TOM Masterson vowed to end Warwickshire Bears’ winless streak following a sixth defeat of the campaign in the British Wheelchair Basketball League Premier Division.
The first XI went down 57-47 to Exeter Otters, but Bears’ second and third sides were in winning form against Blackhawks’ first and second teams.
“Congratulations to Otters on a great performance and a good win for them,” said head coach Masterson.
“They put us under enormous pressure from the tip-off and we couldn’t break the shackles they put on us.
“We will go away and work hard on our game and try to get a win from somewhere.”
After pressing the Bears into making mistakes from the tip-off, the Otters finished the first quarter with a 16-10 lead, and they extended it to 33-26 at half time.
Daz Peasley was marked closely by the Otters in quarter three to push him further out of shooting range, though Macauley Thompson and Jacob Robinson kept Bears in touch at 47-36 going into the final 15 minutes. Despite their best efforts, the Bears were unable to overturn the deficit and lost out by 10 points.
In Division One South, the Bears second XI edged Blackhawks 40-39 in an encounter that remained in the balance throughout.
Theo Pilkington scored the Bears’ winning basket just three seconds from time.
Assistant coach Dan Smith said: “It was a fantastic game from start to finish. We won by the narrowest of margins with three seconds left on the clock, although we trailed for most of the game, we remained positive and never gave up.”
Meanwhile, Bears 3rds were 36-22 winners against Blackhawks’ second team in the first game of the Division Three Central/South season, with Ellan Fraser and Kyle Jackson standing out for the hosts.
