STUDENT BLOG: Basketball Team Win in the Cup

Student Blog by Daniel Mengstab

On a wet and cold Wednesday afternoon the Sixth Form College, Solihull basketball team was up against University College Birmingham (UCB) in the AOC Sport Cup.

The Solihull team, undefeated so far in the league, were brimming with confidence. The game got off to a slow start, however  the 12 points contribution of Annas Adan give the Solihull team a 23 - 12 lead going into the second quarter. UCB, who were only playing with 5 players, were unable to match the speed of the Solihull players, and with vicious defence the team was able to extent their lead to 49 - 22. Annas was again at the full front of the attack and defence.

Having built an unassailable lead, Solihull decided to switch tactics and put new concepts to play. Playing man-to-man defence and Flex on offence, they broke down the UCB defence to extend their lead by 40 points at the end of the third quarter.  Again in the fourth quarter, Solihull continued to experiment with different set plays. The set plays were very successful, with Rakiem Willis leading the charge and contributing 12 points in the last quarter.

Praise has to be given to Matthew Gaskell, who masterminded the set plays, held the team together and unselfishly assisted his team mates.  The UCB team, weak in number, were very resilient and never gave up to the last second. Solihull won the game comfortably 90 - 38 and as a result they advance in the AOC Sport Cup.