Well you look in the diary and it immediately comes to mind that this could be a significant week in the annals of British Basketball.

The big news recently was that the Newcastle Eagles Player/Coach Fab Flournoy had damaged his finger and would be out for about four weeks.  There is some discussion as to whether the finger is broken but nobody is saying.

The Eagles had travelled to Plymouth recently and come away with nothing.  (It's an awful long way back to Newcastle when you pick up a loss at Plymouth who were looking for their first win of the season)

This weekend the Eagles would have two monster games; the first at home to bitter rivals the Sheffield Sharks on Saturday then on the road against the Cheshire Jets on Sunday evening. This second game was a BBL Cup quater-final encounter. Lose here, and the Eagles would be out of the first trophy to be decided for the 9/10 BBL season.

Day 1 of my big basketball weekend
(when the Jets were downed)

My big basketball weekend began on Friday evening as I made my way over the Pennines to the EISS where the high flying Sheffield Sharks were about to take on the Cheshire Jets.  The Jets would be without Chez Marks who had an ankle injury while the Sharks would be without Matt Gorman.

As I have said before, for the past few years the Sharks have struggled and a game like this would have been in doubt for the home fans but the years Sharks roster is made of sterner stuff, and the result was never in doubt.  The Sharks are a joy to watch and what is probably most significant is that they are playing Sharks Basketball.  It is a bit difficult to explain but it is tough defence, great ball movement and solid finishing….actually, that wasn’t difficult at all.

I don’t want to tempt fate but everyone you speak to says the same thing…the Sharks are solid this year.  The other thing I like is the fact that along with all of that, they are also spectacular with Tafari Toney in the team.

So game 1 of the weekend held no real surprises as the Sharks comfortably defeated the Jets 97-76. 

Now as you know, I hate criticising but I feel I must.  Midway through the final quarter this game was over with a capital O.  Sharks Head Coach Atiba Lyons took the decision to introduce his bench players.  Ashley Chandley had been getting some solid minutes in recent games but the likes of Ralph Binos and Jermaine Gonsalves very seldom get on the floor.

It was now that the Jets, with a number of starters still on the floor, decided to go on a run led by a big three from Colin O’Rielly and 8 points from Paul Peterson.  Atiba would have to take a couple of the youngsters out and put some of his starters back on the floor.  Mike Cook, who must have thought his nights work was done, had to come back out.  I had thought there was some kind of convention about this situation but maybe I am wrong.

So on to Day 2 of my big basketball weekend.
(when Leeds met Mike Shaft)

The Sharks would be on the road to the Newcastle Eagles in another one of the big BBL encounters of the 9/10 season.  The Eagles were coming in that  one with the massive big loss to Plymouth still fresh in their minds.  Fab Flournoy would be on the sideline in his coaching role but would be in his walking clothes.  Unfortunately for me, I would not be at that game.  I had some other business to take care of.

I can remember quite clearly when I first met Matt Newby, Head Coach of Leeds Carnegie.  I was commentating at the Kukri Invitational Tournament in Birmingham in 2008 and his team were taking part. 

Twelve months later it is 2009 and we are back at the same tournament at the same venue.  On this occasion we had a long chat and he asked me about the possibility of commentating on some games for them. 

And so this relationship began.

Today there would be three games taking place at the Carnegie day of Basketball and I would be commentating of two of them.  The first game would see Leeds Carnegie 2 take on Sheffield Sabres, a team including BBL legend Peter Scantlebury and former Sharks stalwart  Richard Windle. 

This was an easy win for Sheffield by a scoreline of 82-97.  The top scorers for the visitors were Windle with 30 and Scants with 23 including a couple of massive dunks.

Game 1 for me would be Carnegie Women taking on UWIC Archers from Cardiff and I have to admit I feared for the Carnegie Women.  UWIC are a top team in the Women’s game and include in their line up Kate Butters and Stef Collins, both of whom are GB Internationals  plus another couple of names on the edge of the GB programme. Carnegie Women were about to experience only their second season in the top flight of the Women's game in the UK. (Last time out they finished 10th of 11)

This was a truly fantastic game and the large Carnegie crowd were loving every minute of it.  The scores were tied 2 a piece, then 4 a piece then 10 each. At the end of the first the home team led 26-20.

For Leeds, Jo Clayden was awesome and had 12 points  including 2 triples. Loui Hall was unstoppable down low and had 10 points herself.  Handling the rock for Carnegie was the ever so smooth Keesha Tate.

In reply Mia Spasowska was solid for UWIC with 9 points while Kate Butters had added 5.

The second quarter was more of the same but UWIC would get the better of it as we went into the locker room level at 35 a piece.  The UWIC women stepped up their defence and threw Carnegie out of their rhythm.  The home team would score only 9 in the quarter.

The third was a real cat and mouse affair as the scores would be tied at 41, and 46.  A Kate Butters deuce would make it 46-48 but Ester Velkey would nail a monster triple for the home team to take it to 49-48. 

Stef Collins, however, wasn’t done and her two on the buzzer would end the quarter 49-50. 

And so to the final stanza; and this was all about Kate Butters of UWIC Archers who would simply take control of the game. She played like a woman possessed. 

Butters would score the first 8 points of the quarter and only triples by Dee Hayward and Velkey again would keep Carnegie in this.  Now Loui Hall would step up to the plate.  With the scores now 59-60 after more Butters, Hall, stuck outside the arc with the clock running down, would stick a monster three which had the crowd on its feet. 

This, in my opinion was the crucial score of the game as it broke the hearts of UWIC.  The game would finish 66-62 in favour of Leeds Carnegie and there was dancing and celebrations on the court.

This was a monster result for the home team who had had great support all game long.  It was a famous victory for Head Coach James Bambury and his new assistant Sergio Lara-Bercial, formerly of the parish of Manchester Magic.

The top scorers were Loui Hall for Leeds with 26 including 2 from the arc, and Butters for UWIC Archers with 21 including 12 in the final quarter.

So that was that for game 2.

The final game would see Carnegie Men take on the unbeaten London Mets.  Carnegie star Ladi Brown would be going up against many of his old team mates and bragging rights were at stake. The crowd had now grown to a full house and, to be honest, we had no idea what was in store for us.

Later Mike S

READ PART 2 OF THE MIKE SHAFT BLOG HERE

READ THE ENGLAND BASKETBALL REPORT ON CARNEGIE WOMEN HERE