Mixed fortunes for Bears on Teesside
BASKETBALL
WARWICKSHIRE Bears came away from their long journey to Teesside with mixed fortunes in their latest British Wheelchair Basketball League matches.
While the Bears’ firsts went down 60-30 to the RGK Tees Valley Titans, the thirds prevailed 51-16 in Division Three Central.
In the first game, the Bears faced Titans’ first team, who welcomed back Jude Hamer for the first time following her silver medal win, with the Great British Women’s Team, at the World Championships in Germany.
The Bears, however, were missing Siobhan Fitzpatrick from their ranks, who won silver alongside Hamer and the GB women, and was away helping Great Britain under-24s win gold in the European championships.
The Bears were their own worst enemies in the opening stages with a number of uncharacteristic mistakes and they trailed 22-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bears introduced the experienced Darren Peasley at the start of the second quarter, but were not able to take any advantage with their shooting as the Titans moved 36-14 ahead.
Bears were unable to put together any consistent pressure and again lost the ball continuously to fall 46-21 behind at the end of the third quarter and the Titans eased home 60-30 at the final whistle.
The thirds’ team made up almost entirely of the Bears women’s team, with the addition of Adrian Taber and Harry Draper, but they were in impressive form to beat their Titans counterparts 51-16.
The Bears are still looking for additional sponsors to help the club provide sporting opportunities for local disabled people. They are always looking for new recruits and volunteers for the club.
Disability sports clubs such as the Bears are entirely charitable organisations, run not for profit on the basis of volunteer contributions and the support of sponsoring partner such as Dreams, the UK’s largest bed manufacturer.
For more details, contact info@bearswbc.com or call 07946 518354.