A long season has finally come to an end for the Reading Rockets U12 boys team with participation in 2 National play off competitions. The team were invited to these events following a successful season where they finished runners up in the Solent league with a 12-2 record and achieved 3 tournament wins at the monthly Hoops Dreams event.
On 8th May the team travelled to the Thunder Dome in Lewisham having not met any of the teams before and the level of opposition was unknown. For the first game they took on the hosts London Thunder and a close match followed. Thunder were quick and athletic but the Rockets started the fourth quarter ahead only to lose to a late basket 34-32. Richmond Knights were the next opponents, their size and defensive organization were tough for the Rockets to deal with but despite a good performance the Knights won by 7 points, 29-22. The boys were determined to get a win and that came with a dominant display moving the ball well and comfortably beating Greenwich Titans 41-15. Northants Titans were the final opponent for what was now a tired group of boys as we had only been able to travel with 8 players. However, some good rebounding and aggressive driving to the basket saw us pull away in the 4th quarter and get the win 38-30. Third place was achieved and coaches Aaron and Darien were happy to accept the invitation to the second tournament.
Last Saturday the Rockets travelled to Eastleigh knowing the challenge ahead with only Bristol Flyers a team that had never been faced before. Richmond Knights were the first opposition and having run them closer than any other team 2 weeks earlier the boys approached the game in a positive frame of mind. However, despite battling hard the size of the Knights enabled them to dominate under the basket at both ends of the court with the final score being a 30-15 loss. Having lost by 2 to London Thunder in Lewisham there was an extra determination from both the coaches and team to defeat them and reverse the result. Excellent defence on the outstanding London point guard set up a great game finale where the Rockets prevailed to win by two 24-22. Bristol Flyers had also beaten Thunder by 2 so an exciting game was ahead. Once again a close game followed with the scores level at half time, however Flyers had a strong 3rd quarter and the Rockets couldn’t claw back the deficit and went down 24-17.
So the last game of the season was against our Solent league rivals Winchester. Having got to know our opponents well this was not a game the team wanted to lose. A superb display of desire to win and teamwork followed in a great 47-18 win. Third place was again achieved and an excellent season was rounded off in style. Well done to coach Aaron, assistant Darien and all the players on an excellent season.
Results:
Tournament at Lewisham on
8th May v London lost 34-32 v Richmond lost 29-22 v Greenwich won 41-15 v Northants won 38-30 Tournament at Eastleigh on 21st May: v Richmond lost 30-15 v London won 24-20 v Bristol lost 24-17 v Winchester won 47-18 Media@readingrockets.co.ukBasketball Hotline 0118 926 3040 www.readingrockets.co.uk