Warwickshire Bears hold their nerve to triumph

WARWICKSHIRE Bears made it two wins from two as they recorded a narrow 27-25 victory in their National League Third Division Central clash at Derby Wheelblazers on Sunday.

With a weakened team, Bears were always going to find it a hard game to play. However, with the experience of Adrian Taber and Brian Stone to call on, the Bears just about edged it.

From the tip-off, both teams found it hard to score, with mutual pressure keeping the ball away from either basket. However, a skilful performance from the Bears pushed them into a 7-2 lead.

The scrappy nature of the game continued into the second quarter, with neither team taking control, but the Bears relied on their communication to push further ahead to lead 13-6 at half-time.

It was more of the same in the third quarter, with more missed chances and turn over possessions by both teams.

Bears struggled on, extending their points advantage with the help of junior player Ellan Fraser as they led 19-11 going into the fourth quarter.

Wheelblazers then took to the court with a renewed determination to overturn the lead that Bears had built, but the clock was against them and the visitors were resilient enough to hold the narrowest of leads to the final buzzer.

“It was a fantastic performance from a minimal squad,” said Bears 3 coach Dan Smith. “The effort given was not represented in the score. We have a lot to build on for the rest of the season.”

The club are next in action on Saturday when Bears 2 travel to Norwich to play Lowriders in their opening game of the season.