WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL: WARWICKSHIRE Bears returned to winning ways at the weekend with a convincing First Division South win against Tornados.
Following a loss against Sheffield the week before, Bears were determined to return to winning form – and they did just that with a convincing display of shooting and defensive work.
Ben Haigh and Dan Gill returned to their shooting best while Bears’ mobile defence restricted Tornados to scoring just four points in the first quarter.
Tornados regrouped for the second quarter to try and pull back the early lead the Bears had built, but both teams cancelled each other out – scoring basket for basket.
Bears entered half time with a healthy ten-point lead.
Tom Masterson’s team started the second half unchanged, a decision which proved fruitful as Bears pulled further clear of Tornados in the third quarter – largely thanks to the accurate shooting of Haigh and Jacob Robinson.
Leading by 20 points with one quarter to go, Masterson switched his lines to give some court time to his bench in the last quarter.
The youngsters impressed, in particular Aaron Grant who scored on debut for the first team. Dan Smith and Derek Hall also contributed to Bears’ cause as the game ended 51-27, a result which delighted Bears coach Masterson.
He said: “It was good to get back to winning ways today.
Although the scores don’t reflect it, Tornados played hard today and gave us a real game.
“It was pleasing to see Aaron Grant make his debut and score today.
“This weekend has been great for all our juniors who have played senior basketball and have done themselves proud.”
Meanwhile in the Second Division South, Bears 2 matched the first team’s efforts to defeat Tornados 2 54-24.
Tornados 2’s losing run continued as Bears’ second string put behind some earlier losses to earn their first win of the season.
The start of the game proved to be a scrappy contest with no side able to stamp their authority on the contest.
It was only until a complete change in Bears’ line-up that they started to pull clear in the second half as Paul Colbourne and Neil Bunting found scoring easy.
