BBL Game Report: Cheshire Phoenix 83 Manchester Giants 71
Yannick Crowder royally took the plaudits on Sunday night and proved just why he came to Cheshire Phoenix with the nickname “Sultan of Swat” as he helped his side claim their first victory of the year against local rivals Manchester Giants, 83-71.
Both sides came into the game with a 0-2 record after the first weekend of the BBL Championship, making this derby day fixture all the more interesting.
Starting Fives:
Cheshire: Middleton, Coleman, Doumbe, Kai Williams, Crowder
Manchester: Gill, Jones, Aliu, Marsden, Yorrick Williams
The returning Kai Williams, drafted in this week, made an instant impact with a three to get proceedings under way, however, it was to take some time before Phoenix moved through the gears. Neither side initially could assume control, but midway through the first quarter John Lavery’s side went on a 13-point run capped off with an awesome alley-oop as Williams and Crowder combined. League veteran Yorrick Williams made the next four points all from the free throw line before Shawn Myers extended the Nix’s lead back out and finished the period 28-22.
Coming out for the second period, it was Cheshire who were to stamp their authority on the game, they controlled the tempo, chased the ball, fought for every play, desperate to shake off any tags attached after their previous match-up against Newcastle Eagles. This was Phoenix playing their own game. Giants were unable to build any runs in comparison to Phoenix, and it saw Lavery’s side command a lead of 17 going into the locker room, 50-33.
The third quarter was all about threes from the off raining down inside the Northgate Arena. Stefan Gill started the show, as Masse Doumbe and David Watts both had back-to-back treys one after the other. Phoenix were always able to maintain a strong lead as the clock ticked down towards the final stanza as the quarter came out as a tied result, 70-53.
Momentum soon began to shift back towards the visitors as Phoenix found themselves in foul trouble. A game high of 19 points for the home side quickly saw that evaporate after the dismissal of Doumbe thanks to his fifth foul of the game. Ten points in a row for Giants, mainly due to the heroics of Gill, bringing back memories of his final quarter performance almost a year ago when Cheshire were in such a commanding position.
Cheshire, through the confident and controlled manner of Reggie Middleton, were able to steady the ship and the technical foul picked up by James Jones put to bed the result before Dominique Coleman rounded off the evening with the final point of the night from the line.
Despite it now being a monkey off the shoulder of Phoenix’s head coach, John Lavery, he knows there is more to come from his side: “It’s just building blocks, one block at a time and we just want to get things right.
“It wasn’t what we wanted tonight for forty minutes,” Lavery, who once played under Giants’ Jeff Jones, went on to say, “there were times when we were poor and times when we were excellent.”
Preparation is to be had ahead of Worcester and Leicester next weekend, and after the changes to the squad this past week, the workings of the side will be tested to make sure the best will come of the Phoenix squad, particularly with the number of turnovers produced in the night’s performance: “At the end of the day, it all boils down to what we do on the practice floor. The guys get a day off tomorrow, practice from Tuesday and try and address those issues. To get to where we want to be this year will take a lot of hard work.”
Giants’ head coach Jeff Jones highlighted how the side his team faced were put together from a strong, successful, framework, and that his side still has a long way to go, but the foundations have been put in place.
“It’s difficult when you’re playing against a side set up like Cheshire which is typical of a Robbie Peers side – a tough, athletic set of players, who play hard – when we’re going with British guys; it’s tough,” said coach Jones.
“We’ve said what we were going to be; as British as we possibly can be and as competitive as we can be. We’re three guys down from where we’re going to be in a month’s time and we need to adjust that. The off-court moves we’ve made within the community; I now have to realise that they are in place, that is where we are developing, so that I can take more time coaching the side we have and are putting out there on the floor.”
Play of the game
The alley-oop from Kai Williams to Yannick Crowder in the first quarter. It got the crowd alive on the night and was epitomised Cheshire in full-flow. Without doubt a breath of fresh air for this Phoenix side.
MVP
Yannick Crowder – where do we start with this man. He may not have top scored, that award went to guard Reggie Middleton, but Crowder’s statline gets him into this week’s BBL Team of the Week – if he doesn’t I will eat my hat. A double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds, as well as four blocks, double that of Manchester (whether he had four is debatable, because he produced a number of stops that may have been missed off having looked at the final stat sheet). Magnificent, appealing to the eyes, and what you expect for your ticket to a game.
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