us in the push for that 2nd qualifying spot.

Italy held off a 2nd half push from Czech Republic to maintain their unbeaten start, and give Czech Republic their 2nd loss of the campaign. Israel and Greece cruised passed Sweden and Norway respectively as they move on to a 2-1 record.

After 3 games the table stands as follows:
1- Italy 3-0 +54
2- England 3-0 +41
3- Greece 2-1 +42
4- Israel 2-1 +37
5- Czech Republic 1-2 +15
6- Georgia 1-2 -49
7- Norway 0-3 -62
8- Sweden 0-3 -78

There are some big games next week that will define how the table plays out as we face Italy in a battle of the unbeaten teams. Greece face Czech Republic in what is a pivotal game for both teams as a loss for either side could effectively eliminate them from qualifying contention. Israe face Norway in a game they should win comfortably. Finally Sweden look to get their first win against Georgia

England 74-78 Italy

The unbeaten start comes to an end, but at the hands of the powerhouse Italy. This was a game with the sole target of damage limitation of our points differential, so to only lose by 4 points is a great effort by the team. Great defensive performance to hold them to only 78 points, with Hudson and Hay combining for 10 blocks and 30 rebounds. Offensively we did struggle, but Woodhouse and Speakman did their best to cause an upset, but fell just short.

Elsewhere in the group, Czech Republic used more effort against Greece to keep their season alive, while handing Greece their 2nd loss of the season. Greece still have Italy and Israel to play, so they need a very strong run to give themselves a chance of qualification. Israel claimed 2nd spot in the group with a win against Norway. They also still have Italy and Greece so have their hardest part of the season to come. Finally, Sweden got their first win in dominating fashion against Georgia.

Here are the standings after 4 games:
1- Italy 4-0 +58
2- Israel 3-1 +52
3- England 3-1 +37
4- Greece 2-2 +29
5- Czech Republic 2-2 +28
6- Sweden 1-3 -38
7- Georgia 1-3 -89
8- Norway 0-4 -77

Huge game for us next week as we play Czechs Republic which will have a big effect on the final standings. Czech Republic with 2 losses already can’t afford another loss, while a win for us puts us in a great position with two games remaining against lower ranked teams. Another huge game in the race for 2nd as Greece and Israel face off. With Greece’s loss to Czech Republic, they can’t afford another loss while a loss for Israel would also harm their chances of qualification. Italy play Georgia as they look to maintain their top spot. Sweden and Norway will battle in the other game in the group.

England 78-82 Czech Republic

So close yet so far…

We came up just short in the game against Czech Republic which puts our chances on getting the 2nd place spot in doubt. A win would’ve put us and Israel on a 4-1 record with Israel still having to play Italy. Now Israel can afford to lose to Italy and still finish 2nd due to their higher points differential and game against Georgia which will further strengthen their points differential.

Elsewhere, Israel came out on top against Greece which has made them favourites for the 2nd place spot. As expected, Italy took care of Georgia as they prepare for two tough games against Israel and Greece where they look to go unbeaten in the group. Finally, it was Sweden who came out on top over Norway.

The standings after game-week 5:
1- Italy 5-0 +114
2- Israel 4-1 +62
3- England 3-2 +33
4- Czech Republic 3-2 +32
5- Greece 2-3 +19
6- Sweden 2-3 -28
7- Georgia 1-4 -145
8- Norway 0-5 -87

We now go to to face the Scandinavian duo of Norway and Sweden, two games which we will need big wins if we want to snatch that 2nd place.

England 93-80 Norway

Back to winning ways, but it’s not going to be enough. After two losses to Italy and Czech Republic, we turned our fortunes around with a 13 point win over Norway. As we needed a big points differential win to have a chance of finishing 2nd I decided to go with more of an offensive lineup going with Watson over Harris but our offensive still struggled so this didn’t work as hoped.

Elsewhere, Israel got a big win over Italy which has pretty much confirmed their qualification as they play Georgia in the last gameweek. The loss does now put Italy at risk as they play Greece where a loss could give Czech Republic a chance to overtake them on points differential. Unfortunately, despite only having 2 losses ourselves, it would take a miracle for us to achieve the points differential required to overtake Italy and Czech Republic. Czech Republic won their game against Sweden 108-70 which gave them a big points differential boost for an outside chance of qualification. Finally, Greece got a big 131-63 win over Georgia, but as they have 3 losses already have no chance of qualifying and will have to settle for 5th place in the group.

After 6 games, the group stands as:
1- Italy 5-1 +111
2- Israel 5-1 +65
3- Czech Republic 4-2 +70
4- England 4-2 +46
5- Greece 3-3 +87
6- Sweden 2-4 -66
7- Georgia 1-5 -213
8- Norway 0-6 -100

We will face Sweden in our final game of the group. To have any chance of qualifying we’d probably going to need a win of 70+ points which is unrealistic. But we will look to end the group with a win in what has been a close and entertaining group.

You did an excellent job this season your win almost put us in a tough spot. I hope your squad in the coming years will be even more successful, and you'll be able to have an even better campaign. In any case, after the wins over us and Greece, I wanted to give you some well-deserved praise for your work so im doing it now

Thanks, very much appreciated!

I had low expectations for this group as I felt we didn’t have enough firepower, but we were defensively pretty strong which meant we were able to stay close in games. Against the other 4 top teams we won 2 by 3 points (you and Greece) and lost 2 games by 4 points (Czech Republic and Italy). So easy to say if we’d won the close games that we lost we could’ve been unbeaten, but just as easily 3-4.

England 84-69 Sweden

Well the competitive aspect of the season is now over as Italy managed to beat Greece which gave us no chance of qualification, but even then this result wouldn’t have been enough to pull off the miracle. Almost perfect 1st quarter defensively as we held Sweden to 0-21 FG, but the refs were very whistle happy for them to keep them somewhat close in the game. Offensively we weren’t efficient enough to put up a big score.

Elsewhere, Italy got the win they needed against Greece to confirm their qualification spot. But it turns out a win wasn’t needed as in the same position as us, Czech Republic won against Norway but couldn’t reach the required points differential to overtake either of the top 2 teams. Finally, thanks to a 57 point win over Georgia, Israel topped the group by 2 points. Congratulations to Israel and Italy on qualifying for the 2nd round. But also a shout out to Czech Republic and Greece as this was one of the most interesting EC groups I’ve been a part of with 5 teams all closely fighting for 2 spots.

The final standings for the group are:
1- Israel 6-1 +122
2- Italy 6-1 +120
3- Czech Republic 5-2 +90
4- England 5-2 +61
5- Greece 3-4 +78
6- Sweden 2-5 -81
7- Georgia 1-6 -270
8- Norway 0-7 -120

We now move on to the next phase of the season, which will be scrimmages for the rest of the season. I have decided to run a u20 team for the remainder of the season in preparation for next season. Our group of 20year olds are looking to be a true golden generation for the future, but likely more for the senior team than the u21 team. We will hopefully have a reasonably strong team again but don’t be expecting any titles!

As I say, we will be moving to a u20 team going forward. So here is a few words of appreciation for the 21year olds that will be moving on.

Kit Harris- trained by RioMashvili of Borac Basket, Harris was an interesting player to use, but he has definitely had an effective EC. Finished with averages of 7.1rpg and 9.3apg and some funny statlines, including 2 near double-doubles with 0 points! Despite only playing 7 games, he’s has ranked 6th for single season assists! His passing was crucial in our success this season as we lacked true offensive firepower.

Mark Speakman, Robert Bernard and Forest Arrowsmith- trained by js8 of Wanaka Lakers, Speakman and Bernard have provided a strong defensive presence on the perimeter. Speakman also ended as our 2nd top scorer with 15.2ppg in a team which was limited offensively. Bernard was mostly limited to a bench role because of the strong play of Speakman averaged 9ppg. Arrowsmith was held to a mostly reserve role, but I expect to see him featuring for our senior NT team in the future.

Scott Woodhouse- trained by Rich Pickings of Bicton Bombers, Woodhouse turned out to be the surprise package of the season for me. Averaging 22.8ppg, including a 44 point outburst in the EC opener against Greece. He also offered strong defensive versatility which made his presence in the team almost irreplaceable.

Colin Hay and Mason Hudson- trained by testudo of Dartmoor Pumas, they were the defensive backbone of the team, anchoring the defensive from inside. Hay finished with averages of 13.1rpg and 4.8bpg and was 1 block and 1 point away from ending the season with a triple double! Hudson had averages of 8.6rpg and 3.4bpg while adding 9.9ppg. Hudson’s big performance came in the win over Israel where he had a team high 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks, while also limiting Israel’s biggest scoring threat to 9-38FG!

Tank Dixit- trained by Johny89 of BB London City, Dixit offered solid work as a backup to Hudson and Hay. Very solid player in his own right who would’ve been a starting big in most of my u21 teams previously. He averaged 8.5rpg in under 24mins per game which shows how important his efforts were mostly from the bench.

Drew Watson- trained by Flavoured of Spartan Warriors, Watson offered a strong all round skill set which made him valuable as a backup scorer and playmaker at the PG/SG positions. He averaged 11.3ppg and 4.3apg from the bench in an effective 6th man role.

Pat Anderson - trained by RanLT of London Rams, Anderson was a key figure off the bench early in the campaign, and even provided a 20 point in 21min performance against Georgia.

Digambara Jain- trained by BC17 of BC Gunnners, Jain provided a solid inside scoring presence off the bench, something we didn’t have from our other bigs. May have been more involved if he had another offensive minded big to go next to him.

This group exceeded expectations this season and picked up 2 quality wins against Greece and Israel but in the end fell just short due to losses vs Czech Republic and Italy, which is no shame. The group was really competitive between the top 5 teams and all 4 games we had against the other teams were decided by 3 or 4 points.

Thank you to all the managers for their commitment to training and managing the game shape (which has been excellent i should say) of this group. We did the best we could but it wasn’t quite enough. We look to keep improving, and one season we’ll make the 2nd round I’m sure!

As I say, we will be moving to a u20 team going forward. So here is a few words of appreciation for the 21year olds that will be moving on.

Kit Harris- trained by RioMashvili of Borac Basket, Harris was an interesting player to use, but he has definitely had an effective EC. Finished with averages of 7.1rpg and 9.3apg and some funny statlines, including 2 near double-doubles with 0 points! Despite only playing 7 games, he’s has ranked 6th for single season assists! His passing was crucial in our success this season as we lacked true offensive firepower.

Mark Speakman, Robert Bernard and Forest Arrowsmith- trained by js8 of Wanaka Lakers, Speakman and Bernard have provided a strong defensive presence on the perimeter. Speakman also ended as our 2nd top scorer with 15.2ppg in a team which was limited offensively. Bernard was mostly limited to a bench role because of the strong play of Speakman averaged 9ppg. Arrowsmith was held to a mostly reserve role, but I expect to see him featuring for our senior NT team in the future.

Scott Woodhouse- trained by Rich Pickings of Bicton Bombers, Woodhouse turned out to be the surprise package of the season for me. Averaging 22.8ppg, including a 44 point outburst in the EC opener against Greece. He also offered strong defensive versatility which made his presence in the team almost irreplaceable.

Colin Hay and Mason Hudson- trained by testudo of Dartmoor Pumas, they were the defensive backbone of the team, anchoring the defensive from inside. Hay finished with averages of 13.1rpg and 4.8bpg and was 1 block and 1 point away from ending the season with a triple double! Hudson had averages of 8.6rpg and 3.4bpg while adding 9.9ppg. Hudson’s big performance came in the win over Israel where he had a team high 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks, while also limiting Israel’s biggest scoring threat to 9-38FG!

Tank Dixit- trained by Johny89 of BB London City, Dixit offered solid work as a backup to Hudson and Hay. Very solid player in his own right who would’ve been a starting big in most of my u21 teams previously. He averaged 8.5rpg in under 24mins per game which shows how important his efforts were mostly from the bench.

Drew Watson- trained by Flavoured of Spartan Warriors, Watson offered a strong all round skill set which made him valuable as a backup scorer and playmaker at the PG/SG positions. He averaged 11.3ppg and 4.3apg from the bench in an effective 6th man role.

Pat Anderson - trained by RanLT of London Rams, Anderson was a key figure off the bench early in the campaign, and even provided a 20 point in 21min performance against Georgia.

Digambara Jain- trained by BC17 of BC Gunnners, Jain provided a solid inside scoring presence off the bench, something we didn’t have from our other bigs. May have been more involved if he had another offensive minded big to go next to him.

This group exceeded expectations this season and picked up 2 quality wins against Greece and Israel but in the end fell just short due to losses vs Czech Republic and Italy, which is no shame. The group was really competitive between the top 5 teams and all 4 games we had against the other teams were decided by 3 or 4 points.

Thank you to all the managers for their commitment to training and managing the game shape (which has been excellent i should say) of this group. We did the best we could but it wasn’t quite enough. We look to keep improving, and one season we’ll make the 2nd round I’m sure!

Great job as always. This was the toughest group we've been a part of since I joined the game so this was a strong performance from the team. Good to see local managers getting involved in the training and providing some key players for the U21's.

Hay and Hudson take me up to eight U21 players trained (if you include Campbell who only played scrimmages). Looking forward to starting again with some fresh prospects next season!