UNDER 14 SEMIS and FINAL Match Reports The year 9 Finals night was well represented by Blackpool with two of theh four schools being Montgomery & St Mary’s. The first Semi Final was Montgomery v Darwen Vale Darwen had won the event for two years running and as Montgomery had not entered a team last year they were an unknown quantity. Although both teams were unbeaten in the group stages and finished top of each league respectively. What a game this turned out to be. It was Montgomery who took the reigns from the off scoring 9pts unanswered and as the players settled down baskets traded to end the quarter Montgomery 21-17 up. Darwen's main and what turned out to be only threat was the games top scorer Scott Macanally with 31pts. At times he was unstoppable but with no one to step up and support him Monty could cope with the one pronged attack. Defensive duties on him were shared which helped keep the Monty team on their toes. The second quarter was the key to victory as the trio of Fraser Thorpe (15pts), James Francis (22pts) & Simon Timothy (29pts) rained baskets on Vale, Timothy being especially outstanding with a quick Fast break. What also didn’t go a miss was the tireless work of Liam Rigby (8pts) in defence rallying great support from his team mates to keep Vale to 7pts in the quarter. Monty finished the half with a comfortable 48 – 26 lead. Vale rallied with Macanlly scoring 12 of 19pts but they still couldn’t stop Monty who scored 18pts with an excellent quarter from Miguel Payuno (5pts). Vale picked up a point. The 4th went much like the 1st but with Will Shaw (5pts) able to protect the ball Vale could find no way back. The all round team effort from Montgomery was a delight to see. With slick quick passing one play involved all five on court and ended with Timothy “pear dropping" a sweet shot from outside the zone. Montgomery 87 Darwen Vale 61 Montgomery could now rest and watch: St Wilfrid's 30 – St Mary’s 64 With a slow start the teams struggled to find their way to basket; it needed St Mary’s “court general” Marcus Shields (18pts) to step up and lead the way. With some slick ball skills he found his "route 1" but also found Ivan Valaneo (12pts) under the boards and Mary’s soon took control. St Wilfrid’s shooting let them down and being unable to pick up the rebounds the game became one sided. The half ended 29 – 15 in favour of Mary’s. A team with strength in depth saw Francis de La Cruz 14pts and Toby Harrison 8pts score freely to be comfortable winners. An all Blackpool final and full of Blackpool Lights Club players playing against each other. Montgomery 63 Montgomery 24 The final was a repeat fixture from the pool format where Montgomery were winners in a close game by 8pts. But this final proved to be a one sided affair. Montgomery were far too strong in all departments shutting down any offence by Mary's and keeping them to less than 10pts per quarter. Claiming all rebounds was the key and turning defence into offence with an exremely effective fast break. Fraser Thorpe(14pts) & James Francis (16pts) were again prominent and unstoppable going to the boards. But MVP Simon Timothy was the Finals top scorer with 20pts. His speed was a delight and he never stopped hussling the St Mary's players creating numerous steals and finshed with easy lay ups. The match was powered home in the first quarter when Montgomery stormed to a 23 - 5 lead. A low scoring 2nd quarter only paved the way for Montgomery to double their tally in the second half and proving worthy Champions. Mongomery now go forward next season as U14 Lancashire Champions to represent Lancashire in the U15 English Schools Competition. |